My time in Thai prison

[colinneil]

I have been asked to post about my time in prison in Thailand. So here goes.

I was married before here in Issan, what i nightmare. Money money money i need money was all i ever heard from my ex-wife.

I bought a new car 659.000 baht CASH.

I went back to UK to work, came back 5 months later, money not enough !!what !! you get 20.000 baht every month, plus your government salary.

I need more. No way says i. Big mistake.

I go back to work 6 months come back.Same s..t not enough money. Why do you need so much money? no answer, now i am getting tired of hearing this go out in evenings drinking (too much) not wanting to go home.

One day postman gave me mail, adressed to my ex-wife from ---- ---------- bank, i put in my pocket i need to read this as we did not deal with that bank.

Later i opened it could not read it, i cannot read Thai, but understand money in Thai, it was a monthly payment slip, had car number on it, had monthly payment amount, and total amount outstanding. I confronted my ex about this .Yes i borrow 250.000 baht, what for? no answer. Well no way i am i paying that, left the house went drinking. Went home 5 hours later ,house empty, no wife or stepson.

2 weeks go by no sign, well i have had enough, start getting things sorted to move out.

I am having a drink at local restaurant/bar with friends, 4 men in t shirts /jeans come to me, i could see by handcuffs/ radios under t shirts that they were police.

We have a warrant for your arrest. What you joking no here it is, cannot read it ( in Thai) so we go to police station, i get locked in a cell. Now thursday afternoon.

After a lot of bul....t from police ,my wife has said i hit her and her son. So i am going to court.

No food/water from police, but my friends Thai/Farang brought me food and drink, plus clean clothes.

Saturday take to court. No judge just court clerk/ corrupt senior policeman. I get remanded to prison.

Taken to the prison along with some Thai men. We were told to strip Thais did, i refused ok !! mai mee pan ha !!

I had 2 cans of coke with me, they were poured away food in the bin, only food drink from prison shop allowed.

I was detailed to stay in room 4, along with 103 other men. A Thai ex solicitor who spoke English was detaied to take care of me, only farang in that prison, 1300 prisoners, 1 farang.

Yes i was was scared, what the hell will happen to me?

3.30 in the afternoon food. Well thats what they called it. I could not tell what i was eating, so i gave up went hungry.

4.30 lockup. I was giving numer 103 point to sleep ( paited numberson the walls ) maybe 500 mm wide x 2 mtrs long no pillow/ blankets nothing, just a spot on the concrete. By morning the smell was unbearable, toilets at the end of the room just a raised platform, no screens nothing.

06.30 door unlocked outside, fresh air wonderful, showers just a big concrete bund full of not so clean water.

Next a prisoner appeared with a cup of coffee for me. Where did he get that,dont ask just drink i am told.

08.00 Breakfast.Well thats what they called it, again i could not tell what i was eating, but now i am hungry.

Next thing i am told to go to the office, taken to office by a trustee.

I go inside prison number 2 boss, wants to speak to me. Sit he said,so i sit on the other chair, trustee is trying to drag me off the chair !! why !!

Prisoners sit on the floor, boss says ok so i sit back on the chair. Y ou want coffee yes please. We sit drinking coffe/ talking, he wants to practise his English.

I was treated with respect by all the prisoners/guards

Monday i am told i have a visitor, go to the office. I get there and see a good farang friend (tv member). He tells me another farang friend, who has just left to go back to UK,is prepared to post bail for me (he is also tv member).

Off he goes to the court, no farang cannot post bail, yes i can i have resident certificate, after he sorted that back to the prison with papers for me/ prison govener to sign, back to court/ back to prison/back to court for judge to sign.Finally he has papers to get me out. By this time4.30 in the afternoon lockup.

My spirits were well down now, another night in here. No at 5.30 guards unlocked the door i am out.

My friend was waiting outside for me.Guess what was the first thing i did?? Yes i went for some beer.

That is my prison story. Married to a woman who only wanted money.

Please do not think i am bitter towards Thai women ,i am not.

Went back to UK came back 9 months later, met and married a wonderful Thai lady. Never asks for 1 baht always takes care of me.

October 2013 i had a seroius motorbike accident. Now i am paralysed from the chest down.

My wife does everything for me, never complains takes care of me day and night. I have to be turned every 2 hours (bedsores) she never stops always there for me.

Now before the grammar police have a go at me. I will post 2 photos here. Not easy using a computer lying on my back.

