Former British soldier jailed for 50 years in Thailand for drug dealing

[halloween]

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

"All children were both male and female." Hermaphrodites?

[GOLDBUGGY]

So he will do 8 years max and then be sent back to the UK to serve another 3 or 4 and then paroled to go about his business!

No, he will have to serve one third of his sentence before consider for a prisoner repat.

Then once at home (if he survives) he will only serve a short time in prison because of the severity of this punishment.

Wrong,

I am sorry but you are in an area where I am well versed. The law changed around mid 2000. I answered earlier in this thread what he will get.

When a sentence of 50 years or life is imposed, it is 8 years before they can apply to be repatriated, on a 25 year sentence it is 4 years. It usually takes an additional 6 to 9 months for paperwork to be formalized after this period. Very few prisoners receive a King's pardon for drug offenses.

On lower sentences, such as 4 or 6 years, it is the equivalent of one third of the sentence before they are eligible to apply to be repatriated under Thai law.

Once home, he will not serve a quick sentence and then released, that is not how it works and is not how the Thai/UK treaty works. He will serve" half of the balance " of the sentence remaining minus any good behavior class of days and minus any royal decrees or amnesties given.

He will still receive amnesties from Thailand whilst in a UK prison as he is there being held under a Thai conviction. His sentence cuts under amnesty are subject to the class of prisoner he was when he was repatriated. There are six classes, outstanding, very good, good, standard, bad and very bad. These determine the cut under an amnesty. For example if the cut is 1 year in four for an outstanding class of prisoner, a very good prisoner would receive a cut of one year in five and so forth. Prisoners in the bad and very bad class receive nothing.

The half of the remaining balance has been agreed by the two nations in a treaty and other nation states have different treaties with Thailand, some a lot better.

Any change in UK law means it must also undergo a treaty change and the two countries must both be in agreement to it.

No! Just read the story of Michael Connell.

http://www.thaiprisonlife.com/news/drug-smuggler-michael-connell-back-in-the-uk/

He was given 99 Years but after his appeal he ended up with 20 Years. He just got back to the UK after serving 8 Years in a Thai Prison. Which is a little more than one-third his sentence.

He technically has 12 Years left of his sentence to serve in the UK. From that he can get half this time reduced through Parole and Good Behavior. So he still has to serve 6 years in the UK at least. That brings the total time spent in a prison to 14 years and certainly not what you are suggesting.

At any rate, if this young man does not win his appeal that 50 years will seem like a very long time. Even if he only spends 8 years in a prison in Thailand full of cockroaches, sleeping in a room full of other sometimes sickly prisoners, sleeping on a concrete floor, and eating Fish Heads and Spoiled Rice each day. Of this I am sure!

[charliewolf]

I have an ex mate who does the same.

That's why he's an ex mate.

Idiots and drugs don't mix.

No Sympathy

[bigt3116]

I have an ex mate who does the same.

That's why he's an ex mate.

Idiots and drugs don't mix.

No Sympathy

So your ex mate does the drugs, what does that make you, according to what you wrote ;-)

[GOLDBUGGY]

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

"All children were both male and female." Hermaphrodites?

I was thinking more along the lines of "Fruit Cake", "Sicko", or "Psycho", but "Hermaphrodites" will due if you are lost for better words.

[bradeearl]

IF this guy is guilty then he deserves everything he gets. Thailand, as in much of Asia has a strict no drugs policy and severe consequences if you are caught doing so.

Whether it is Ecstasy- which is capable of killing people. Read the stories of teenagers who have died after taking it. I agree with Colin Neil, people who deal drugs are potentially dealing death and I have no sympathy. iF he's stupid enough to think that the law does not apply to him, then he deserves what he gets

[GOLDBUGGY]

we have all had a bad time in life and that's ok to sell drugs then in your fiction world

Get a life!

Death Sentence is the only reply these scum bags understand ...no mercy for these death dealers.......Period !!!

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

I have never said at anytime that I thought it was Okay to sell illegal Drugs. In fact I have said the opposite several times. So it is you that just made it up to make it look like I said different. When a person has to be a lair to make his statement, he is avoiding the truth. The truth is 50 Year Jail Sentence is too stiff for his crime!

I have a Life! I have a Good Life! My wife says I am a Man with a Good Heart. Maybe you should try and find one instead of being so cold and cruel?

