Missing Swiss Student Tourist Alive And Well, In Thai Prison

[HeijoshinCool]

Did I miss something?

Where is the evidence that this young lady stole a camera, and is now or was required to pay 130,000 baht for its replacement?

I'd like to know what kind of immigration officer can afford a 130,000 baht camera to sit in his/her office - cos a top Nikon with zoom lens and additional lenses is only 70K !!!

-mel.

Who said he paid for it?

[Lammbock]

What was on the Camera?

[atsiii]

Perhaps she did nothing wrong other than show up as a pretty young woman. Maybe everything is trumped up to give them a reason to throw her in jail to have at her. It will be interesting to see what happens and what she says after she is safe and out of Thailand. This might explain throwing a foreigner in jail and "neglecting" to tell anyone!

Who knows... but I'll be interested to listen to her side of things once she is safe.

[Puccini]

I have now found her version. It is in fact right there in the news article in the OP, the second to the last paragraph:

“She was charged with overstaying her visa and with theft. She confessed to the overstay, but denied stealing the camera. She was then transferred to Ranong Prison while awaiting her case to be heard in court,” he added.

Hm to be pedantic ... no you haven't, you have "found" a statement made by an officer, Cpl Rungroj, not the lady herself. Therefore it is not "her" version is it.

You are right, and you are not pedantic. I should have seen this myself. This being Thailand no news reporter seems to have bothered so far to speak to Tscherina Janisch. On a travel forum I saw it mentioned that an online article in a Swiss daily, basically a rehash of the article in the Phuket paper, has been deleted at the request of the Janisch family. In the light of this, perhaps Ms Janisch would not even speak to a journalist. I wonder where she is now after her release on bail, still in Ranong or in Bangkok? Her mother appears to be with her in Thailand now, according to the news story.

[RogueLeader]

Serves her well.

I am happy that Thailand is not as lax as Switzerland in regards to petty criminals.

On the other hand, living as a honest citizen in Switzerland is a huge pain in the ass.

Thailand is a very nice place to live if you're relatively rich. The same can be said of anywhere in the world. You're relatively rich in Thailand, but not in Switzerland, so you prefer Thailand, but by any measure, Thailand is not a better country to live for the vast majority of people who live there than Switzerland is.

[renrut salohcin]

Did I miss something?

Where is the evidence that this young lady stole a camera, and is now or was required to pay 130,000 baht for its replacement?

I'd like to know what kind of immigration officer can afford a 130,000 baht camera to sit in his/her office - cos a top Nikon with zoom lens and additional lenses is only 70K !!!

-mel.

The 130,000 Baht was a bail amount, not for the replacement of the camera.

[turgid]

As always lots of Thai bashing here. How about this for an option. She pissed everyone off with her stroppy stupid behavior and once caught for stealing a camera was embarrassed about the theft, uncooperative and didn't want anyone contacted.

The first go to point on this forum is always corrupt Thais planting stuff or stealing stuff. . My experience has been Thailand can be chaotic in process (which is part of why I like it) but many more Thais have helped me get out of problems than get into them and that saying please and thank you goes a long way.

Now Malaysia is a different story....

Edited January 24, 2013 by turgid

[CantSpell]

Its a simple fact when in Thailand........."DO NOT MESS WITH ANYONE IN AUTHORITY" talk with a polite tone and do your best to do as they ask even if they themselves are being complete <deleted>.

I also wonder how it would go down if this happened to someone who had no family looking for them, would they just be lost in the system forever? Scary!

Too many thing happening in Pattaya so I could not find the link but it actually happened about 1 year ago, they found this English guy rotting in the Pattaya Jail, had been there for months and could not recall who he was..

Had to be a lady from an NGO to get him out of there and find out he was quite wealthy back in UK....

Amazing TIT Indeed

[theajarn]

Quite a few posters seem eager to go to jail for defamation, judging from their posts suggesting, implying or stating outright that a police officer falsely accused this tourist of theft, but I believe they have to try harder to achieve that result. I suggest they go to the police station and say it to the officer’s face.

