Prison Stories

[Star Dust]

I just came back after 3 days in Laos, and I'm tired. I'll post before the sun sets on Sunday. Promise.

Interesting comments. The people should try to stick to the topic more, instead of attacking me for sharing my experience. And don't worry guys. I don't care about bad comments.I'll out-live, and out-love them all.

Going home? I am home. Save and sound in my house, with my wife, son and daughter.

Have a nice evening everyone.

[chris1dna]

Glad yer safe an sound Stardust. Thanks for the update.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Star Dust]

sorry I was late, I got held up in Laos.

first things first:

The author got himself into the situation of what this very text is about, due to the fact that he lacks a full complement of brain cells, but that’s OK with him. Please warn people about the consequences if they get caught on an Overstayed Visa, or <Snip!> things up like the author did. Thank you.

ok, where did I stop? Right, IDC....lets continue

Once the door was shut behind me, an Asian guy walked up to me, introduced himself as Steve, and asked me very politely to follow him, and
that he’ll sort me out. He was old, tall, his body entirely covered with tattoos (including parts of his face), toothless , wet and naked. It crossed my
mind almost immediately that I was not with Thais anymore. I didn’t know how to behave. Following him, I saw that he just stepped over peoples bodies and heads. In a Thai prison you get killed for committing such an insult. I had to stop, because I didn’t want to step over peoples bodies out of habit. He turned round and told me to keep moving. “This ain’t Thailand” he said. This is “Room 7”.

After I have stepped over, and on a dozen people or so, we went into that little separated room at the top end of the cell. The room was

full of goodies. Orange Juice, Coke, Fanta, Cookies, canned food, Ice, Cigarettes, Bread, Jam, etc….my eyes immediately caught the mobile phones.

I sat down on the floor in front of Steve, and two other guys. They were all Asians. All 3 of them were Chinese. Steve had a phone call, still being naked, and waved me off. The guy in the middle approached me. His Thai was crystal clear.

Guy:” Which prison?”
Me: “Kho Samui”
Guy: “ Case”

Me:”Drunk Driving + causing an accident, Thai guy broke his pinky + assault”
Guy:” Assault? Who?”

Me: “ I was unconscious, when I woke up they arrested me immediately, so I punched one of the police man.” Guy:” Want a Cookie?”
Me:” Sure.”

Guy:”How long?”
Me:” About 7 month.

Guy:”Well done! Coke with ice?”
Me:” Sure. And you? Which prison?”
Guy:” Bang Kwang.”
Me:”Case?”

Guy:”Murder.”
Me:” How long?”
Guy:” 18 years. What’s your name?”
Me:”David”

Guy:”Nice to meet you, I’m Chien?”

At that point Steve got off the phone:

Steve:” Don’t talk to this guy. He kills for a living.”
Where is your money? Did the police give it back? Did you take it back?”
Me:” Yes.”

Steve:” How much you got”
Me:”How much do I need?”

Steve:” Look, you pay me 200 Baht, or you clean the toilets 3 times a day. For the 200 I’ll give you
2 blankets, a place to sleep, and make sure no one steals that money you got in your underwear while you are asleep.”
Me:”Done.” May I use your phone?”
Steve:”Sure. First call is on me”

I called my wife, and told her that I was fine, and that I’m in IDC, to yet find again a way home. That was a lie of course, but I didn’t
want her to worry any more then she had already worried so much. And the fact that she was out there still waiting for me after all that she has been through because of me, was another reason that I didn’t want to bother her with the details of my situation, as long as she would look after the kids, for as long as I was gone. I told her I’ll be out soon.

Truth is that I had no idea how to get out of IDC. When I finished my phone call I had a little chat with Mr. Steve.

You see. Steve (I doubt that that was his real name, but what does it matter, right) is the room boss of room 7. He did 14 ½ years in Bang
Kwang Prison for murder, and has been in IDC for 6 or 7 years. He said he can’t remember exactly. A room boss in a prison is always the guy with the longest sentence, or the guy who has been there the longest. He dictates who sleeps where, and who will be treated nicely, and who not. He has several people who work for him, so arguments are pointless, unless you enjoy getting beaten up. So the Chinese had run room 7 when I was there.