[connda]

Why not ?

Millions of people take drugs for recreational purposes and lead perfectly normal lives - not everyone goes onto descend into crack dens !

You have a point, but how do you compare soft drugs with hard drugs. If this guy was dealing hard drugs for his own personal gain,

then he deserves all he got. otherwise, the sentence is too steep.

Too bad you didn't post #15 or you would know it is beginning to be used as a medicine.

This if from the US DEA website: http://thedea.org/statistics.html

Yes, this guy was a real menace to society. /sarcasm

BTW, The US DEA classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 or 'hard' drug alongside heroin and crack cocaine.

Fatalities

Most of the people that show up in the ER, even those in genuine medical danger, will make a full recovery. Most...but not all. In recent years in the US, the greatly increasing rate of MDMA use has made deaths a somewhat regular occurrence. Listening to the government 'drug experts' you might think users were dropping like flies. The truth, as usual, is less grim than the drug warriors would have us believe:

Deaths involving MDMA (from districts reporting to SAMHSA):

Year:

1994 - 1

1995 - 6

1996 - 8

1997 - 3

1998 - 9

1999 - 42

2000 - 63

2001 - 76

.

That's it then, problem solved....take us much drugs as you like, then end up in hospital, let the doctors make you better, or die.....thanks, see you again next week Doc!

Are they actually taking MDMA, MDMA analogs, or a drug being sold at MDMA but is not.

Are the deaths from overdoses of MDMA or are the deaths caused by other factors and then then toxicology report indicates MDMA in the victim's system, and the death is attributed to MDMA.

I personally knew a whole lot of people taking MDMA in my University days, and I don't know of one person that ever overdosed, no less died from ingesting MDMA or MDMA analogs.

I'll go back to:

There's lies;

Damn lies: and

Statistics.

What's the real story with the published stats? Why not publish alcohol related deaths as a direct comparison?

Edited July 1, 2015 by connda

[Chicog]

It's four years unless it's a life sentence in Thailand.

[GOLDBUGGY]

"This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. "

This interests me, because the timeline of his life here and his age give him at most 3 years in the Army, and probably less. I notice that his mum does not display a single picture of him in uniform. Makes me wonder how many weeks/months he served and if the term ex-soldier is just used to sensationalize the story a bit.

I don't know as the story I read about him says he is 27 years old. In Canada you can join at age 18, so I have no idea how you came up with just 3 years or what time line you are referring to. But the news I read about him also said he was an x-British Soldier.

[gandalf12]

So, why don't they do the same to Thai drug dealers?

Well they didnt mean it so a small fine is adequate for them. They should have te same punishment for anyone and I mean anyone who sells drugs. Make it so sever they wont want to sell them. Of course they must impose the same sentences on Thai's caught selling them especially if they want too be seen to be just in the eyes of the world

[cocopops]

"E" isn't particularly dangerous, addictive or destructive. Most truly civilized countries wouldn't be too concerned with this crime.

Well, there is evidence to say that it's neurotoxic, so some caution is advised.

Doesn't change your point though - it's not something that criminal law should be concerned with.

[brewsterbudgen]

Such inconsistencies in this country. Absolute joke. No wonder the rest of the world does not stop laughing at this country. He is guilty and should serve time. But the length of time should be consistent with what the many Thai drug dealers have been sentenced for.

The last two people executed in Thailand were Thai drug dealers. They were put to death by lethal injection in August 2009. So if you want consistency maybe he should be too?

[DaiHard]

The thing with crime, and this includes drug dealing, is that nobody ever expects to get caught.

No matter what, this is excessive punishment. I don't know how long he will actually spend in jail, I suspect he could get transferred to a UK jail within 5 years, but the punishment here does not fit the crime.

British guys in Thai jails have a harder time than many other nationalities as they get no support from the UK government. There are charities that can help, but basically he will need to depend on help from friends and family outside for even basics like food and basic medicine etc.

Much as I dislike drug dealing, I feel sorry for this guy.

Would you still feel sorry for him if any of your family died because they were using drugs supplied by a dealer?

If there was no drug dealers, almost every type of crime would be reduced.

and AJAYDEE, you cannot say that bartenders can be compared with drug dealers, alcohol is not a drug if drunk in moderation.

