Tourist police, charity rescue German beggar

[Lite Beer]

Tourist police, charity rescue German beggar
The Sunday Nation

BANGKOK: -- The tourism police and a German charity have come to the aid of a German man with excessively swollen legs, found begging near Khao San Road in Bangkok, after his photos were distributed and shared on social media.

Chumphol Thiangtham, chairman of the Deutscher Hilfsverein Thailand eV, said yesterday that Benjamin Holse had been put up at a guesthouse following coordination between his organisation and officials from the German Embassy. The man will be taken to the embassy on Monday to be given a new passport after further verification of his identity.

Chumphol said the German organisation officials had earlier approached Holse and offered help but he had turned it down. Tourism police, after learning about Holse from social media, stepped in and contacted Chumphol again for help, he added.

He said Holse had arrived in Thailand on September 2 by a Chinese Eastern Airlines flight on a one-way ticket. A tourism policeman, Pol Lieutenant Piyaphong Bukhunthos, said police first contacted Holse on Wednesday and the German had said his passport, wallet and other documents had been stolen.

A police Facebook page later quoted Holse as saying that the excessive swelling on his legs was a congenital symptom and his condition was neither elephantiasis nor painful.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Tourist-police-charity-rescue-German-beggar-30243746.html

-- The Nation 2014-09-21

[englishoak]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

[AYJAYDEE]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

[ukrules]

He said Holse had arrived in Thailand on September 2 by a Chinese Eastern Airlines flight on a one-way ticket.

Less than three weeks in Thailand and he's already reduced to begging on the streets.

How did this happen ?

[Seastallion]

I thought a tourist needed a return ticket?Why did he refuse help the first time it was offered?

[pinkpanther99]

This guy came to Thailand on a one way ticket and with no financial means of supporting himself.

Well done to the tourist police for helping him but what was he doing in the country in the first place?

[Crazy chef 1]

"fear and loathing Las Vegas Thailand"?

[englishoak]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

We dont have tourist police we dont need them, we just have on the whole effective and professional police.

Edited September 21, 2014 by englishoak

[AYJAYDEE]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

We dont have tourist police we dont need them, we just have on the whole effective and professional police.

So the thai tourist police exist because it has been decided that the regular police are ineffective and unprofessional when it comes to tourists and so the government decided that they should create another branch of police to make sure tourists were protected? My my, I'll bet that was embarrassing.

[simon43]

A police Facebook page later quoted Holse as saying that the excessive swelling on his legs was a congenital symptom and his condition was neither elephantiasis nor painful.

Some Khmer/Myanmar beggars will be quite jealous of him - having an 'ugly' but painless disability.

Beats having to cut your own leg off.....

Edited September 21, 2014 by simon43

[englishoak]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

We dont have tourist police we dont need them, we just have on the whole effective and professional police.

So the thai tourist police exist because it has been decided that the regular police are ineffective and unprofessional when it comes to tourists and so the government decided that they should create another branch of police to make sure tourists were protected? My my, I'll bet that was embarrassing.

Well actually the Thai tourist police are only there for petty crime reports and regular problems for tourists, all pretty minor. They arnt there to protect so much as aid and advise, communicate etc. There are expat members here who volunteer as tourist police. Takes the daily pressure and headache off the local police for minor problems and scuffles, unpaid bar bill rows girls robbing wallets etc etc within tourist areas where they operate. They do however play an important role and help curb crime just by being out, visible and having an added police presence on the street.

They are not however a serious crime response unit.

Edited September 21, 2014 by englishoak

[AYJAYDEE]

Well actually the Thai tourist police are only there for petty crime reports and regular problems for tourists, all pretty minor. They arnt there to protect so much as aid and advise, communicate etc. There are expat members here who volunteer as tourist police. Takes the daily pressure and headache off the local police for minor problems and scuffles, unpaid bar bill rows girls robbing wallets etc etc within tourist areas where they operate.

They are not a serious crime response unit.

