Brit arrested for theft at Phuket International Airport

[LivinginKata]

Well, at least he didn't get busted for drugs this time.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9160957.Father_of_three_jailed_after_Weymouth_drugs_raid/

This puts a different light on his character ...

[NeverSure]

Well, he will have the distinction of having served in prison in the UK and in Thailand. Slow learner, I'd say.

[farcanell]

Not a glorious act by all means but did he need to be photographed and shamed?

Yes

[djlest]

Not many quality Brits come to Thailand anymore... Those that do seem to get killed by elephants

[Branches]

I agree with a previous commentor..... finding an envelope full of cash surely cannot be theft. He is guilty of not handing it in????

He didn't physically take it from the Issam Barhoumi (who probably had a few dollars left from his Ladyboy adventure in Pattaya).

He should've asked the Bangkok Airways staff if the cash belonged to them, if they said no he could've maybe got away with it . Finders keepers! Issam Barhoumi is a buffoon.

If I find a 100 baht note on the pavement and pick it up..... am I a thief????

Anyone with tattoos and a vest should not be allowed into Thailand in the first place. Perhaps there should be a tickbox on the immigration slip that asks if the visitor intends to wear a vest.

[KenKadz]

Sounds like a set-up.

Who leaves that kind of money unattended?

[Doc46]

He was a bit slow counting the money before he was going to hand it in and the boys hauled him in. He's innocent I tell ya innocent.

[mikosan]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

Are you serious? Was it his..NO. Did he intend to keep it..YES = Theft, pretty much anywhere in the world I'd say. I can go into more detail, if you wish, quoting the legal definition of theft, from the laws in any number of countries in the world, but it seems a pointless exercise.

[cyberfarang]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

How else would you describe it? A gift from the gods?

Taking anything that does not belong to you is theft. It is a criminal offense if finding someone else`s property and not attempting to hand it in to an authority or not trying to return it to the rightful owner.

At most people that find money or valuables that does not identify it with an owner will pocket the item and say no more about it, but it doesn`t mean to say that that`s legal.

[Alwyn]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

When you have tattoos and wear a tee-shirt according to the majority of posters here

[mikosan]

I agree with a previous commentor..... finding an envelope full of cash surely cannot be theft. He is guilty of not handing it in????

He didn't physically take it from the Issam Barhoumi (who probably had a few dollars left from his Ladyboy adventure in Pattaya).

He should've asked the Bangkok Airways staff if the cash belonged to them, if they said no he could've maybe got away with it . Finders keepers! Issam Barhoumi is a buffoon.

If I find a 100 baht note on the pavement and pick it up..... am I a thief????

Anyone with tattoos and a vest should not be allowed into Thailand in the first place. Perhaps there should be a tickbox on the immigration slip that asks if the visitor intends to wear a vest.

Are you naive, or just stupid, or maybe neither and you're having a laugh with us? Actually yes, if you find 100 baht on the pavement and you don't hand it in then it is theft. It's not yours, you make no attempt to determine the owner, thereby assuming ownership and you keep it, thereby permanently depriving the owner of it. That's a very simplified version of Theft in UK law, very similar to Thailand.

Under Thailand Criminal Law,

"Theft" is defined as dishonestly taking something that belongs to another person, and is punishable by up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to 6,000 Baht.

"To commit an act dishonestly" means to do an act in order to procure, for himself or the other person, any advantage to which he is not entitled by law;

The dishonesty is in not making any attempt to trace the owner and keeping the money, which procures an advantage, 100 baht, to which you are not entitled.

As I previously posted. I could quote the definition of theft from numerous other countries, which would be very similar, but what's the point, we're in Thailand and here this man committed THEFT! He found the money, which was not his, he made no attempt to determine to whom it belonged and he was just about to jump on a plane with it. Guilty m'lud!

[HerbalEd]

Finder's Keepers Loser Weeper...

You are correct. He's a loser and now he's weeping.

[HerbalEd]

I wonder why the media in Thailand never bothers about having any kind of press codex. Is this information really that newsworthy that his name, nationality and face is plastered all over the Thai media?

Evidently it's "newsworthy" enough for you to click, read and comment.

[HerbalEd]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

Evidently you wouldn't understand so no need to take the time to try and explain it to you.

[rapom]

Whose going to be the first to say "tattooed vest wearing scum".

You are!

[Baerboxer]

Those Brits, good thing that the guy did not look like a foreigner otherwise we would have had 20 pages telling us it was not a typical Brit. Now that that is out they go for the fact he is wearing a wife beater and has tattoos. Funny thing, when one Thai does something you will hear people here on the forum always say its a Thai trait. Now that the shoe is on the other foot i hear only the sound of silence.

(not going after Brits but after the Thaibashing and generalizations)

People stereo type when trying to articulate their bigotry.

Suggesting one, possibly drunk, hungover, idiot without morals is representative of a nation is like suggesting all Dutch are dope heads in capable of rational thought. Or Americans all gung ho bully boys; or Greeks all lazy cheats. Hollywood images fuel the imagination.

It's as irrational as discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or color.

[Baerboxer]

The title says 'Brit arrested for theft ...'

Interestingly, although I see the usual string of comments lashing out at the guy for wearing a tatoo and a 'wife-beater', I see no specifically anti-Brit comment.