As for the tourist, judiciary rules say that she is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court, and I, for one, have the patience to wait for the court decision. Incidentally, this legal presumption of innocence applies even in a case of strong prima facie evidence or a confession and it does not imply that an accusation is false -- it is simply how the justice system works.

Justice System?? Thailand?? WORKS?!?!

Dude, ease off the coconut milk~!

[renrut salohcin]

This has the smell of extortion all over it, held incommunicado against international rules. Makes one wonder what pics were on that 7 year old camera.

I have a question about police procedures. If I get arrested, for theft or whatever, and I ask the police not to inform the embassy or anybody else, does the police nevertheless have to call the embassy according to the rule book?

The Thai authoritories are only obliged to inform the embassy of the accused of their detention. The embassy may then make arrangements for the family to be informed if the detained person gives the embassy the ok to do so. If you don't want your family to know, the embassy won't tell anyone details of your circumstances.

[JemJem]

I am at a Net cafe and I don't have time to read all the pages. So, I am sorry if someone pointed this out earlier.

In the original article, it says :

''She had entered Thailand on December 8 with a tourist visa, which allowed her to stay for 15 days, explained Cpl Rungroj, who was called to aid Ranong Immigration as an interpreter.''

As far as I know, a tourist visa is a standard one and it always gives the holder 2 months of stay in Thailand. Now, if they had actually meant 'visa on arrival', that would give the person 30 days, not 15 (I am pretty sure that for Swiss nationals, visa-on-arrival gives 30 days of stay).

[renrut salohcin]

she sounds like a foolish and very immature girl

How do you come to that foolish and very immature conclusion? You're privy to some special information about this report?

[TomTao]

I am at a Net cafe and I don't have time to read all the pages. So, I am sorry if someone pointed this out earlier.

In the original article, it says :

''She had entered Thailand on December 8 with a tourist visa, which allowed her to stay for 15 days, explained Cpl Rungroj, who was called to aid Ranong Immigration as an interpreter.''

As far as I know, a tourist visa is a standard one and it always gives the holder 2 months of stay in Thailand. Now, if they had actually meant 'visa on arrival', that would give the person 30 days, not 15 (I am pretty sure that for Swiss nationals, visa-on-arrival gives 30 days of stay).

We had a friend across from Australia a couple of years ago who had a 90 day visa, toward the end of her stay we took her on a visa run to Myanmar, didn't know about re-entry permit at that time, when we arrived back in Thailand she was given a 15 day visa, if this young lady only wanted a short stay visa or had been in Thailand for a holiday, then had gone out before coming back, then that may explain why she had a 15 day visa.

[renrut salohcin]

This story made me wonder what was the mental state of this woman and poses a few questions. Was she travelling alone ? Did she throw a tantrum in the Immigration office. Why would a camera be lying around on a desk? Obviously she had been in Thailand already for at least 30 days. Did she have any drug abuse history? (Ranong is famous for having invented the concoction of 1-2 Call (Google it )Did she have any mental health issues?. No use speculating until all the facts emerge

That's a huge amount of speculation from someone suggesting that there's no point in speculating.

[renrut salohcin]

Perhaps she did nothing wrong other than show up as a pretty young woman. Maybe everything is trumped up to give them a reason to throw her in jail to have at her. It will be interesting to see what happens and what she says after she is safe and out of Thailand. This might explain throwing a foreigner in jail and "neglecting" to tell anyone!

Who knows... but I'll be interested to listen to her side of things once she is safe.

Could you enlarge on what you mean by "to have at her"?

[biplanebluey]

Silly girl, the overstay was easily handled, all she had to do was pay and that would have been it, but pocketing an Immigration officer's camera, big mistake.