They are not

then i dont think this is all that important " what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations."

[englishoak]

Well actually the Thai tourist police are only there for petty crime reports and regular problems for tourists, all pretty minor. They arnt there to protect so much as aid and advise, communicate etc. There are expat members here who volunteer as tourist police. Takes the daily pressure and headache off the local police for minor problems and scuffles, unpaid bar bill rows girls robbing wallets etc etc within tourist areas where they operate.

They are not a serious crime response unit.

They are not

then i dont think this is all that important " what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations."

Best not have any problems where there isnt any then, if you do good luck trying to find RTP that can understand you let alone make a proper report or care much about your problem if a tourist unless you can speak Thai.

My sentence there is important because people may well assume there are TP in most or all tourist destinations... there arnt

Edited September 21, 2014 by englishoak

[BSJ]

I don't get how he was allowed into the country without a return ticket. And if his passport was stolen how come he didn't go to the police???

Either he is a simpleton or he is doing it for a dare.

[AYJAYDEE]

Well actually the Thai tourist police are only there for petty crime reports and regular problems for tourists, all pretty minor. They arnt there to protect so much as aid and advise, communicate etc. There are expat members here who volunteer as tourist police. Takes the daily pressure and headache off the local police for minor problems and scuffles, unpaid bar bill rows girls robbing wallets etc etc within tourist areas where they operate.

They are not a serious crime response unit.

They are not

then i dont think this is all that important " what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations."

Best not have any problems where there isnt any then, if you do good luck trying to find RTP that can understand you let alone make a proper report or care much about your problem if a tourist unless you can speak Thai.

My sentence there is important because people may well assume there are TP in most or all tourist destinations... there arnt

i have used the tourist police and found them to be extremely helpful. and i had no trouble finding out where to contact them. for those less able, i hope they read your post!!

[kriswillems]

He probably found out that being a beggar in Thailand works much better than being a beggar in Germany. I think he made a personal choice. He probably doesn't want to go back and chances are high he'll be back.

If he really wanted help he would have accepted it the first time it was offered to him.

He could also have gone to the embassy himself.

Also, if his passport and money was stolen, he could asked the embassy to contact his family and they could have sent money to him via the embassy.

And he came on a one-way ticket ....

Edited September 21, 2014 by kriswillems

[ukrules]

He probably found out that being a beggar in Thailand works much better than being a beggar in Germany. I think he made a personal choice. He probably doesn't want to go back and chances are high he'll be back.

If he really wanted help he would have accepted it the first time it was offered to him.

He could also have gone to the embassy himself.

Also, if his passport and money was stolen, he could asked the embassy to contact his family and they could have sent money to him via the embassy.

And he came on a one-way ticket ....

Well he might just end up in the IDC, the police have him now, if he's on overstay it's straight to prison if he doesn't have the money to pay his fine.

[englishoak]

Well actually the Thai tourist police are only there for petty crime reports and regular problems for tourists, all pretty minor. They arnt there to protect so much as aid and advise, communicate etc. There are expat members here who volunteer as tourist police. Takes the daily pressure and headache off the local police for minor problems and scuffles, unpaid bar bill rows girls robbing wallets etc etc within tourist areas where they operate.

They are not a serious crime response unit.

They are not

then i dont think this is all that important " what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations."

Best not have any problems where there isnt any then, if you do good luck trying to find RTP that can understand you let alone make a proper report or care much about your problem if a tourist unless you can speak Thai.

My sentence there is important because people may well assume there are TP in most or all tourist destinations... there arnt

i have used the tourist police and found them to be extremely helpful. and i had no trouble finding out where to contact them. for those less able, i hope they read your post!!

im glad you had them to call on, as i said they play an important role and put more police presence on the ground that isnt RTP criminals arnt so sure they can just pay them off and hopefully think twice .

Edited September 21, 2014 by englishoak

[GuyL]

Where are the tourism police and foreign charities when I have an excessively swollen 'leg' in the Land of Smiles?!! When this happens to me, I always have to resort to local young women's help, otherwise I am certain that this situation would not be temporary!

