British academic detained in Thailand after exposing official as plagiarist

[Lovekorat]

This country just sinks deeper and deeper.

Making a Thai lose face?

What dace is there left to lose, a pretty high percentage of the world laughs at what goes on here anyway.

I'm afraid there is no face left to lose.

Hasn't the guy the intelligence to write his own thesis?

Obviously not.

Says a lot doesn't it.

[ChrisY1]

The man could have saved himself a world of anxiety if he had had the foresight to secure his exit should things turn pear-shaped - a lesson that applies not only in Thailand.

He had the opportunity. He was detained and going to be deported but he refused to go. 30 years in Thailand, Thai citizenship, why should he have to leave. That leaves a question - If he has Thai citizenship and Thai passport wouldn't deporting him back to his country be Thailand?

No doubt, they would have great pleasure in revoking his citizenship!......Why would an expat want to be a Thai citizen after reading this drivel?

[Crazy chef 1]

And than Thais are confused why their titles are internationally not recognised...

[irwinfc]

yup! that's how they roll here! expose a cheat and you'll get punished severely for it. be a cheat and you'll be appointed to a lucrative position. (only) in Thailand and many other countries.

[SteveB2]

"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal ideas from many is research" by various

[NOC]

If someone exposes ANYTHING that is deemed "defamation" it is against the law. That is Thailand. A crazy country. Now let the whiners " I hate Farang who put down Thailand" come out!

The defamation law here is ridiculous, just like LM, but I can't see it changing any time soon. That said, the recent Phuket verdict offers some hope.

The Phuket verdict came about as a result of massive and negative international pressure and attention. Call me a cynic but if that had not been the case I'm pretty sure they would have locked them up and thrown away the key.

'The Phuket verdict came about as a result of massive and negative international pressure and attention.'

Sounds like a plan!

[peterjackson]

This case should serve as a warning and lesson on how serious the Military Coup Leader and self imposed unelected PM is on three fronts, that he has 'championed'. IP theft, Human Rights and Corruption.

He is no different to the rest of the trough feeding politicians.

[lildragon]

Stronger man than me. Amazing stuff. Worth a watch:

Wow! Gusty guy! Certainly worth watching!

I sure hope that justice prevails in this clear case of fraud and corruption! It could be a landmark case for the current leadership if it does!!

Ahh seems a high ranking army doctor was involved in the intimidation mission according to this video.

Now I am less hopeful anything will happen.

[Thakkar]

The National Innovation Agency is indeed innovative. The innovation lies in the real life demonstration of how to deal with the fallout from a plagiarism accusation in the most ineffective, publicly embarrassing and drawn out manner possible.

T

[Minnehaha]

What the hell is wrong with the Judges?

Maybe they were end notes instead of footnotes, and the last few pages got dropped. Thai staplers are crap!

I blame it on the staples.

[MZurf]

After watching the video it just confirms what a sad and pathetic bunch they are.

Can any of them make a worthwhile contribution to their society?

No, but to be fair that was never the reason they took office anyway..

[Toscano]

I have read that the " average " number of books Thais read per year is ONE . If comparatively few people read books , they don't write them either .

I have been learning from one of my favourite books , " The Lazy Man'sGuide To Life ". The art of how to write a best seller using plagiarism .

You don't simply copy what another author has written , you tell a completely different story , coined in almost the same onomatopoeic language .

I haven't tried it yet , too lazy , but it sounds a fun idea ! Lol .

Another commenter suggested that the eminent professor may have paid others to write the script for him , maybe some students .

Of course no one would want to admit to that either . As few people read books or write them , even fewer would be aware that Plagiarism exists .

[aussieinthailand]

He's not a threat to Thai security, he's just slapped the so-called National innovation agency (NIA)'s face, in court, now the vindictive nature of a few elite it seems has pulled a few strings and trying to get back at him for having the audacity to stand up for himself.

Now there's some innovation for ya.

Not just copy bags n billabongs.

Only half the story yet again, how about the independent finish the story and tell us what is going on.

Andrew Drummond has been reporting on this man's story for a long time now. There are even videos on the net showing his car being attacked by motor cyclists with a huge rock---- while on his way to court to hear his latest not guilty verdict.

Shocking indictment of how things work over here

Thanks but unfortunately it seems the Thai governments sees fit to block anything about this and by Andrew Drummond reports on the web.

What do they have to hide?