I found the headline a bit ambiguous and was going to say that the sooner someone gets her out of there while she is still "ALIVE AND WELL' but reading on I have to agree with you----silly girl----- or I would say----stupid girl------ all this mess for 500 bt !!!!!!!!! I only hope she can stay alive and well and learn from her mistake-----------------------Dougal the Kiwi

[gatorsoft]

she sounds like a foolish and very immature girl

How do you come to that foolish and very immature conclusion? You're privy to some special information about this report?

Refusing to pay the overstay fee that she reportedly admitted that she owed would qualify her for the foolish and immature title.

[biplanebluey]

There is no point in guessing. You do not know, have absolutely no idea, of what actually happened!

The above quote is the best and most applicable one here so-far.

Read it and keep repeating it to yourselves every time you feel the urge to punch the keyboard about this news story and sadly the majority of "News" items reported here.

I do not know---- have absolutely no idea of what actually happened

I do not know-----Have absolutelly no idea of what actually happened

BUT I CAN HAZARD A PRETTY INTELLIGENT GUESS

Is that OK----------------Dougal the Kiwi

[siampolee]

Could you enlarge on what you mean by "to have at her"?

renrut salochin. post #226

Having reversed you name I am presuming your are a speaker of English or dyslectic.

The term above in common parlance on the street in certain areas of the U.K. certainly would imply that there were improper sexual advances to be made to her or were made to her.

A refusal to comply with such lusty advances by the lady concerned would indeed due to loss of face and damaged libido be cause enough for an irate official to '' bang her up '' due to the fact he couldn' t' bang her.''

Edited January 24, 2013 by siampolee

[MEL1]

Did I miss something?

Where is the evidence that this young lady stole a camera, and is now or was required to pay 130,000 baht for its replacement?

I'd like to know what kind of immigration officer can afford a 130,000 baht camera to sit in his/her office - cos a top Nikon with zoom lens and additional lenses is only 70K !!!

-mel.

I will never believed this story...you telling me a student from Switzerland went inside an interrogatory room at Immigration to stole a camera? Are you out of your mind?

Well done Thai police, keep up with the good jobs!!!!

Did I miss something again? Sorry, what?

What did I tell you?

I'm completely within my mind, and either you can't read English well or you've missed my point completely!

Poor show!

-mel.

[Maestro]

The moderating team keeps deleting off-topic posts and the replies to them. This topic is not meant to be a vehicle for rehashing every arrest of a foreigner and every alleged scam in Thailand over the past five years. Please make an effort to stay on topic so that we won't have to close it.

[Thai at Heart]

This story made me wonder what was the mental state of this woman and poses a few questions. Was she travelling alone ? Did she throw a tantrum in the Immigration office. Why would a camera be lying around on a desk? Obviously she had been in Thailand already for at least 30 days. Did she have any drug abuse history? (Ranong is famous for having invented the concoction of 1-2 Call (Google it )Did she have any mental health issues?. No use speculating until all the facts emerge

You are right. No use speculating. A kleptomaniac survives studying in Singapore, where they would have caught her and punished her ages ago, but she lifts a camera in a police station. Why would a person with a drug habit study in Singapore?

[SchuetzRob]

its weird enough to see someone refusing to pay the 3 days overstay fees, top of that stealing a camera when one is gonna face potential deportation.

something is not right, could be with the girl but must be real naive and had a heck of a arrogance to pull this off

something is not right, i agree. swiss citizens can stay in thailand for 30 days without needing a visa. considering this, as a tourist i would probably not see the need for paying overstay fees, either. however, you can definitely not blame the girl for the police forgetting to inform the relevant embassy about her being in jail, and this omission is the real newsworthy thing in this story and should deserve rather more attention and comments than comments about students, swiss girls and their characters.

[kriswillems]

I don't believe she stole the camera, but that is not important right now.

She's lucky she got out of jail. At this point it would be better to forget about the 130000B bail - consider it as lost. It's after all not that much money in Switzerland (where living expenses are much higher than in many other European countries).