[RigPig]

I agree with many of the other replyers. I have 0 tolerance for drug dealers. These guy´s are the scum of the earth,selling death in order to make a fast buck. 50 years is actually to little for an offence like this. It should be life without parole.

Well seems like it is LIFE X 2 with no parole (in HELL), so you should be happy

[RigPig]

Coffee and tea have "drugs" in them.........

Yep, caffeine, as found in yabba.........

[Thongkorn]

In a civilised society sentences tend to be proprtionate. And the prisoner is not subject to sub-human conditions.

Welcome to the Land of Smiles,

[Franky Bear]

IF this guy is guilty then he deserves everything he gets. Thailand, as in much of Asia has a strict no drugs policy and severe consequences if you are caught doing so.

Whether it is Ecstasy- which is capable of killing people. Read the stories of teenagers who have died after taking it. I agree with Colin Neil, people who deal drugs are potentially dealing death and I have no sympathy. iF he's stupid enough to think that the law does not apply to him, then he deserves what he gets

Just like bar owners

[bigt3116]

"This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. "

This interests me, because the timeline of his life here and his age give him at most 3 years in the Army, and probably less. I notice that his mum does not display a single picture of him in uniform. Makes me wonder how many weeks/months he served and if the term ex-soldier is just used to sensationalize the story a bit.

I don't know as the story I read about him says he is 27 years old. In Canada you can join at age 18, so I have no idea how you came up with just 3 years or what time line you are referring to. But the news I read about him also said he was an x-British Soldier.

He is 27 now, arrested last year, so maybe 26 then, the story said he had lived on and off in Thailand for the last 5 years, so that makes him 21 at most, so if he joined the British Army, the minimum engagement is 4 years from the age of 18, so the timeline does not add up, (maybe).

[MRDave]

So he will do 8 years max and then be sent back to the UK to serve another 3 or 4 and then paroled to go about his business!

Eight years in a Thai jail will be like one hundred years when compared to most other jails. I doubt he will remain disease free.

[truckerjoe]

A sentence of 10 years in a Thai prison would have been enough to ensure he would never return to the UK, a British guy I knew served five years of a 15 year sentence in Bang Kwang prison, ( the kings birthday pardon got him out early) He was a really big guy who kept himself fit but after only five years in Bang Kwang he looked like a concentration camp survivor.

[sambum]

"E" isn't particularly dangerous, addictive or destructive. Most truly civilized countries wouldn't be too concerned with this crime.

You think methamphetamine mixed with caffeine is not particularity dangerous ?

Ecstacy is supposed to mainly comprise MDMA, back in the 70s marketed as the 'love drug', but now often mainly made up of amphetamines.

The 50 year sentence seems extraordinary, especially as he pleaded guilty, was it commuted from a death sentence? Anyone know if it was an importation or drugs acquired locally. Hopefully the guy will get sentence reductions in the coming years. Does HMG arrange repatriation after a certain period to serve time in UK prison?

I saw a TV programme in the UK a few years ago about a guy who had been sentenced to an extraordinary length of time in jail for 20 or 30 ecstasy tablets (25 years?) Maybe if had been heroin or cocaine, he may have been treated more leniently. Or maybe he got the same judge - I don't know.

Anyway, this guy was being interviewed after he had been in jail for a while, and he was quite philosophical about it - he took ther risks, got caught, and was serving his time. He said that the only complaint that he had was that if he had been a US citizen, or French, or any number of nationalities other than British, after 8 years in a Thai jail, he would have been allowed to serve the rest of his time in a a jail in his own country. However, the UK did not (does not?) have such an arrangement in place, so I fear it is down to appeals, and lots of money paid to lawyers, or if he is lucky, a King's Pardon.

[bigt3116]

Please don't call him an ex-soldier - I just found this "Whitmore moved to Thailand five years ago where he found work with Petroleum Oil Services after he discharged himself from the Army following a back injury while training." - He never even completed training ! He is not an ex-soldier, he is a failed recruit.

[Franky Bear]

Please don't call him an ex-soldier - I just found this "Whitmore moved to Thailand five years ago where he found work with Petroleum Oil Services after he discharged himself from the Army following a back injury while training." - He never even completed training ! He is not an ex-soldier, he is a failed recruit.

I think "failed recruit" is unfair when anyone is medically discharged

Fact is he did join up which means he had the mindset to serve his country

[Bernard Flint]

Death Sentence is the only reply these scum bags understand ...no mercy for these death dealers.......Period !!!

