The Even Hand Of The Law.

[wildorchid]

I am a business owner, and university educated, and I along with other owners and pharmacists was put in jail cell for an hour and a half with drug dealers and a murder, My crime I? I am currently waiting for the sor sor jor (local government bureaucrats) to give me the correct paper for my business, now every month we talk with them, one man says I will come next month, and nothing, then he says agian i will come next month with the same result,,, now yesterday the government from Bangkok came and shut my pharmacy and several others and told me now you go too jail for not having the correct paper and she would not listern to reason as to why I have don't have the paper, my second crime was,,, MY pharmacist sold aloe vera and coconut oil in my pharmacy and they confiscated the two products, The product is a well known brand and many other pharmacy's sell this product also. along with massage, and spa and hotel spa's use this product,

and even the police laugh and say aloe is sold everywhere and coconut oil so they don't even get it!!!

My husband had to bail me out of the local police cell after several hours of making statements and my fingerprints taken, next month I have to go too court.

MY question is? YOU CAN CRASH YOUR CAR INTO A MINIBUS AND KILL 9 PEOPLE AND WALK AWAY BECAUSE YOU HAVE CONECTIONS,

1. BUT IF YOUR LOCAL BUREAUCRAT HAS NOT DONE HIS JOB
2. AND SELLING ALOE AND COCONUT OIL,

Please tell me where is the even hand of the law???

The system is a world wide JOKE!!!

[yourauntbob]

I have come to the conclusion that Thai's do not want or appreciate farang businesses. Doing business here is an uphill battle because instead of seeing it as "people investing money and creating jobs" they see it as "if you weren't here, they would be making that money"

[arthurwait]

Connect the dots ...........

and you may want to find the facts out on the case you refer to not what the media printed.

[monty]

Welcome to Thailand.

The only way to be safe is to operate within the legal framework. As it is pretty much anywhere in the world.

Admittedly it can be darned difficult to be completely legal.

Being seriously persistent and well informed can help a bit!

[Kilgore Trout]

Welcome to Thailand.

The only way to be safe is to operate within the legal framework. As it is pretty much anywhere in the world.

Admittedly it can be darned difficult to be completely legal.

Being seriously persistent and well informed can help a bit!

Difficult, I would say its impossible. Best way to have an advantage is to think ahead, as the Thais just don't do that. If you are not up to code; strive to get there and have a contingency plan if the heat comes close.

[monty]

Not really impossible, but the biggest problem lies in the way the law is written, often open for interpretation.

We see it on a daily basre on how the different immigration offices interpret the laws.

Even then, trying to comply with the laws as good as possible does give you an edge if something goes wrong.

If you are very clearly not in order (lacking licenses for whatever reason) you simply end up in a poor negotiating position.

[TheFishman1]

If you would have paid they would have come to give you your paper work

[rattler]

I have come to the conclusion that Thai's do not want or appreciate farang businesses. Doing business here is an uphill battle because instead of seeing it as "people investing money and creating jobs" they see it as "if you weren't here, they would be making that money"

you forgot " giving crap service at higher fixed price"

[Thereisnoif]

You simply forgot to bribe a few people. Beginner's mistake. Take note .

[GooEng]

is the OP thai or farang? anyone know?

[samran]

I have come to the conclusion that Thai's do not want or appreciate farang businesses. Doing business here is an uphill battle because instead of seeing it as "people investing money and creating jobs" they see it as "if you weren't here, they would be making that money"

um, which bit of "....shut my pharmacy and several others" did you not understand? Unless they is a unique concentration of farang owned pharmacies up where the OP is, it seems like the government people discriminated equally between Thai and foreign here.

I'm also perplexed as to why people think getting a pharmacy license should be an easy thing to do? For my money, it should be one of the most regulated industries about.

[GooEng]

I understood it all quite clearly old boy, just wanted to be absolutely certain before offering any thoughts - she wouldn't be the first female farang married to a Thai male to post about business woes on here....