Steve gave me 2 blankets, some bread and a jar of strawberry jam as a welcome gift, because I paid in cash and not on credit.
Best meal in month. Then he showed me my place. In Thai prison every prisoner is entitled (by law) to a sleeping place which is 55 cm wide, and 180 cm long. If you are wider, or taller than that, then that’s your problem. That wasn’t the way it was in room 7. Newcomers stay next to the door, and have to wait until someone gets released, in order to take the freed prisoners place. So the door was mine for a week. I could never sit. Even when I managed to sleep I had to wake, and stand up, to let someone pass.

In my first week in IDC I came to understand why they call

it hell on earth. It’s actually more like an Insane Asylum-Hardcore Style.

The man, women, and children imprisoned in IDC are ex-prisoners who are waiting for cash ,or an angel to bring them cash to buy
their way home, political refugees from countries like Burma, China, North Korea etc., or just tourists who got caught overstaying a couple of days or years, and people and families who became Stateless. And you must keep in mind that the people jailed in the IDC are not criminals. They are in the thousands. No court sentenced them because of any criminal act.

What bothered everyone the most was the heat. It was immense. No windows, and just a couple of fans to whirl the hot air around. We
were 134 people in there. Like in every Thai prison the lights in the cells are never shut off. In a Thai prison it makes it easier for the guards to do their rounds during night, and of course, because its easier to see who wants to slit whose throat. In a Thai prison you’re always in the light. There is no darkness, never. In a Thai prison it’s easier, because during daylight you are outside in the open, breathing fresh air.

No, not in IDC. Even they let us out every 3 days, we were just locked up for 1 hour in a basketball court with a roof over it. They call
it exercise day. As long you are in IDC, you won’t see the sun. You can imagine the physical state of the prisoners. Many of them have a hard time walking more than 20 meters. Even some of the younger guys. In IDC prison food is given 3 times a day. It is the same every day. Watery soup, with one egg. If you’re lucky, you get a bone with a tiny piece of pork meat left on it. No vegetables,never. Once a day they can buy food through that 30x30 cm hole in the wall. They buy it from IDC. There is fried chicken, sometimes fish, fruits, sticky rice, and bananas for sale. Same everyday. Not fresh. It’s what is left from the markets around IDC, and couldn’t possibly be sold to anymore on the outside anymore. Steve can get in cookies, coffee, tea, etc. through bribes of course, and there is another “Shop” in that basketball court I mentioned earlier. Vegetables are very rare. We couldn’t have cooked them anyway. Every 4 days we got a piece of bread from organizations like the Red Cross, or Christian Organizations in Bangkok who are aware of the conditions in IDC.

As to the mental state of all the prisoners:

The fluorescent light is on 24 hours a day.
Sleeping was everyone’s problem. Sleeping for more than 1, or 2 hours straight in that heat was a blessing. Insomnia takes its toll. There are people talking to themselves, and not just a few, many of them. Or they are talking to imaginary people in front of them. Imagine 134 people, 1/3 talking to themselves and the rest talking, arguing or fighting with each other. It’s always noisy. Even at night. After a while the people stop caring if it’s day or night, because the lights are on all the time. It’s like their inner clock just stopped. The heat drives everyone crazy. Every single one. Showering doesn’t help. The water is piss warm. We showered, drank, cleaned, and flushed the toilets with the same water, and buckets of course. The toilets are flooded all the time. There is feces swimming about the shower place and toilets at least 5 times a day. There is enough room for 4 persons to shower at the same time, so it isn’t like that you can shower whenever you want. There is always a queue, and always a fight.

