Shocker ! ! ! Andrew Drummond Leaving Thailand

[dragonfly94]

You know the Asian saying about messing with someone else's rice bowl... AD has ruffled more than a few feathers over the years...

There seems to be an entire segment of old timers that have had it with Thailand and are moving on... Things were always better in the "old days" to these guys... I wish them well where ever they go, because the entire world has changed in the last 20 years and the "old days" are long gone in a lot of places...

You are of course correct, I have been here 37 years straight and prior to that was stationed here during the Vietnam War. I can't return home to NY or any other city. I have made my bed and here I will die. Sure the place has gone to the dogs but now they're my dogs too. At 67, a widower with two grown children where would a pensioner like me return to the bliss that is America with their whiny women and entitled princesses? No thanks I will take my chances here with my fluent Thai, massages and overpriced wine and cheese.

If it wasn't for my Thai partner I would consider moving away from Thailand after 11 years here. Unfortunately, I find Thais are becoming increasingly pushy and disrespectful, even to old guys like me. I see so much selfishness and bad manners around that it makes me fume. Some of it is also very dangerous, especially inconsiderate driving. I could live in many places around the world, but I'm kinda stuck here, although it's not too bad. It's just that it's getting worse all the time..

Je suis Card!

[dragonfly94]

So has Drummond ever been sentenced and to what in a Thai court? did he jump bail or not, kinda hard to get the real facts

[Konini]

You know the Asian saying about messing with someone else's rice bowl... AD has ruffled more than a few feathers over the years...

There seems to be an entire segment of old timers that have had it with Thailand and are moving on... Things were always better in the "old days" to these guys... I wish them well where ever they go, because the entire world has changed in the last 20 years and the "old days" are long gone in a lot of places...

We left England almost 30 years ago and it has changed beyond recognition. Within the first 10 years, our visits back home told us we wouldn't want to move back, but over the last 20 years is when the really big changes have come. I hope he is able to settle back home or wherever he moves his family to, and wish him all the best for the future - perhaps as an offshore reporter and then perhaps as someone who can set up some kind of anonymous drop-box for people to send material to.

[tonysilly]

One less Farang in Thailand. Take some more with you buddy.

[timewilltell]

Maybe checkout the real reason: http://casewatchasia.blogspot.sg/2015/01/convicted-journalist-andrew-drummond_17.html

The conviction was overturned on appeal and overturned again by the Supreme Court resulting in a fine. The case was brought using Thailands absurd defamation and libel laws as are all the other cases in Koh Samui as far as I am aware. It is a classic Thai tactic to use cases filed in multiple jurisdictions on behalf of dodgy people who have been exposed. It has nothing to do with criminality as a normal rational person would see it. By filing so many cases the defendant is broken financially as he has to hire lawyers to defend each case and they are expensive. The courts seem to accept any case these days on the slimmest of evidence and Thai lawyers are quite adept at hiding many things to create a picture to present to a judge and force bail to be imposed being a further drain on the defendants assets.

It is a dirty disgusting business with dirty disgusting lawyers and a Justice system that is really not up to the deceit and deviousness of Thais and their scumbag lawyers who have no sense of ethics, no morals and no real understanding of the law - I have been through a few lawyers here and do have a good understanding of the principles of law.

Drummond is a good guy, not a particularly brilliant writer but if you can get past the syntax and take in the content then the posts are right on the knuckle. He does investigate and not just repeat. He has become a victim of criminals and a Justice system that is designed to protect the rich and powerful with loopholes designed to enable the rich to destroy the poor and continue their corrupt and criminal activities. He deserves an understanding of what has happened to him. The post linked to above is so deficient in detail and utterly misleading. People should be up in arms at what has been allowed to happen to this guy and I am sorry to say ?I know several other people going through the Justice system who are being equally victimized.

I urge people reading to take time to understand the situation which is nothing like the post linked to above.

[MrWorldwide]

Maybe checkout the real reason: http://casewatchasia.blogspot.sg/2015/01/convicted-journalist-andrew-drummond_17.html

Oh dear this does not look good, never realized he had been convicted. Now he has skipped bail I don't suppose he will be able to come back to Thailand. Lovely kids and probably the right thing to do taking them to the UK anyway, every cloud has a silver lining.