I think the Thai justice system is not that bad and she probably has a chance that she won't be convicted for theft, because there's not enough evidence. However there's also a small chance she'll go to jail.

If she's smart she better tries to find a way to get out of the country. The Swiss embassy is not supposed to be assisting in illegal activities, but many embassies have helped people escaping in the past. If I would be her (she has no family in Thailand and no reason to ever come back), I would try to get out with the help of the Swiss embassy in Thailand or the Swiss embassy in a neighbor country (after illegally crossing the border).

Edited January 24, 2013 by kriswillems

[Lite Beer]

Swiss student tourist Janisch out on bail

Phuket Gazette -

Ms Janisch was released on bail after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: A Swiss national held by Ranong Immigration since December 25 on charges of stealing an officer’s camera was released on bail yesterday after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond.

Unaware that her daughter, Tscherina Nora Janisch, was being held in a Thai prison north of Phuket, Elizabeth Maria Janisch initially reported Tscherina as missing when she hadn’t heard from her in three weeks (story here).

Tscherina, 22, must present herself in court every 30 days and is not allowed to travel out of Thailand until her case is settled.

Ranong immigration officers have charged Tscherina with stealing a camera while they were processing her arrest for refusing to pay a fine for overstaying her visa by three days.

Although initially concerned that officers might be spreading incorrect and unflattering information about her daughter, Mrs Janisch told the Phuket Gazette, “When I arrived in Ranong I realized that I was wrong, as the officers have been very good to me and my daughter."

“I have received a lot of help from them in dealing with the relevant organizations and they are taking good care of us,” she explained.

Mrs Janisch also expressed her gratitude to the judge for granting her daughter’s bail, as she believes the theft accusation is the result of a misunderstanding between the officers, her daughter and the interpreter.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...bail-20047.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-01-24

[Scully]

A misunderstanding ?.

Sounds like she did it, that's the last place anyone should steal from. This is going to be a hard lesson learned.

[urnoticed]

" . . . alive and well, in Thai prison"

Contradiction in terms?!

LOLRO

Time for your parent(s) to feed the "legal" system and a Thai l"ie"yer, Sweetie.

[Thai at Heart]

Swiss student tourist Janisch out on bail

Phuket Gazette -

Ms Janisch was released on bail after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: A Swiss national held by Ranong Immigration since December 25 on charges of stealing an officer’s camera was released on bail yesterday after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond.

Unaware that her daughter, Tscherina Nora Janisch, was being held in a Thai prison north of Phuket, Elizabeth Maria Janisch initially reported Tscherina as missing when she hadn’t heard from her in three weeks (story here).

Tscherina, 22, must present herself in court every 30 days and is not allowed to travel out of Thailand until her case is settled.

Ranong immigration officers have charged Tscherina with stealing a camera while they were processing her arrest for refusing to pay a fine for overstaying her visa by three days.

Although initially concerned that officers might be spreading incorrect and unflattering information about her daughter, Mrs Janisch told the Phuket Gazette, “When I arrived in Ranong I realized that I was wrong, as the officers have been very good to me and my daughter."

“I have received a lot of help from them in dealing with the relevant organizations and they are taking good care of us,” she explained.

Mrs Janisch also expressed her gratitude to the judge for granting her daughter’s bail, as she believes the theft accusation is the result of a misunderstanding between the officers, her daughter and the interpreter.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...bail-20047.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-01-24

Well that was written very diplomatically.

[NCFC]

Mrs Janisch also expressed her gratitude to the judge for granting her daughter's bail, as she believes the theft accusation is the result of a misunderstanding between the officers, her daughter and the interpreter.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...bail-20047.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-01-24

So it would seem that the camera does not belong to the Swiss girl. Any poster now wish to re-appraise their previous thoughts?

[kriswillems]

The mother has a lawyer that understands Thai culture ... nobody was really wrong, it was just a misunderstanding and everyone was/is very nice - nobody needs to loose face and everyone is happy.