I met a German guy who thought he was a Sharman and could heal people by his touch (he got picked up by the BKA-German Criminal Police), a Taiwanese man who was in Bang Kwang for 23 years and is now probably still banging his head against the wall and talking to his (by now dead) wife half day long, a Brit who hasn’t talked to anyone in 4 years but to himself, a Chinese guys with no face (all burned) and no arms, a German police officer, members of the Chinese, Japanese, and Columbian Drug Cartels. Many tourists from England, America, and Europe, or Russia who; a.)have spent all their money on ladies, and couldn’t afford to leave and overstayed swearing by their mothers life that their Thai girlfriend would come any minute to get them out; b.) ex-pats who have been in prison, or overstayed for many years (one British guy with a staggering 16 year Overtay) swearing by their mothers lives that their Thai wifes, and/or their many friends they have in Thailand would come any minute to get them out. They were still swearing on their mothers lives when I boarded my Flight to Vienna. Well, yeah. This were all the guys who “Knew it all”. Unfortunately we have to live with them, even outside of prison.

I met Stateless Chinese, and North Koreans who are trying to get into France, Canada, or America. Or rich guys from Syria, who actually
never had a “lawful” Visa, and couldn’t get deported to Syria for their country was at war. Members of the Drug Cartels who paid off the Immigration to stay in IDC because they would get killed in China on arrival, and it is saver for them in IDC.

An Insane Asylum indeed, you see.

My Embassy finally showed up 1 ½ weeks after my arrival in
IDC. This was the first time I have spoken to them since I got arrested by
police almost 32 weeks ago.

To be continued …

Edited March 4, 2013 by metisdead
: Profanity

[Satcommlee]

Thanks again for sharing, your story is compulsive reading.. here's a youtube video taken from inside the IDC..

This cell seems somewhat under-occupied, is this expensive?

Edited March 2, 2013 by Satcommlee

[GooEng]

Good stuff fella

[Star Dust]

Thanks again for sharing, your story is compulsive reading.. here's a youtube video taken from inside the IDC..

This cell seems somewhat under-occupied, is this expensive?

Damn, that brings some memories back. nice research, can you find more of this videos?

This is it. It's downstairs in the main yard. Right in front of that cell is the visiting area as well. There are 4 of this cells downstairs. If you look outwards of the cell, then the next cell on the left is the cell for the new arrivals. on the right a cell for the sick. Lucky, really. They had fresh air. Expensive? I doubt it had to do with money. Yes they are VERY under-occupied. I can't tell you for sure. All I know is that the 4 downstair cells were for new arrivals, soon to be deported, sick, or for fugitives who were getting extradited by their own governments. I stayed in the cell just on the right to the one in the video for a couple of ours before I got driven to the airport. I was dancing as well at that time. On the second floor above this cell is room 7. LOL, it still is an Insane Asylum.

[merijn]

I hope this is a good lesson for all those people who think that overstay is nothing special and can be used to extend your holiday.

It is illegal and as we read can create a lot of very serious problems.

BTW, it is not always required for the arrested overstayer to go to the Bangkok IDC.

I know several people who where arrested in Phuket for overstay and they where deported straight from Phuket Immigration prison via Phuket international airport.

Also the ticket have to go to your home country. ( maybe not always enforced )

[saakura]

I liked the story, forget the ramblings of the overly judgemental 'hang'em high' brigade.

I liked the story also, and want to know more. As for the "hang 'em high" brigade...you get empathy in the "character building years" of your youth, or not...

How do you know he is a youth? And driving drunk, causing an accident builds your character? Edited March 2, 2013 by saakura

[submaniac]

OP,

Fascinating stuff. Keep posting.

For others complaining about the posts:

1. If you don't like the posts, don't read them. Plenty of other posts on Thaivisa.

2. Yes, I don't like drunk driving either. It's the idea that the drunk is endangering other people's lives by driving is what I don't like.

3. Nothwithstanding point 2, the OP has paid the price for his crime, so if the criminal justice system thinks he's paid his debt to society off, then I am not disagreeing.

This is really interesting stuff, and you never hear about it so I hope he keeps posting stories.

[Scully]

There are bars up in Issan "full" of illegal Laos girls working in bars,my mate who is a self confessed addicted monger says they only recieve a small amount and the bar gets the rest. Surely a full government clamp down and the already overcrowded detention centers would be unworkable.

Thanks for sharing a story that most of us will hopefully never experience.

[apetley]

I liked the story, forget the ramblings of the overly judgemental 'hang'em high' brigade.