Nothing exemplifies that better than the piece of work who masqueraded as John Gant. Basically a disturbed individual living in Nakhon Nowhere who took it upon himself to try to ruin people like Stickman simply because they didnt indulge his deluded sense of his own importance, but the scary part is that he had a legion of followers who lapped it up. The 'Convicted journalist' piece amply illustrates how easy it is to defame someone, apparently from a blog based in Singapore, without any threat of retribution (nor any apparent HTML coding skills). I wish Drummond every success in his new life.

[WitawatWatawit]

Drummond hasn't skipped bail, although he does no longer wish to be charging the machine guns. It should be understood that he could have left the country a long time ago, but chose not to.

[Rimmer]

Some off topic posts removed

[kennypowers]

So strange. Rather than offer him gratitude for his stirling work in exposing those who seek to harm, abuse and take advantage of others – those giving the rest of us a bad name – people are having a go at him for getting a fact(s) wrong and making the odd grammatical error here and there; like no journalist has ever done that.

He spends his life doing good, and then you shoot him down for not being perfect?

[darren84310]

Yes smart people with an opinion are unwanted here...

The same smart guy that I saw pushing himself against an army cordon, whilst trying to portray the army as being the aggressor.... smart little shit stirring so and so... good riddance!

[gamini]

Please next time explain who is who

O also never heard of him. Who is he?

[John1thru10]

One less Farang in Thailand. Take some more with you buddy.

You first, and soon please.

[fishingforsquid]

So strange. Rather than offer him gratitude for his stirling work in exposing those who seek to harm, abuse and take advantage of others – those giving the rest of us a bad name – people are having a go at him for getting a fact(s) wrong and making the odd grammatical error here and there; like no journalist has ever done that.

He spends his life doing good, and then you shoot him down for not being perfect?

I think it was me who pointed out his grammar.

I offer him gratitude for his sterling work.

He has contributed a lot.

My intention was not to shoot him down, only to point out that as a journalist, you really need to write correctly.

[KhnomKhnom]

I had to Google and read more about who Andrew Drummond is and why I should know about him. Now, to be honest, I am having trouble caring about his personal situation. I have read too many arm-chair freedom fighters and democracy advocates on the Web (likely most mental midgets compared to Drummond?) proclaiming the error of Thailand's ways, always from a perspective of an outsider with ideas to impinge and impose.

Maybe because I do not read Thai, but I have not found an equal amount of brain and loud-mouth power writing about Thailand AND who are also Thai citizens. I wish such writings by Thai, if existing, could be translated and widely disseminated. I would like to see What Do Thai Want?

As a bright guy doing lots of trained research for over 30 years about "current events" and specific situations, I have definite ideas, too. For example, I know exactly what is wrong of Red China and how to fix it. I am sure I know what is wrong with Thailand and how to fix it *. I could include a few other places. However, EVERYTHING I think I know about these and other places is formed as an OUTSIDER--an outsider by language, culture, and places of residence. Regardless of how "due" my due diligence is, regardless of how well I use my highly trained historical research methods, regardless, I am still an outsider--and that matters, it matters a whole lot!

I think that seeing the whole forest from outside it is good, but unless one is OF THE FOREST, not just looking at it, I have to doubt the strongest of ground on which to take a stand. I would ask Mr. Drummond, What Do Thai Want?

*Those two nations are not at all equated by me here.

[tomacht8]

Investigative journalism is hard in Thailand.

Too bad that a critical voice goes.

[Doc46]

Good riddance,,,I just googled him,,,, he is a bad apple no loss.

[Muirton]

Drummond can't write to save himself - that was clearly evident from his early blog efforts. His newspaper reputation was saved by his desk editors and sub editors, poor bustards, who pulled his raw, rough and rambling copy together and turned it into readable prose. On his blog, he did not have that luxury until recent times. To parody Drummond's style of writing, you could say that if you gave him a gun, the safest place to be around him would be right in front. He sprays words every which way and with no sense of direction or coherence. His saving grace was his doggedness and fearless approach. That reputation was such that people felt compelled to go to him with information - which he then assessed and followed up. Considering where that information often lead him, he was indeed a brave man. I wonder just how many people have been saved from the scammers - the sorry-assed fake lawyers, developers, boiler room filth - because of his efforts? How many more will not have such luck now that he is gone?

"His newspaper reputation was saved by his desk editors and sub editors, poor bustards, who pulled his raw, rough and rambling copy together and turned it into readable prose. " Since you know this, you then must know the names of the editors, etc. the publications involved, etc. So please supply them ere we think you're spewing rubbish.