Sent from my iPad-mini.

[chiangmaikelly]

Isn't the OP a Thai lady?

[CharlieH]

So you continued to own and operate a business illegally and when caught moan about it with your only apparent defence being "others are doing it too?........sorry, but dont think the court is gonna where that anymore than I do.

As a ferang, you have to be right and correct, and be prepared for the unexpected, Thais its a different issue but you chose to operate here so should follow the rules no matter how ridiculous or absurd they may seem, they are what they are.

[GooEng]

Isn't the OP a Thai lady?

that's all i was attempting to clarify - i assumed so, but it wasn't stated in the OP so ....

[geriatrickid]

I have come to the conclusion that Thai's do not want or appreciate farang businesses. Doing business here is an uphill battle because instead of seeing it as "people investing money and creating jobs" they see it as "if you weren't here, they would be making that money"

um, which bit of "....shut my pharmacy and several others" did you not understand? Unless they is a unique concentration of farang owned pharmacies up where the OP is, it seems like the government people discriminated equally between Thai and foreign here.

I'm also perplexed as to why people think getting a pharmacy license should be an easy thing to do? For my money, it should be one of the most regulated industries about.

Correct.

There has been an effort by the FDA to respond to serious allegations in respect to the improper dispensing of regulated products by the pharmacies. Intervention at a retail pharmacy is infrequent and usually comes after complaints or serious allegations. For example, some pharmacies have unlicensed personnel handling regulated products or that sell products classified as a drug, but are unapproved drugs in Thailand.

I am a long time critic of Thailand's medicinal drug distribution system and the lack of enforcement actions. My experience has been that the authorities do not intervene enough. I have no confidence in Thailand's small pharmacies after the Viagra integrity verification I observed. All of the products purchased were obtained without a script and all were counterfeit. Not only were the lot numbers bogus, the product monographs were distinguished by errors.

In respect to the aloe and coconut product referenced, the key question is whether or not the product contained other ingredients and whether the product came under the FDA regulations. If it was an unapproved product, then the authorities had a legal obligation to intervene. Sometimes products sold in Thailand as "natural" products are adulterated with contaminants. I do not know the facts of this specific case, however, I would not be surprised if there was more to the story than just paper work and the selling of an aloe and coconut oil product.

Edited March 20, 2013 by geriatrickid

[wildorchid]

is the OP thai or farang? anyone know?

YES I AM THAI, and I have been working in the pharmacy industry for seveal years and in some of the bigest hospitals in bangkok, so i do know the system, PLEASE read my first post,,,,It is that we are waiting for the local government to do their job, but it is bureaucrats that are NOT doing their jobs even after many requests, that has put me in this situation.

[nevets]

Do you mean to say that the Aloe-Vera growing in my garden is illegal or only if i sell it.

[wildorchid]

Isn't the OP a Thai lady?

yes i'm a thai lady married with farang

[Honkie]

OP . so your husband condones the way you operate your business without the proper paperwork ??

[FunFon]

My perception - the main purpose of laws here is to enable corrupt officials to arbitrarily exert their personal power and extract money.

If you're not willing to go along with the corrupt system you won't be allowed to operate, no matter how closely you try to comply with the letter of the law, they will always find ways to block you, legal or illegal.

A possible exception would be if you have powerful friends more powerful than those trying to stop you, but of course that's corruption even if no money is directly paid for such services, just owing favors.

Best of luck with your efforts to fight the good fight, but don't expect to it to be profitable financially.

[metisdead]

A post using all caps has been removed, turn off the All Caps button when posting.

A troll post has been removed as well.

[JaiLai]

Isn't the OP a Thai lady?

yes i'm a thai lady married with farang

That being the case i would think that you ( being Thai ) and knowing all the ins and outs of how things work here should be the better one to make the choice out of whether or not the 'right' people should be paid to 'speed things up'

Whereas you husband ( farang ) may have the correct morals it does not work here, many before him have failed with this train of thought and many more will follow.