I liked the story also, and want to know more. As for the "hang 'em high" brigade...you get empathy in the "character building years" of your youth, or not...

How do you know he is a youth? And driving drunk, causing an accident builds your character?

No but learning from the mistakes one makes during ones life certainly does.

[Star Dust]

The author got himself into the situation of what this very text is about, due to the fact that he lacks a full complement of brain cells,
but that’s OK with him. Please warn people about the consequences if they get caught on an Overstayed Visa, or <Snip!> things up like the
author did.Thank you.

The attaché from the Austrian Embassy was a 27 year old, very shy, good looking woman. I met her in the visiting area downstairs. We
introduced ourselves, sat and talked. I won’t reveal her real name. so let’s just call her “Lisa”. She seemed very uncomfortable being inside of IDC.

Lisa: How is your health?

Me: (laughing) Ok, still standing.

[She got a notebook and a pen out of her handbag]

Lisa: Tell me what happened?

Me: What do you mean?

Lisa: Why, and where were you in prison? How long?

[so I gave her the Info, that I caused an accident, did my 223 days in prison, that my Visa ran out while in prison, that I was re-arrested
in front of the prison, that I spend the last three month in various police stations throughout the country, and that I have been waiting for my Embassy to contact me ever since I got arrested. She wrote it all down.]

Me: So what now?

Lisa: Do you have money? Me: Yes.

Lisa: Where? In Austria? In Thailand? You know that we can’t get it out of your bank
account for you. And we won’t advance it, even if you can proof that you have
it. Do you understand?

Me: Yes.

Lisa: So? Where is your money?

Me: (leaning over, whispering in her ear) I got 60.000 Baht in my underwear, right here [actually I remember that I wanted to say next to my balls, and I wish I had]. Should I give you the money right now? Lisa: (looking disgusted) No, not here. How did you get the money in cash pass the police? Me: I didn’t. My wife smuggled it in,
in her Bra during a visit in the Kho Samui police station. It has been hidden in my underwear ever since.

Lisa: Ok. First I need to check with Immigration about your deportation, additional fines, and blacklist.
Me: May I ask how long you have been working in Thailand?

Lisa: 2 years.

Me: Do you speak Thai?

Lisa: No.

Me: Look, Lisa. I’ve been staying with the Immigration for about 3 month. The fine for my Overstay I have paid to the court on Kho Samui 3 month ago. All I need is a flight ticket, and since I can’t just walk down the road to the next travel agent to purchase one, I need your assistance. Furthermore I will give you an additional 800 Baht, which you will give to the police to bring me to the airport. There will be NO additional
fines. Just the ticket, and the 800 for the “airport service escort”.

Lisa: Ok, what price class would you like your ticket to be?

Me: The cheapest option, please.

Lisa: I will talk to the Immigration, and
you will hear from me.
Me: Ok, thank you.

Lisa: Is there anything else you need?

Me: Vitamin Tablets, please.

So, my honorably Embassy had no idea why and where I was in prison. My honorably Embassy had no IDEA about deportation processes. They only thing they do is contact your family, if you have any, or come to collect the cash, and only cash for your flight ticket. If you were able to contact anyone to transfer money directly to your Embassy on your behalf, you could consider yourself lucky. I never saw Lisa again. A week later a Thai guy, who worked for my Embassy, showed up and collected 23.000 Baht for a one-way ticket to Vienna, and 800 Baht for the “airport taxi escort”, and he told me that my flight was to depart in 9 days. He couldn’t speak German, nor English. While the Thai guy counted the money I thought to myself, if I should tell him where that money in his hands had been during the last 3 month, or if he would wash his hands before
his next meal. I did not tell him. I asked for a recite, but no recite was given to me. I never received any Vitamin Tablets.

There is a volunteer working in IDC. His name is COSMO, and he is African American. God bless COSMO. He has been a prisoner in Thailand and one in IDC. He dedicates his life to people who haven’t got the means anymore to help themselves getting out of IDC, or people who were abandoned by their own Embassies. He’s the man to ask for help if you want to help someone stuck in IDC. He helped me sending the money I had left, by bank transfer, to my wife, and kids. He said to me that I was the first prisoner he ever heard of sending money out of IDC, instead of waiting to receive some.

