Chiang Rai:- A Belgian man was arrested while leading a group of tourists to have lunch in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district Saturday.

Pol Lt Pitpatchara Pitchayanan, deputy inspector of Chiang Saen Immigration checkpoint, said Bramewanden Bozer, 30, who carried a Belgian passport with 90-day tourist visa stamp, was charged with working as a tourist guide without a work permit.

The deputy police chief was checking the tourist site in Sanmakhet village in the district when he spotted the Belgian using an amplifier device to talk to a group of tourists like a guide.

Pitpatchara asked to see the work permit but the Belgian could not produce.

Bozer admitted that he was leading a group of 23 Dutch tourists to visit the Golden Triangle in Chiang Saen and were taking them to have lunch when he was arrested. He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day.

But after police charged him with working as a tourist guide without a work permit, Bozer argued that he was not a guide but he simply worked as an interpreter for the guide of the tour group.

He was handed over to the Chiang Saen police station for taking legal actions against him.

Pol Lt Wannachai Sukjaem, another deputy inspector of the Chiang Saen checkpoint, said his checkpoint had received a lot of complaints from Thai tourist guides that several foreign tourists had competed against them for tourist guide jobs.

The Thai guides said the foreigners entered the country as tourists and then applied for jobs at tourist firms.

Wannachai said several foreigners have been arrested – mostly in February – for working illegally as tourist guides.

Another innocent person arrested?

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

"He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day." he paid them to lead them ???

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Please remember the post you made here, in the future

A criminal.

Taking jobs away from fully fluent in Dutch Thai people.

These fully fluent in Dutch Thai people that live in the area don't deserve to have this guy make Dutch tourist's holidays better while helping the local economy with their money.

"He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day." he paid them to lead them ???

No one can properly write these articles. Your guess is as good as anyone's.

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

Remember where you are!

I don't think he'll forget where he is now in a hurry.

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

Only until a court finds him guilty.

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Your eyes need seeing to then, but whether you think he's innocent or whether you give a damn about the law or not doesn't matter you may be surprised to hear.

He apparently did commit a crime or is suspected of doing so, a court will decide ultimately. If he wants to make a living here he should get a proper visa and a work permit like everyone else does. Perhaps not like you as you seem to be so keen to offer your support to an illegal?

So only non-sinners (against what?) can have an opinion on this thread, and logically, any other threads in the future. You must be a real paragon of virtue to be able to set the rules here.

Edited March 7, 201511 yr by Sviss Geez

We all know the ''Rules''....

If he wants to make a Living, he should know the proper chanel to go, if not....well ...

Does Thailand benefit if a lot of foreigners come here and become tourist guides ? Does every nation that recieves lots of foreign workers benefit ?

In Thailand, if lots of Thais become un-employed because lots of foreigners enter Thailand and take those jobs, does Thailand benefit ?? It appears to be that Thailand is very cautious when it comes to giving out work permits to foreigners.
The Thais, they're not that daft or silly. They're not going to let a load of foreigners enter their country and take-over. There was a bit of talk on Thai Visa about how the Thais would be f___ once ASEAN 2015 comes in. Yes, unlimited numbers of people entering into Thailand and working will mean that the Thais will be f___. But the Thais won't let it happen, they will simply not give out a stack of work permits to the foreigners.

How many times must I tell you, only Thais and Russians can be tour guides , check out Jomtien andPratumnak

In my opinion he deserved it , he knew the risks and were willing to gamble.

And almost all Dutch people speak English so they could have used an English speaking tour guide.

Edited March 7, 201511 yr by balo

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

he can most likely speak Flemish, which is very close to formal Dutch at lot of Belgian's do speak it

This is really an important Thai bust. When we read about a few Thai big men and Thai bankers hauled off for racketeering and money laundering, then the Thai law enforcement and reform can be taken seriously.

In Amsterdam, my home town we often see busloads of tourists. ALL asian tourists (yes, including Thais) bring their own tourguide, usually waving a little flag to keep the herd together. Even though there are Thai Dutchman that could easily do the job. So, if the Thai can "steal" jobs from us Farang, should not we be allowed to do the same especially because it makes sense to be adressed by someone in your own langage, rather than a Thai tourguide without proper english qualifications who has unintelligible english at the best of times.

(Rant out)

As they say: you can not have the cake (tourists) and eat it (Thailand exclusively for the Thai). Time to wake up, here

"He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day." he paid them to lead them ???