[hgma]

Refused help from the embassy?

Mentally ill.

Re-locate to country of origin.asap

[Mackie]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

We dont have tourist police we dont need them, we just have on the whole effective and professional police.

I've got to tell you, your statement is abject nonsense. It's obvious that you left the country long time ago. Perhaps you should wake up and smell the coffee. Anyway bashing Thais for trying to do something good is beyond ridiculous.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/01/uk-police-failing-record-20-percent-crime-report

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9415793/Police-fail-to-solve-three-in-four-crimes.html

http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs26.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27581533

Edited September 21, 2014 by Mackie

[Old Croc]

This guy appears to be suffering from lymphedema. He should be getting treatment in his home country, although it is a very difficult condition to cure.

[ballpoint]

Although, thankfully, it's never happened to me, my first reaction upon getting my passport, wallet and other documentation stolen would not be to sit on a street begging. It also highlights how ill advised it is to do what I've seen many travelers do; keeping their passport, wallet etc in one location, usually one of those belt style bags. Yes, you may feel secure knowing all that you need is up against your hip, but one slash of a knife and it's all gone.

Another point is, in these days of heightened airport security and terror alerts, anyone failing to report a stolen, or lost, passport as soon as possible, should be charged with aiding terrorism, human trafficking, and/or extreme stupidity. Yes, it's about time extreme stupidity was recognised as a crime.

[englishoak]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

i dont believe the british government advertises the locations of their tourist police either

We dont have tourist police we dont need them, we just have on the whole effective and professional police.

I've got to tell you, your statement is abject nonsense. It's obvious that you left the country long time ago. Perhaps you should wake up and smell the coffee. Anyway bashing Thais for trying to do something good is beyond ridiculous.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/01/uk-police-failing-record-20-percent-crime-report

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9415793/Police-fail-to-solve-three-in-four-crimes.html

http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs26.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27581533

LOL rubbish on the whole the UK police are outstanding and world class, sorry but the RTP arnt even in the same league of UK community police assistants, before they have had training

And i was anything but bashing I actually think they are a great thing it just needs more

Edited September 21, 2014 by englishoak

[orientalsf]

Great bit of timing, lets hear it for the tourist police, everyone can feel safe now......but seriously good job TP for helping out that guy nice one... what they dont tell you is there isnt any TP in a lot of tourist locations.

Could be they are all volunteer's, have to pay for their uniforms and just don't have the resources to cover all tourist locations.

[NongKhaiKid]

I thought a tourist needed a return ticket?Why did he refuse help the first time it was offered?

It used to be normal practice and probably still is that airlines would not allow a passenger on a one way ticket to board without an appropriate visa.

If a passenger on a one way ticket was carried and then denied entry on arrival the airline was fined and had to return the passenger to the point of embarcation at their own expense.

[Bluespunk]

This guy came to Thailand on a one way ticket and with no financial means of supporting himself.

Well done to the tourist police for helping him but what was he doing in the country in the first place?

Begging apparently.

[BigBadGeordie]

Yes, it's about time extreme stupidity was recognised as a crime.

TAT would never support such a proposal as tourist numbers would fall a massive amount. Also the jails worldwide would be jam packed.

But on the up side, TV would be a lot more interesting, despite a 50% +++ drop in the number of posts, lol.

[JOC]

Only on Thaivisa!!

After a couple of posts a thread about a clearly mentally ill tourist, is turned into yet another Thaibashing venture!!

Give it a break guys, take a walk and enjoy all the good stuff, this country has to offer!

[AYJAYDEE]

Only on Thaivisa!!

After a couple of posts a thread about a clearly mentally ill tourist, is turned into yet another Thaibashing venture!!

Give it a break guys, take a walk and enjoy all the good stuff, this country has to offer!

that is all thailand has to offer some of these guys. they turn every post into an anti-thailand diatribe.