I was brought back to room 7 and waited for my departure. My flight was leaving on the 27^th of April, 2012 at midnight. 6
hours prior to my departure I was taken out of room 7, was given back my belongings, and was put in a smaller cell downstairs in the court yard. There were 4 of these cells. I showered, shaved, put on my only Jean, Shirt, and shoes, enjoyed the fresh air, and danced (it’s a tradition in IDC to dance on the day of departure), since there was a TV with music. 3 hours prior to my departure I was taken out of that cell and my fingerprints, and headshot were taken again. I was allowed to keep my IDC ID Card., which I have kept, to this day, as a reminder. There I was, almost a free man again. An hour to midnight I was handcuffed to a Columbian guy, and we were driven to Suvanarbhumi Airport by an Immigration Officer. We asked the driver to open the radio, and it played “One Night in Bangkok- by Murray Head”. The Columbian and I broke out in laughter,
and sang along, the radio on full volume, with the driver nodding his head forth and back while we sang along.

On the airport we were escorted through all checkpoints without anyone stopping us. We had no luggage to declare. Just Passport, and cash. I was given a normal exit stamp, while the Columbian was Blacklisted. I couldn’t help but grin at all the tourists staring at us.

I arrived in Vienna homeless, unemployed, broke, weighing 56 kilos. The Caritas took me in, finding me a place to sleep, and a job.

It took me 8 month to save more than enough money to return back home to my house in the Eesan, where my wife, son, and
daughter were still waiting for my return. It has been more than 1 ½ years since my accident. I couldn’t help it, but cry when I saw them.

I was 32 when I went to prison. I arrived in the Eesan in January 2013. I'm 34 now. Some lessons must be learned the hard way. I made plenty of mistakes, and took plenty of wrong turns in my life. The lessons I learned out of my mistakes made me the man I'm today. Making mistakes in life are a neccessity, otherwise you would never gain any experience. I'm not saying that drunk driving is a neccessity, and anyone who read my story understands that drunk driving is a fatal mistake, with even more fatal consequences. Especially here in Thailand. I can't say I've stopped drinking. I'm still occasionally drinking alcohol if there is a good reason for it. But I'm "HELL NO" driving even a tricycle after having any alcoholic beverage to drink.

If anyone tells you that: "Yeah, but many people drive drunk in Thailand, even the Thais, just pay a fine and drive home", then tell them my story.

If you injure anyone while driving under the influence the sentence could be anywhere between 6 month, or 3 years in prison. If you kill anyone while driving under the influence the sentence is 5 years in prison. If you got a lot of money, you might get a chance to pay yourself out of it.

If westerners are on OVERSTAY then this is what they should do, to avoid big trouble, if they do not have too much money.

1.) If you overstay, overstay at least for more than 100 days. Avoid getting checked by police.

2.) If you can't afford 20.000 Baht for the Immigration at the airport, then don't worry. If you can, get a ticked and leave.

3.) Make sure your Passport is still valid. If not, contact your Embassy FIRST, and order an Emergency Passport. It's faster than ordering a 10 year Passport. It's valid for 1 month. Don't worry. The Embassies won't contact the Immigration.

4.) Buy a flight ticket to the Capitol City of your homecountry. One-Way Ticket. Not to far in advance. About a week should do.

5.) Give yourself up.DO NOT go to the Immigration, go to a normal police station in BANGKOK and tell them you're overstayed your Visa. Do so in the morning. You will get arrested. Make sure you bring all belongings you wanna take with you, about 5000 Baht, food, and water. Tell the police you want to go to court to pay for your crime. The next morning the police will bring you to court, where you will pay a fine between 1000-5000 Baht depending on the lenght of your overstay. More then 10 years is 5000 THB. You will get a recite. The Immigration will be contacted and you will be deported. You will stay under arrest until you depart.

Keep your head up, even when the road is long, NEVER give up.

Until now I only posted about my deportation. I know that many of you want to know more about why exactly I was in prison, and what is

going on, on the inside. But that’s another story.