Thank you for taking time to read this. Colinneil

[colinneil]

(image removed, sorry too graphic)

[pinkpanther99]

Wow, thanks for sharing your story.

It sounds like you've been through a tough time.

I wish you all the best for the future.

[WitawatWatawit]

Urgh. Colin, we could do without the graphic photo, mate.

Story is not unfamiliar. Over the years I have had the unpleasant experience of getting friends and wayward colleagues out of the police cells. Things can be even more unpleasant than what you describe at Tung Mahamek police station - men and women together in the cells, and rape and violence are not uncommon.

But happy for you that you have such a wonderful lady to look after you. All the best, mate.

[samsensam]

thanks for sharing, quite an experience

i cant help asking would't you be better off in the UK with the NHS and disability payments?

[Costas2008]

Colin, I said it before and I will say it again.

You are my inspiration.

You gone through so many bad situations in your life and I know you will be suffering for the rest of your life.

There are not many people around that have your strength, determination, good spirits and will.

Keep it up Colin, I admire you and I promise to come and visit you more often.

[Costas2008]

thanks for sharing, quite an experience

i cant help asking would't you be better off in the UK with the NHS and disability payments?

You want him stuck in a hospital or a room having some nurse looking after him?

No, he has a fantastic Thai wife that takes care of all his needs and cares for him a lot.

He also has a beautiful house that he build before his accident.

UK can't offer him anything more than Thailand does.

[i claudius]

Tragic story ,a friend was killed on a bike not long ago ,that is why i will never ride one over here ,but you are lucky to have such a terrific wife ,despite all the stories so many of us have ,Thai women are no different from women in most countrys ,some are evil money grabbers ,some are saints ,most are just ordinary people ,i was married to a tHai girl a long time ago ,before i met my now wife ,it didnt work out ,but she was a really nice person and 25 years later i am happy to still call her a friend.

[colinneil]

Would i be better off with NHS, and benifits !! NO WAY !!.

I love Thailand. Love my wife dearly. If i went back i would be stuck in a country where nobody cares about others.

My wife is a school director, good job ,good pension.

If we went to UK she would lose that, she is 20 years younger than me, so have to think about her when i am gone.

[davyboy]

Sounds like you have a treasure of a wife, good luck to you both!

[ExPratt]

Good and bad people in all races and Nations , My first wife did 60, 000 GBP gambling and <deleted> off and left me with 2 kids aged, 2 and 3 , Seeing an opportunity I left the house and went to live in Ayutthaya where I met the woman who has looked after me and my children for 10 years

[siampolee]

All kudos to Colin for his post.However the ultimate kudos has got to be for his having no hate for Thai's in general and indeed the lady he is married to now is indeed a gem.

As said, ''there is good and bad in every race'' trouble is though we only hear about and remember the bad ones.

That lady could have walked , but no, she stays and cares for her severely disabled husband.

As said in the U.K one would without family support become a living vegetable in an institution.

Keep that spirit alive Colin you are an inspiration to us all as is your wife too.

[Cypress Hill]

"INSPIRATION" is a bit strong.

I don't want to go out and emulate the guy's life choices but dealing with paralysis of that magnitude requires a degree of strength and fortitude that I doubt most of us can imagine so that certainly deserves admiration.

1. He married a greedy, deceitful and dishonest woman - big deal . . . happens to a lot of guys especially here but the warning signs were there all along

2. He spent a night in the clink - big deal . . . when he mentioned his "time in prison in Thailand", I was expecting to read a summary of months or years, not a NIGHT

3. He comes out, hits the juice, heads back to the UK and less than a year later, meets & marries another Thai woman. OK so it turns out he's picked a blinder but she could so easily have turned out to be another dragon.

Clearly, this guy likes taking risks

Still, what IS worthy of admiration is the fact that he doesn't appear to be blaming anyone else for what happened to him. A helluva lot of people WOULD be

Big respect to his missus too; a prime example of Thai family values at work that a lot of posters ignore when berating them.

[Phoenix1312]

Shocking story. What bad luck. Wish you all the best.

