Emergency repatriation of UK citizen

If he was unwilling to voluntarily leave the country, there was not much anyone could do.

I understand the family thing. Buying the air ticket (which one can assume will be used for the intended purpose) is one thing. Sending cash for the fine and ETD is another. How does the family know what the cash will really be used for? They may already have had bad experiences in that regard in the past. When I have helped an American friend in the past, I communicated directly with the family to reassure them, but it is not easy.

That said, the cheapest and safest option would have been a cheap ticket to the UK, paying the fine on exit. Once on the deportation track, some jail time and an expensive ticket on national carrier becomes inevitable. If the incarceration at IDC ultimately ended up saving money, maybe it could be regarded as an acceptable trade off. The trouble is that, even with the reduced fine, the total cost ends up quite a bit higher.

The BE will receive cash from relatives and ensure it is spent according to the relatives wishes.

How do I know this ?

I have a friend who is a British Hon Consul who has assisted in many of these 'difficult' cases.

That is true. The embassy can be a useful and credible escrow agent, as long as you know to avoid their advice on how to handle departure.

That escrow thingy was exactly the idea, wrote that before. And the chap at the embassy was, as such, top-notch and very professional and helpful. John apparently asked him where he was from in Britain and told me he was dual-nation Thai/Brit and a native speaker of both languages. Not some "cheap local hireling", doesn't sound in the least like it. And phoning up the BE you are being led through a dial-a-tone menu that gets you directly to consular services. Worked for me the first time, can't have been complicated. After that, just mumble "lost passport, on overstay" and you are being directly put through to what is best described as their emergency department.

It's just when you run into someone "advice-resistant" (that expression is a German lawyers' in-joke, should translate well) there is very little anyone at all can do, frustrating as that may be after all the effort. But it wasn't exactly the first encounter I ever had with that sort of thing, far from it. But, in the end, he's alive, he's OK, and he's home. Still a happy ending of sorts.