Edited March 4, 2013 by metisdead
: Profanity

[Bernard Manning]

Bloke in prison shouts "Oy guard Im xxxxxxx freezing in here!"

Guard shouts back "Hang on I`ll stick another bar on!"

[metisdead]

Posts have been edited to remove profanities:

3) Not to post in a manner that is vulgar, obscene or profane.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

[Star Dust]

Posts have been edited to remove profanities:

3) Not to post in a manner that is vulgar, obscene or profane.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

sorry about that...

[Star Dust]

Check out this link:

http://www.allsiam.net/thai-immigration-jail-in-bangkok-downtown.html

[Star Dust]

And here comes one more:

http://www.roadjunky.com/article/1233/immigration-jail-in-bangkok-thailand

[Star Dust]

There are so many, I could keep posting all day long for a month, and wouldn't be able to cover it all.

IDC is Hell on Earth:

[Swiss1960]

Nice reading with one load of exaggerations, just two things (purely math by the way...):

15x4 cell with 134 inmates leaves a square per inmate of 66cm side length... that’s about the width of your shoulders... and that does not include the separate room, the water tank and the toilets the OP talks about... so basically just impossible that anybody ever lays down or walk around too much, as those 134 inmates will be squeezed together like in a cramped rock concert...

And then assuming the cell is 4m high (without window, only one door that opens from time to time...), so has minimal influx of fresh air... that gives approximately 240 cubic meter of air. Air has approx 21% oxygen and a human in a (airtight) room will breath approx 1m3 of air per 4 hours until the CO2 saturation will be too high to stay conscious... so calculating that, it would take approx 8 hours (240m3 / 134 = 2m3 = 2x4h) and all inmates would be unconscious (not taking into account that the CO2 settles towards the floor and thus, the time remaining is lower).

[MRTELLYOUSTRAIGHT]

Nice reading with one load of exaggerations, just two things (purely math by the way...):

15x4 cell with 134 inmates leaves a square per inmate of 66cm side length... that’s about the width of your shoulders... and that does not include the separate room, the water tank and the toilets the OP talks about... so basically just impossible that anybody ever lays down or walk around too much, as those 134 inmates will be squeezed together like in a cramped rock concert...

And then assuming the cell is 4m high (without window, only one door that opens from time to time...), so has minimal influx of fresh air... that gives approximately 240 cubic meter of air. Air has approx 21% oxygen and a human in a (airtight) room will breath approx 1m3 of air per 4 hours until the CO2 saturation will be too high to stay conscious... so calculating that, it would take approx 8 hours (240m3 / 134 = 2m3 = 2x4h) and all inmates would be unconscious (not taking into account that the CO2 settles towards the floor and thus, the time remaining is lower).

Not only are your calculations boring, they, like your cheese, have lots of holes in.

[Swiss1960]

Nice reading with one load of exaggerations, just two things (purely math by the way...):

15x4 cell with 134 inmates leaves a square per inmate of 66cm side length... that’s about the width of your shoulders... and that does not include the separate room, the water tank and the toilets the OP talks about... so basically just impossible that anybody ever lays down or walk around too much, as those 134 inmates will be squeezed together like in a cramped rock concert...

And then assuming the cell is 4m high (without window, only one door that opens from time to time...), so has minimal influx of fresh air... that gives approximately 240 cubic meter of air. Air has approx 21% oxygen and a human in a (airtight) room will breath approx 1m3 of air per 4 hours until the CO2 saturation will be too high to stay conscious... so calculating that, it would take approx 8 hours (240m3 / 134 = 2m3 = 2x4h) and all inmates would be unconscious (not taking into account that the CO2 settles towards the floor and thus, the time remaining is lower).

Not only are your calculations boring, they, like your cheese, have lots of holes in.

The overwhelming majority of the cheese does NOT have holes in it

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Nice reading with one load of exaggerations, just two things (purely math by the way...):

15x4 cell with 134 inmates leaves a square per inmate of 66cm side length... that’s about the width of your shoulders... and that does not include the separate room, the water tank and the toilets the OP talks about... so basically just impossible that anybody ever lays down or walk around too much, as those 134 inmates will be squeezed together like in a cramped rock concert...