Good luck.

[rattler]

My perception - the main purpose of laws here is to enable corrupt officials to arbitrarily exert their personal power and extract money.

If you're not willing to go along with the corrupt system you won't be allowed to operate, no matter how closely you try to comply with the letter of the law, they will always find ways to block you, legal or illegal.

A possible exception would be if you have powerful friends more powerful than those trying to stop you, but of course that's corruption even if no money is directly paid for such services, just owing favors.

Best of luck with your efforts to fight the good fight, but don't expect to it to be profitable financially.

including violence death intimidation extortion etc etc.

[bermondburi]

OP . so your husband condones the way you operate your business without the proper paperwork ??

read up matey , she said she had been waiting for jo bloggs at the council to do their paperwork

[Beetlejuice]

Why did the OP not check all the formalities and ensure that all the paperwork was in order prior to operating her Pharmacy business in Thailand?

There are obvious good reasons why those dealing and selling pharmaceutical products must be registered with the authorities.

Trying to compare her situation with the tragic case of those who lost their lives in the mini bus disaster is total nonsense. Is she saying that others have committed offences and got off lightly, so why should she need to abide by the laws and be penalised for operating an illegal Pharmacy?

In my opinion it is good that the officials have closed down this Pharmacy business, it proves they are on the ball and keeping controls on who is dealing in the selling of pharmaceutical drugs and products, considering that there are people’s health, safety and well being involved here.

If she a fully qualified pharmacist? What are her qualifications? What sort of business is she in? Does she intend to sell her products in a store, online or privately from home?

I would not purchase drugs, medicines or any pharmaceutical products from an outfit such as the OPs; even they were on offer for free. When I need to take medications or any health products, I want to know who`s dishing them out and be assured that the products are correct and won`t do me harm.

[poanoi]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck,

i think you are un-aware that government officials at all levels are corrupt,

so you have to pay/bribe them to do their job.

The police is now also waiting for a hand-out.

[simple1]

Why did the OP not check all the formalities and ensure that all the paperwork was in order prior to operating her Pharmacy business in Thailand?

There are obvious good reasons why those dealing and selling pharmaceutical products must be registered with the authorities.

Trying to compare her situation with the tragic case of those who lost their lives in the mini bus disaster is total nonsense. Is she saying that others have committed offences and got off lightly, so why should she need to abide by the laws and be penalised for operating an illegal Pharmacy?

In my opinion it is good that the officials have closed down this Pharmacy business, it proves they are on the ball and keeping controls on who is dealing in the selling of pharmaceutical drugs and products, considering that there are people’s health, safety and well being involved here.

If she a fully qualified pharmacist? What are her qualifications? What sort of business is she in? Does she intend to sell her products in a store, online or privately from home?

I would not purchase drugs, medicines or any pharmaceutical products from an outfit such as the OPs; even they were on offer for free. When I need to take medications or any health products, I want to know who`s dishing them out and be assured that the products are correct and won`t do me harm.

OP employs a pharmacist - sounds like the issue was to commence trading without the license being in place. OP it's no consolation but twice had to pay tea money to obtain government documents for my wife and step son visas as I stupidly informed them I needed by a certain date said, cannot, busy blah blah until money offered then magically provided. Thailand allegedly has one of the most corrupt bureaucracies in the world.

http://worldjusticep...ountry/thailand

Edited March 20, 2013 by simple1

[MAJIC]

How awful,Aloe Vera and Coconut Oil are two of the worlds most safest tried and trusted commodoties,and are sold over the counter,without being prescribed,or needing to be licensed.

I suspect there is much more to the OPs problems than has been declared by the Authorities? Assuming the necessary licences for operating a Pharmacy are in order?

[MAJIC]

Isn't the OP a Thai lady?

yes i'm a thai lady married with farang

Just to clarify? has your Pharmacy ever been open for business,or is this a startup business? and do the Authorities know you are married to a Farang? Think about either or both?