[firestar]

Luckily we still have the "journalists" at @pravda the Nation to tell it like it is.....

[Muirton]

Those of us who are not reactionary retirees, falang fascists, senile sexpats and lager louts -- a slight majority on Thai Visa -- live with the frustration of not being able to state what we know or to state why we can't state what we know. Andrew Drummond must know much, very much, way beyond most of us, that he cannot make clear to us, including some of the facts behind his flight from Thailand. The day will come when he and his family can return here.

[geordiel]

One less Farang in Thailand. Take some more with you buddy.

How about you next? Iam pretty sure AD contributed far more to Thailand than you ever will.

[empireboy]

Sorry to see a 'Good Guy' get forced to exercise the better part of valour!

[geordiel]

Good riddance,,,I just googled him,,,, he is a bad apple no loss.

Been up to something you wouldnt like investigated ?

[sabaii69]

Who is he and why should I care?

[Runamile]

Muirton, I'm not so sure the day will come when he can return here. I don't see things changing, but RedandYellow had it right. There's a broad-based need to be courageous, believe there are such things as right and wrong, then speak and act out accordingly. At the moment, it's easy to feel that the battle isn't simply against criminality, but against conspiracies of silence by both Thais and farangs in a number of locations. To take the obvious example of Koh Tao, I won't go there. I don't want to support tourism there, because I'm finding it too hard to work out who, if anybody, there is on the moral high-ground. Assuming that the "if anybody" is being overly dramatic, that is very sad for the genuine people there, trying to eke out a living, trying to keep a business running. I should support them. If they're there. The problem is that when a society starts going down the pan, our best assumption, possibly natural assumption, certainly safest assumption becomes negative. That's a big problem for a tourist economy.

I think it's of no relevance that things are worsening rapidly elsewhere. People aren't thinking of holidaying or retiring in Afghanistan, Pakistan,Iraq, Syria ...... or even Glasgow!

[micmichd]

Following capitalistic economic logic, this will never stop.

[ravip]

You know the Asian saying about messing with someone else's rice bowl... AD has ruffled more than a few feathers over the years...

There seems to be an entire segment of old timers that have had it with Thailand and are moving on... Things were always better in the "old days" to these guys... I wish them well where ever they go, because the entire world has changed in the last 20 years and the "old days" are long gone in a lot of places...

"messing with someone else's rice bowl"

Outside of Asia, anyone one is welcome to mess with peoples "rice bowls" without ruffling any features?

Would be nice to do some homework on this.

[Billy The Kid]

I admired him a lot , unlike many here , he got some balls .

[micmichd]

Thailand deserves what it gets....i hope he spills the dirt on all the local riff raff from a distance...not just the foreign fools....open a can of worms to do you proud AD.....on ALL Thai subjects.

How come there's so much hatred here?

Time to reconsider what side you're on.

Mrs. Moneymen, are you afraid your soldiers run away?

[Satcommlee]

I am not sure how anyone could not appreciate the work of Andrew Drummond or respect the guy..

Unless of course you are exactly the sort of low-life that earns a dishonest living preying on misinformed fellow expats.

He has certainly raised awareness of fake lawyers and has probably done enough to make each and everyone of us question if the people we do business with are what they say they are.

[sabaitoo]

I have been an avid reader of him for years and found his stories always were pretty correct

It is kind of sad to see him leave, but on the other hand I am sure it is just a step he takes to be able to expose the Thais who protects the exposed criminals he has been covering.

Only in Thailand can you meet and get cheated by such characters and Andrew Drummond has given them exposure so that other, if clever enough to google, will not be cheated by them.

just to mention a few examples:

The Rotary Chairman who is a convicted extortionist and claimed to be a Lawyer, with lots of victims left from his years of frauds

The Fake Scottish Lawyer who spend time in Jail in Australia, who cheated a dying prisoner out of a fortune, who claimed to be a buddy of Thaksin

The Brothel-owner who did not like the word pimp who has been charged as a loan shark

The convicted Gangster who is the chief of a voluntary foreign police team

The Boiler room boys who scammed for millions

and you can continue....Search and you will find

The tragic part is that those criminals activities are known to the Thai Police and other Authorities...but as long as they pay their due they are protected

Andrew at least had the guts to expose them, where others try to pretend that they do not exist...what is better

Edited January 18, 2015 by sabaitoo