Tourist police, charity rescue German beggar

[Sayonarax]

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

Bet ya $50 ya cant find the Australian Tourist police, you wanna know why? Cause they don't exist.. neither does the UK.

[CMNightRider]

Good for the "Tourist Police." I'm surprised at the amount of haters who think the "Thai Tourist Police" program is stupid or should be an embarrassment to the regular Thai Police. I think it is an outstanding program, and thanks to the people who volunteer as Tourist Police.

[FangFerang]

englishoak wrote:

"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. "

There you go, making sense again -- you have no place on TVF. However, if you had somehow twisted this story into a Thaksin rant or pro-coup cool commentary, that would be welcome and invite all those likes we can cash in at BigC for free rice!

[djayz]

Without money it's very easy to end up on the street. I've been very close to it once myself.

We don't this guy's past or why he didn't contact his embassy for help (inexperienced traveler maybe?) or maybe he was happier here in Thailand than back in Deutschland.

Anyways, I hope he gets the help he needs/wants.

[delgarcon]

I would imagine that this guy is alienated in his own country because of his ailment and feels that he fits better in Thailand, as it's full of crocks, cripples and down and outs that wouldn't see him as a blot on the landscape.

What he probably needs is someone to help restore his pride and show him that this is not the way to cope with his disability.

[Triplebank999]

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.

He's been here 19 days, not much chance of IDC for overstaying.

[Triplebank999]

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.

Tourist Police, as referred to in this report, are a professional division of RTP, they are Thais and are not volunteers.

RTP Volunteers are foreign volunteers who assist the Thai officers.

[khm2412]

Good luck to the guy.

[Triplebank999]

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.

You need to understand there is a distinction between the RTP Tourist Police division referred to in this OP and foreign volunteers.

Members of the Tourist Police division are Thai officers assigned to their division to assist tourists in addition to normal police duties because of skills such as better English, they are never expats. They are a serious crime response unit.

The foreign volunteers in places such as Pattaya, for example, are expats whose duties are as you describe in your post.

[NeverSure]

Back on topic - I do feel bad for this guy and hope he gets the necessary help.

I must say that I've seen expats in Patts with fatter legs than that and a butt and gut to go with them.

[Bluespunk]

I would imagine that this guy is alienated in his own country because of his ailment and feels that he fits better in Thailand, as it's full of crocks, cripples and down and outs that wouldn't see him as a blot on the landscape.

What he probably needs is someone to help restore his pride and show him that this is not the way to cope with his disability.

"Crocks, cripples and down and outs"? "Blot on the landscape"?

Yep tell him that he's a proud member of those termed in such derogatory terms and I'm sure it'll will boost his pride no end.

[silomplaya]

poor bastard.

[simon43]

Tourist Police, as referred to in this report, are a professional division of RTP, they are Thais and are not volunteers.

RTP Volunteers are foreign volunteers who assist the Thai officers.

There are Tourist Police foreign volunteers who are under the responsibility of the Tourist Police, not the RTP.

There are Tourist Police Thai volunteers who are under the responsibility of the Tourist Police, not the RTP.

In fact, most police officers who work for the Thai Tourist Police are volunteers, whether it be Thai or non-Thai....

[NomadJoe]

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

Which tourist location did you think didn't have them? Phuket? Pattaya? Chaing Mai? Koh Samui? Bangkok?

[NomadJoe]

Tourist Police, as referred to in this report, are a professional division of RTP, they are Thais and are not volunteers.

RTP Volunteers are foreign volunteers who assist the Thai officers.

There are Tourist Police foreign volunteers who are under the responsibility of the Tourist Police, not the RTP.

There are Tourist Police Thai volunteers who are under the responsibility of the Tourist Police, not the RTP.

In fact, most police officers who work for the Thai Tourist Police are volunteers, whether it be Thai or non-Thai....

There are also foreign and Thai nationality police volunteers under the responsibility of regular Thai police.