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

He is in Thailand not Canada, and no doubt he has been watched for a while, seeling lots more than 200.This is the norm in Pattaya, and he has lived here,or close for 5 years. The guy had a full time job didnt he, so he came to sell drugs at weekends, in the clubs probably

Edited July 1, 2015 by Bernard Flint

[Bernard Flint]

Death Sentence is the only reply these scum bags understand ...no mercy for these death dealers.......Period !!!

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

Bar???? it said restaraunt didnt it, which bar???

[Franky Bear]

I may well be wrong here. But I doubt he worked for an oil company in Thailand. I have just started with one and know how

Much paper work I had to give them to get my WP

It included references and trade papers. I doubt anyone under 30 would get a look in here

I may be very wrong here though

Edited July 1, 2015 by Franky Bear

[nev]

"E" isn't particularly dangerous, addictive or destructive. Most truly civilized countries wouldn't be too concerned with this crime.

You think methamphetamine mixed with caffeine is not particularity dangerous ?

Ecstacy is supposed to mainly comprise MDMA, back in the 70s marketed as the 'love drug', but now often mainly made up of amphetamines.

The 50 year sentence seems extraordinary, especially as he pleaded guilty, was it commuted from a death sentence? Anyone know if it was an importation or drugs acquired locally. Hopefully the guy will get sentence reductions in the coming years. Does HMG arrange repatriation after a certain period to serve time in UK prison?

I saw a TV programme in the UK a few years ago about a guy who had been sentenced to an extraordinary length of time in jail for 20 or 30 ecstasy tablets (25 years?) Maybe if had been heroin or cocaine, he may have been treated more leniently. Or maybe he got the same judge - I don't know.

Anyway, this guy was being interviewed after he had been in jail for a while, and he was quite philosophical about it - he took ther risks, got caught, and was serving his time. He said that the only complaint that he had was that if he had been a US citizen, or French, or any number of nationalities other than British, after 8 years in a Thai jail, he would have been allowed to serve the rest of his time in a a jail in his own country. However, the UK did not (does not?) have such an arrangement in place, so I fear it is down to appeals, and lots of money paid to lawyers, or if he is lucky, a King's Pardon.

I am pretty sure there is no Kings Pardon for Drug dealers.

[Bernard Flint]

we have all had a bad time in life and that's ok to sell drugs then in your fiction world

Get a life!

Death Sentence is the only reply these scum bags understand ...no mercy for these death dealers.......Period !!!

This young man you call "scum" served and defended his country by joining the armed forces. Up until 6 months before his arrest he led a perfectly normal life in paradise. His father owns a bar in Pattaya, where he stayed with him.

He had a Beautiful Thai Fiancee who suddenly died on him then, and in which totally devastated him and turned his life upside down. As his mother stated, he then got mixed up with the wrong crowd, which many young people do sometimes. He made a serious mistake, which many young people do sometimes also, especially when they themselves are on drugs or too much alcohol, and grieving.

I think you have trouble in understanding what a real "Scumbag" is. What a "Scumbag" is, is a person who goes out and rapes, tortures, and murders several children all under 18 years old, to the tune of 11 he confessed to, and more he probably forgot about. All children were both male and female. After he was caught and confessed, and convicted, he refused to tell the parents where he buried there bodies, without first a huge payment from the government for his efforts.

His name is Clifford Olson, He was sentence to Life in Prison in Canada in 1982 for his crimes which is 25 years. He died of Cancer in prison in 2011. He served his time but nobody would let him out as he was a dangerous offended.

Now that "Scumbag" got a sentence of 25 years. Do you honestly mean to tell me with a straight face and not drunk, that this young lad deserves double that for his crime of trying to sell 200 Illegal Pills? Cum On!

My dad died 3 years ago suddenly after being my dad for 50 odd years, i was devastated, did i go out and start being a drugs seller, no i didnt!!!!!

[bigt3116]

Please don't call him an ex-soldier - I just found this "Whitmore moved to Thailand five years ago where he found work with Petroleum Oil Services after he discharged himself from the Army following a back injury while training." - He never even completed training ! He is not an ex-soldier, he is a failed recruit.

I think "failed recruit" is unfair when anyone is medically discharged

Fact is he did join up which means he had the mindset to serve his country

He discharged himself, he was not medically discharged.