[dotpoom]

I remember your last post Colin and sent my sincerest sympathies then (round the world cyclist). I can only tell you that I myself am a great believer in prayer (doesn't matter if you are or not) and my prayer is that you be given the strength and power to cope with all you have to cope with. I myself had my fair amount of up's and down's and I realized that a big stumbling block for me was my resentments against those that I felt played a big part in my situation. It wasn't until I came to forgive those that the healing really started (in my head anyway). I forgave them because it was necessary for my own recovery.....not for any benefit for them. I say this because I sensed in your last post that resentment might be playing a part in your life. If I picked that up wrong....please forgive me. GBU.

[StasD]

Real MAN! respect!

[OOLEEBER]

Thanks for sharing your story Colin.

It's moving and also a warning for the less savvy. My brother had a Thai wife who gambled everything. He also lost a leg in a bike accident and also spent time in Thai jail. A lot more time than you. Thailand is not always the paradise it might seem to first time visitors.

After my first holiday here I told some farrang friends here "I think I'm going to buy a bar". Their response. "Don't be a stupid effin tourist". Luckily I listened to them and made some better choices but it's not always so obvious. I have a number of friends who came here, spent their life savings on a house and car etc.. and are now back in the UK with now't.
I'm glad you have someone good to care for you Colin.

All the best mate.

[priestly]

All the best to you, Colin.

As Buddha said, life is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows.

[BlackJack]

this is why i have a living will

[whooshbang]

What a nightmare! Utmost respect to you for keeping your chin up and getting on with it. True soldier!

May your futures be paved with good fortune, good health and good times!

[eldragon]

Wow. What an awful story. I can imagine what you're ex-wife's attitude was like. The type of person that makes you feel rude and stupid for asking straightforward questions. What was the outcome of your charges?

[4u2mad]

Glad you found the right one. All the best mate

[CharlieH]

One antagonistic rude remark and a response to it removed.

[paddyjoe41]

Colin well done and said,you are a man that has faced his bad choices with courage and strength,your present wife recognised your strength and courage and decided you were her man,quit rightly.She can see her strength in you,and it is in her, regardless of the quest ahead of you both she will continue and between you both life will be very bareable.It is now that you have found the right person who will be there come what may,there are many just like her,but the haystack is very large and difficult to find that needle.There is many a thousand men in Thailand who, given the chance,would swap beds with you,but I know this will never be available.Good luck to you both and thank you for sharing your bad times,the good times are coming to you now,the grass is always greener on the other side.Keep the chin up pal.

[northernphil]

Thanks for your story Colin. Yes there are good partners and bad, what % on TV have found good ones and what % have had the ones who want all you have which is never enough. Glad to say mine has been good from the start , met her 10 years ago and doesn't ask for much, If I see something like a dress or T shirt in the market and I want to buy it she says " No need ", Sometimes she will even pay for a meal out , might not sound much and a lot of you out there get the same but soo much better than take-take-take like the wife in the uk. Thai wife better in everything.

[greenchair]

That is terrible that you spent time in prison for something you didn't do.

One day or ten years. There is no difference when you are an innocent person with your freedom taken away.

Bless.

Never give up.

Never give in

Never surrender. ?

[khunPer]

Thanks for sharing your (sad) story, Colinneil - I wish you all the best...

[colinneil]

I was not in prison for 1 night. If my post was read correctly you would know it was four nights.

Also comments about not a big deal ,i was lucky i was treated with respect by prisoners and guards.

Believe me when they closed the gate behind me i was scared.

[BB24]

Thank you for sharing your story Colin.

Your attitude is that of a true hero and is an inspiration to us all - not even a hint of self-serving comment, nor any glimmer of complaint about others.

I wish you all the best in the future and I look forward to hearing more of your comments on TV - even if I dont agree with them - RESPECT !!

And please pass on my regards to your wife - she is clearly a person of warmth, generosity and integrity.

This sounds ridiculous I know, but you are indeed blessed to have her.

Cheers - Bob.

[timendres]

I was not in prison for 1 night. If my post was read correctly you would know it was four nights.

Also comments about not a big deal ,i was lucky i was treated with respect by prisoners and guards.

Believe me when they closed the gate behind me i was scared.

1 night or 4 nights, Thai prison or western prison, it is a scary experience for anyone who has never been inside.

Furthermore, once that door is closed, the events inside are beyond your control. Anything can happen inside of a prison cell. At any time. It is scary and it is very disheartening. Unless one has spent time behind bars, they cannot understand the true feeling of the total loss of freedom and control.

Those who would downplay your experience should volunteer to go inside and report back to us. Many will talk big, few will walk inside unless they are dragged in.