I am not sure I understand the line in bold Simon. Firstly, there are no "non-Thai" police officers in Thailand. (Police officer = sworn full time officers with powers off arrest)

If you mean to say that there are more tourist police volunteers, whether Thai or foriegn, than full time, paid, sworn Thai tourist police officers with full time powers of arrest, then yes that may be true. I would say the same goes for volunteers for the regular Thai police, whether Thai or foreign. Volunteers probably out number the sworn, full time paid police officers. But police volunteers should not be called "police officers", because they aren't. They are police volunteers with powers of arrest only when working directly alongside a full time paid, sworn, RTP officer.

[simon43]

But police volunteers should not be called "police officers", because they aren't.

Correct, but even the salaried Thai "police officers" of the Thai Tourist Police have no powers of arrest (AFAIK). A formal arrest, if not a citizen's arrest, would need to be performed by an RTP officer.

Anyway, this is getting completely off-topic, so I better edit the above sentence to:

Correct, but even the salaried Thai "police officers" of the Thai Tourist Police have no powers of arrest (AFAIK) of this German beggar. A formal arrest of him, if not a citizen's arrest, would need to be performed by an RTP officer.

[bkkgooner]

Sounds like he came out here to die or he has a mental illness, have nothing but sympathy for the guy and well done to the people who helped him.

[JoeLing]

British embassy could learn something from their German counterparts. Naa?

[catweazle]

Reminds me of all those dive masters and instructors out there in LOS who have no plan B whatsoever... With so many dive businesses going down the drain in Thailand right now, I fear we'll see more and more of this.

How anyone can make it all the way down to beggar in just 3 weeks is beyond explanation to me. Must be a nutcase... Feel sorry for him though. Great job done by everyone involved helping him out! You're great and very valuable people!

Everyone has the right to fall and be helped up again sometimes. Who knows what pain and hardship this fella was going through...

[seancbk]

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.

I have never been asked to show a return ticket, nor have I ever been asked to show funds.

This guy is a professional beggar. He was probably expecting to make a lot of money from other Western tourists wanting to help him out.

I bet he's pissed off that a bunch of do gooders stepped in and messed up his 'business'

[Lupatria]

The guy would get any necessary treatment, even immediate financial help and all expenses paid by the government for a place to stay in Germany. Why the heck did he come to Thailand to beg on the streets? There is something more to his agenda- in my opinion the guy has something to hide...

[tinhead]

Hopefully China Eastern will now accept responsibility for allowing him to travel sans return ticket and send him back, their cost.

That is, unless he actually had a proper visa but given current situ, I find it hard to believe.

[tony5150]

I think he was here to get a deal going with gobstopper and slugboy. Combine forces and rake up the baht.

[Kerryd]

I wonder if the various "western" embassies are getting fed up with the number of their countrymen that get picked up in the streets with almost the exact same story every time. "Oh, my wallet/passport/plane tickets were stolen weeks ago and I never bothered to report it". Or the ever popular "A Thai girl tricked me out of my wallet/passport/plane ticket/life savings months ago and I never bothered to report it."

Usually followed by the classic "I don't have any money for a plane ticket back to my home country, and don't have any family or friends who can send me money" line.

Seriously. These stories are mostly bull. If you get robbed/tricked/swindled out of your (passport/wallet/plane ticket) you go to the police immediately, followed by a trip to your local embassy. Then maybe there's a chance that the police will be able to recover your stuff. Your embassy can cancel your passport and issue emergency travel documents and help contact friends/family back home if need be.

But of course, if you've cashed in your return air ticket, sold/pawned your passport and basically boozed and whored your way into being homeless and begging on the streets, you probably aren't eager for everyone to learn that, nor will you gain any sympathy for your plight. Now basically you're up "that" creek and your only hope is the same pity story that others before you have used over and over and over and over again.

The few I've met over the years that were pretty much at that point had burned so many bridges back home (and in Thailand) that nobody in the world was going to lend them a penny any more. One UK guy finally told his family that his liver was failing so that they would send him plane fare and he could get home and use the NHS (or whatever you Brits call your healthcare service). A year later I found out he'd managed to scrape enough money together to fly back to Thailand and continue where he'd left off.