Now you know the reason why the arrested Belgian was providing a service, the Thai tour guides cannot provide. Here we have na "educated" OP who cannot write , discernible English, as a News Editor. The majority of Belgian/Dutch people have a working knowledge of the English language. The majority of Thais do not. There really is no contest, and thais are a bunch of crybabies.

Now, back to the main topic. The arrested Belgian is not innocent. It is illegal to work, while on a tourist visa, in every country on the planet. He committed the crime of getting caught. If he wants to earn a living legally, as a Tour Guide, then he needs to return to the EuroZone. Period.

Does Thailand benefit if a lot of foreigners come here and become tourist guides ? Does every nation that recieves lots of foreign workers benefit ?

In Thailand, if lots of Thais become un-employed because lots of foreigners enter Thailand and take those jobs, does Thailand benefit ?? It appears to be that Thailand is very cautious when it comes to giving out work permits to foreigners.

The Thais, they're not that daft or silly. They're not going to let a load of foreigners enter their country and take-over. There was a bit of talk on Thai Visa about how the Thais would be f___ once ASEAN 2015 comes in. Yes, unlimited numbers of people entering into Thailand and working will mean that the Thais will be f___. But the Thais won't let it happen, they will simply not give out a stack of work permits to the foreigners.

Maybe you should ask the 10's of thousands of Burmese. Lao and Khmer illegal workers that the Thais are only to happy to employ and exploit.

Did you follow what happened when they thought a crackdown was coming?

They left in droves and construction etc came to a halt across the country, so what did the thais do?

Changed the rules

Dont think this is about the LAW or Thais loosing jobs cause its not

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The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

English is the second language for the Dutch , they speak excellent English , you are correct, he broke the law.

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Why do you feel it is ok to come to Thailand and break the law without consequences?

There are laws against what he was doing

He chose to break them

Now he deserves to pay the price

If he could provide a service that no one else could he should have applied for a work permit thru a tour comapny

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent. - if he was working here without a WP he is not innocent, though may be considered innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements. - good for you, it happens to be the law here if you dont like it you can leave

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch. - based on what evidence? pure speculation on your part. i have a thai friend who speaks dutch and is studying computer engineering in Holland

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion. - - everyone is entitled to their opinion however misinformed they may be

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living. - if he was working here without a WP then he was breaking the law, see above

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now........ - so it's ok to commit a crime here and when you're caught turn round to the police officer and say that as the thai police force is inherently corrupt you should not be prosecuted for your crime? er... right...

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Why do you feel it is ok to come to Thailand and break the law without consequences?

There are laws against what he was doing

He chose to break them

Now he deserves to pay the price

If he could provide a service that no one else could he should have applied for a work permit thru a tour comapny

IMO it depends...if there was indeed a Thai tour guide present and the Belgian was acting as a translator, I see no wrong. In the case no Thai guide was present he violated the law.

I am a little surprised that no one from TV forum's 'Visa Terminology Police' has jumped on this from the OP "....carried a Belgian passport with 90-day tourist visa stamp".

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

he can most likely speak Flemish, which is very close to formal Dutch at lot of Belgian's do speak it

Most intelligent Belgians (rare) do speak Dutch. (running joke between Belgians and Dutch we complain about their intelligence and they complain we resemble Scots in how cheap we are)

"He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day." he paid them to lead them ???

No one can properly write these articles. Your guess is as good as anyone's.

Maybe newspapers would benefit from an interpreter, too.

It remains remarkable how successful Thailand is at 'tourism', given the immense and consistent effort to <deleted> it up.

Why is it so hard to understand that people on a package group tour might want a person from their own country/own language there?

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

Actually while it is true.. that we are highly intelligent.. one of the highest IQ's in Europe not everyone is and / or speaks good English. My mom is one of those whose English is not that great. So I can understand them to have their own guides.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-381057/European-IQ-map-proves-Brits-brainy.html (fun Dutch 107 Brits 100 and they call themselves brainy in the article.. almost identical to how thais often twist the the facts) (I have seen other scores But the Dutch seem always to get good scores)

It actually goes for a lot of people that they like to be addressed in their own language and provisions should be made. My gf is a tourguide and she told me how her company often bribed the police to let a Korean join the trip she would communicate with him and he would tell the clients. They police was ok with this as long as a Thai guide was there (and payments were made of course).

Thai guides don't have a problem with this only when the guide is effectively cut out. Personally I feel they should learn the language of those they serve..but a much higher salary should be available then.

Edited March 8, 201511 yr by robblok

People are discussing and judging based on what they read in the article. The only thing i can say is that unfortunately the truth is far away from what has been written...