And then assuming the cell is 4m high (without window, only one door that opens from time to time...), so has minimal influx of fresh air... that gives approximately 240 cubic meter of air. Air has approx 21% oxygen and a human in a (airtight) room will breath approx 1m3 of air per 4 hours until the CO2 saturation will be too high to stay conscious... so calculating that, it would take approx 8 hours (240m3 / 134 = 2m3 = 2x4h) and all inmates would be unconscious (not taking into account that the CO2 settles towards the floor and thus, the time remaining is lower).

Not only are your calculations boring, they, like your cheese, have lots of holes in.

The overwhelming majority of the cheese does NOT have holes in it

I like critical thinking and investigation like this. Perhaps OP just had size wrong in his mind. I doubt the rooms are ISO specs.

As for air? maybe vents?

Naturally given the history of the internet and humanity it's a possible fabricated or highly embellished story.

Why not let people poke at it for accuracy? and as that would help it's credibility.

It's a great read because it's well expressed and of course it could await anyone living in Thailand for simply getting in a jam or having bad luck.

Fascinating and humbling stuff.

[MegaRanter]

The Guy the OP mentioned that helps people in IDC with money transfer and do other important stuff is a friend of mine, his name is Cosmos, and he is originally from Ghana. He works with a catholic priest that sees to welfare of detainees. He also goes out of his way to do other things asked of him.

I have visited people in IDC once or twice, its not one of best activities in BKK. Prison visits are more organised.

[Star Dust]

The Guy the OP mentioned that helps people in IDC with money transfer and do other important stuff is a friend of mine, his name is Cosmos, and he is originally from Ghana. He works with a catholic priest that sees to welfare of detainees. He also goes out of his way to do other things asked of him.

I have visited people in IDC once or twice, its not one of best activities in BKK. Prison visits are more organised.

Thank you. Say hello for me when you see him.He probably won't remember me of course, but that's ok.

[wooloomooloo]

Star Dust - have you considered writing a book about this experience?

I would ask if I could be your agent, but wouldn't have a clue where to start.

Edited March 4, 2013 by wooloomooloo

[chris1dna]

Star Dust - have you considered writing a book about this experience?I would ask if I could be your agent, but wouldn't have a clue where to start.

Not a bad idea. Lots of Bangkok Hilton books but no IDC ones that I've seen.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[jackr]

I can't say I've stopped drinking. I'm still occasionally drinking alcohol if there is a good reason for it. But I'm "HELL NO" driving even a tricycle after having any alcoholic beverage to drink.

If anyone tells you that: "Yeah, but many people drive drunk in Thailand, even the Thais, just pay a fine and drive home", then tell them my story.

If you injure anyone while driving under the influence the sentence could be anywhere between 6 month, or 3 years in prison. If you kill anyone while driving under the influence the sentence is 5 years in prison. If you got a lot of money, you might get a chance to pay yourself out of it.

I don't blame you, though it was likely the punching of the cop that was the real kicker.

All the best.

[maprao]

Thank you for sharing.

This is scary stuff

What about us who decide to stay in Thailand and get old. Can someone do the 90 day reporting for us.It is easy to fall foul of immigration.

I am looking at establishing a base back at home again having previously severed all links before. This brought home to me that we are really not welcome as permanent guest in their country.

[LuukKoeyKorat]

Fascinating and sobering reading. Well done on pulling through, all the best in the future.

[Star Dust]

Star Dust - have you considered writing a book about this experience?

I would ask if I could be your agent, but wouldn't have a clue where to start.

I need a job anyways sometime soon. I thought about writing a book about it, too. Especially deportation. But in order to add "enough" content to it, it should contain information about court laws, prisons, the pest way to "stay well" in prison if sentenced, and so on.

It's about time that the average tourist gets a chance to know the truth. More importantly I have asked myself how long the Thai

Government intends to keep running places like IDC in the future.

Well, first my agent would need to find someone who would approve publish such a book.

What do you think would be a suitable title for it?

Edited March 5, 2013 by metisdead
: Reply repaired.