Another guy would go home when the money ran out, get on Welfare (the "dole"), get a job for a couple weeks, get a bank loan and credit card, then max out everything and skip the country. He told me that when he ran out of money he'd hit the family up for plane fare, go home, declare bankruptcy and then do it all over again. Yet another guy would borrow money from one friend, then later borrow even more from another and use part of that to pay back the first guy. Then borrow even more from someone else and use part of that to pay the second guy back. Eventually they wised up to it (especially as many of them were all in the same social group). When the money well dried up the guy left (either to a new place or a different set of friends).

Another guy (I used to work with actually) blew through all his money, got another short contract, blew through all that money and ended up moving to a village in Isaan where he could live off his pension and whatever money his elderly mother can send him from her old age pensions. Without that he'd probably have ended up broke and homeless as well.

All of them are one short binge away from finding themselves begging on the street and no doubt if the police nab them, they'll all come up with a similar story.

I'd bet that if the police were to do a crack down and raid a bunch of the pawn shops in the touristy areas (Phuket/Pattaya/Bangkok) they'd probably find all sorts of "lost/stolen" passports. Similarly, if they check with the airlines they'd find that quite a few of those "lost/stolen" return tickets had in fact been cancelled/chased in by the same person that originally purchased them. I bet a lot of credit cards were miraculously maxed out through cash advances just before being "lost/stolen" as well.

I guess for a lot of people, being broke, homeless and begging on the streets of sunny, warm Thailand beats being in the same situation back in cold, wet, miserable (wherever).

[Baerboxer]

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

And the British government don't have 90 day reporting or Immigration police either. So what?

Police forces all over the world are structured differently. In America Sheriffs are elected, how quaint. France, Italy and Spain all have an additional para military police force.

Some of the less savory aspects of the RTP Tourist Police are well documented.

[Suradit69]

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 ?

Reduced? Sounds like he's a victim in search of charity from some source. If his medical condition is congenital, it didn't suddenly appear once in Thailand.

Did he report the stolen passport to police when it happened or when it was a convenient excuse. Did he approach the embassy? Why did he first turn down offers of help.

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

Glad he's found some help and I'm sorry for his handicapping situation, but maybe he needs to be a bit more pro-actively defensive to keep from always relying on the kindness of others. Swollen legs is one thing. Absence of planning is another. Sounds as though he wanted to end his travels in Thailand with no well defined next step.

[MobileContent]

The guy would get any necessary treatment, even immediate financial help and all expenses paid by the government for a place to stay in Germany. Why the heck did he come to Thailand to beg on the streets? There is something more to his agenda- in my opinion the guy has something to hide...

Maybe he wants to hide his big foot?

[MobileContent]

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.

Tourist Police, as referred to in this report, are a professional division of RTP, they are Thais and are not volunteers.

RTP Volunteers are foreign volunteers who assist the Thai officers.

Well said - Thanks god no foreigners in the Thai Tourist Police. A lot of crooks in the volunteer group of Pattaya and Phuket police too.

[globalmedia8]

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.

i came in last week on a single from uk, no questions asked at immigration at swampy

[delgarcon]

I would imagine that this guy is alienated in his own country because of his ailment and feels that he fits better in Thailand, as it's full of crocks, cripples and down and outs that wouldn't see him as a blot on the landscape.

What he probably needs is someone to help restore his pride and show him that this is not the way to cope with his disability.

"Crocks, cripples and down and outs"? "Blot on the landscape"?

Yep tell him that he's a proud member of those termed in such derogatory terms and I'm sure it'll will boost his pride no end.

and your point is Bluespunk?

He's not a cripple? He's not down and out? He's a proud man? Look up the meaning of the word derogatory. An example of a derogatory remark would be, " you're obviously pretty stupid as you've totally missed my point!2