Quoted before and will quote again. "Truth is treason in an empire of lies" Dr. Ron Paul.

[gmf1313]

Yes, anyone can call Thailand crazy for stuff like this, and I don't disagree, but as to defamation laws look no further than the UK to see some over the top defamation laws. Now I love Thailand for all of its good and great things, but in many ways, (sorry people no offense intended) they are like an adolescent child struggling through the puberty of trying to catch up with the ways and fortunes of the western world. Awkward and gangly and with cracking voices. As to me, I am a songwriter and musician, we'll see what happens when I transplant my career there, will my music get bootlegged and plagiarized? Probably, but if it gets my music around I don't care, it's not doing squat in this country

[fvw53]

A person with double UK - Thai nationality and residing in Thailand is a full subject of Thai Law and the UK Embassy cannot do anything for him : this is international law.

If the person has only UK nationality then in case of legal troubles the UK Embassy can only monitor that the human rights are protected but can not influence the outcome of the legal process.

[Dustdevil]

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss

[dotpoom]

Outrageous for sure... but....."His detention comes after Dr Ellis won a long-running plagiarism battle with the Thai government, which has raised questions about the countrys attitude towards intellectual property and whistle-blowers".

There are a few other countries around the world whose attitude towards whistleblowers might need a bit of looking at.

[brewsterbudgen]

What a shame for this country.

He didn't do anything wrong, he just blamed and exposed the truth.

The UK Embassy should take some real actions.

In all seriousness, what actions do you think they should take?

[gandalf12]

This is worth a read: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34169104

[msealey]

Seems like there's a growing and endemic problem, with officials hiring freelancers from sites like elance and fiverr to write top level government reports.

[Transporter]

About time the British embassy warned Thailand that they will slap a travel advisory on Thailand if he is not released immediately.

Maybe an embargo too? Trouble is how would Thailand ever prove they have stamped out corruption for good.....sorry I cant write this...laughing too much! Ha ha he n hee hee hee.

[Morakot]

British academic detained at Bangkok airport for four days

A British academic has been detained in Thailand accused of posing a threat to its national security. Wyn Ellis, who has been working for the United Nations, has been held at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport for four days over a years-old dispute with a former Thai official.

In 2008, Ellis proved that the former director of the Thai agency responsible for promoting and protection of intellectual property rights, Supachai Lorlowhakarn, had plagiarised his and others’ work in his PhD thesis. The two also clashed over the authorship of other work attributed to Supachai.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/06/uk-academic-wyn-ellis-bangkok-airport-supachai-lorlowhakarn

[pmh2009]

This is what society is like when there is no Rule Of Law is GONEEE......

[Morakot]

He added: “My home has undergone surveillance by individuals with false ID and false number plates, anonymous letters, long-running … tax inspections, investigation of my Thai citizenship, 480 telephone death threats, and rock attacks on my car.”

It appears that Wyn Ellis is a Thai citizen.

If this is correct, why are Thai citizens deported from Thailand?

[Transporter]

This is worth a read: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34169104

Sounds like a clear case of revenge.

[Briggsy]

People here focusing heavily on loss of face.

A PhD from Chula + directorship of a government agency = control of a big budget.

Don't lose sight of the fact this is almost certainly as much about money as it is about loss of face. Smash a Chinaman's rice bowl (even if he stole it) and he won't go quietly.

[soistalker]

I knew a girl from back east whose father is a professor from a very prominent university on the east coast of the United States . The father got a Korean national expelled from the university for plagerism. I asked if that wasn't too harsh a penalty for the crime. She said the Korean had plagerised her father the professor's own paper and handed it in to him. The dodgy chancer.

[Transporter]

He added: “My home has undergone surveillance by individuals with false ID and false number plates, anonymous letters, long-running … tax inspections, investigation of my Thai citizenship, 480 telephone death threats, and rock attacks on my car.”

It appears that Wyn Ellis is a Thai citizen.

If this is correct, why are Thai citizens are deported from Thailand?

Does that mean the Norwegian Embassy cannot help him? Which Embassy is his then?

[Morakot]

Stronger man than me. Amazing stuff. Worth a watch:

Thank you for posting this here!

[Morakot]

Does that mean the Norwegian Embassy cannot help him? Which Embassy is his then?

Nothing to do with Norway. He is a British (and Thai[?]]) citizen.

I guess people are deporting back to where they arrived from on their last entry, as stated on their landing card.