Now if the title had been 'Koweiti guy arrested ...' or 'French guy arrested ...', I have no doubt there would be a loooooong string of anti-Arab / anti-French comments.

That's TVF in a nutshell.

Just goes to show that most of the TVF users are of Anglo-Saxon stock..........the word hypocrisy immediately springs to mind.

Jeez, an Aussie thinking others are hypocritical. Thought Australians cornered that market.

[oxo1947]

Well, at least he didn't get busted for drugs this time.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9160957.Father_of_three_jailed_after_Weymouth_drugs_raid/

Darren Paul Chapman, of Norfolk Road, Weymouth, was jailed for 33 months after he admitted possessing cannabis and cocaine with intent to supply.

Those drugs weren't his.............he found them.................in an envelope.............on a counter..............was going to hand them in...........

[Sooo Upto Me]

Wow a guy from Surrey. Not a Northern Brit, makes a change.

[arunsakda]

Clicked thinking it would be another duty free scam, pick up an item walk 3 metres away inside store and get stiched up for "shoplifting".

Nope, good job RTP. The lowest of the low Farang scum and rubbish. Rot in gaol.

Edited February 2, 2016 by arunsakda

[Tchooptip]

Whose going to be the first to say "tattooed vest wearing scum".

I'm sorry but it seems YOU are the first

[robblok]

Those Brits, good thing that the guy did not look like a foreigner otherwise we would have had 20 pages telling us it was not a typical Brit. Now that that is out they go for the fact he is wearing a wife beater and has tattoos. Funny thing, when one Thai does something you will hear people here on the forum always say its a Thai trait. Now that the shoe is on the other foot i hear only the sound of silence.

(not going after Brits but after the Thaibashing and generalizations)

People stereo type when trying to articulate their bigotry.

Suggesting one, possibly drunk, hungover, idiot without morals is representative of a nation is like suggesting all Dutch are dope heads in capable of rational thought. Or Americans all gung ho bully boys; or Greeks all lazy cheats. Hollywood images fuel the imagination.

It's as irrational as discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or color.

Correct.. but it shows how many hypocrites there are here.. always putting the Thais down based on a news article and then when its a fellow countrymen it all changes. Then suddenly the generalizations that worked for Thais don't work anymore. Then there is the need to distance themselves from the perp.. like not a a true Brit.. or.. he wears a wife beater (wearing one myself now) or he has tattoos.

Just remarkable the difference.

[farcanell]

I agree with a previous commentor..... finding an envelope full of cash surely cannot be theft. He is guilty of not handing it in????

He didn't physically take it from the Issam Barhoumi (who probably had a few dollars left from his Ladyboy adventure in Pattaya).

He should've asked the Bangkok Airways staff if the cash belonged to them, if they said no he could've maybe got away with it . Finders keepers! Issam Barhoumi is a buffoon.

If I find a 100 baht note on the pavement and pick it up..... am I a thief????

Anyone with tattoos and a vest should not be allowed into Thailand in the first place. Perhaps there should be a tickbox on the immigration slip that asks if the visitor intends to wear a vest.

Indeed finding the envelope full of cash, is not theft.... But opening it up and rifling thru it to extract the cash, before discarding said envelope, is definitely theft.

One would have to question the morals of a person espousing the old " finders keepers" deal... That's a child's mentality and should be left in childhood

The envelope should not only have been shown to the check in staff ( preferably their supervisor) but also left with them, and whilst it may be a loss to the ladyboys, as you suggest, that doesn't mean that it should be a criminals gain ( per earlier post and link to drug conviction)

The bloke who inadvertently left the cash was obviously distracted by something, and that hardly makes him a buffoon... I think you are being a little harsh there

As to your last comment about a checklist of things... Maybe your onto something there.... Wife beater shirts at home or beach or around the pool, no problem, but on an international air flight? Not acceptable dress standards in my view, and they are certainly not allowed in the galleys or mess halls in any of the places I have worked in the various corners of this world

[Tchooptip]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

This envelope he found on a counter not in the street, OK!

Then took the money, for afterwards putting the envelope back on the same place...

...or you have not read the link or we have not the same perception of honesty

[FredNL]

Farang steeling. Not good. Only Thai may steel.

[sn1per]

Are tattoo's acceptable if they are on a religious theme?

[arunsakda]

When a decent person finds valuables/passports/mobiles in an airport one immediately gives to airline staff or police.

[lostmebike]

Those Brits, good thing that the guy did not look like a foreigner otherwise we would have had 20 pages telling us it was not a typical Brit. Now that that is out they go for the fact he is wearing a wife beater and has tattoos. Funny thing, when one Thai does something you will hear people here on the forum always say its a Thai trait. Now that the shoe is on the other foot i hear only the sound of silence.

(not going after Brits but after the Thaibashing and generalizations)

People stereo type when trying to articulate their bigotry.

Suggesting one, possibly drunk, hungover, idiot without morals is representative of a nation is like suggesting all Dutch are dope heads in capable of rational thought. Or Americans all gung ho bully boys; or Greeks all lazy cheats. Hollywood images fuel the imagination.

It's as irrational as discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or color.

or all Dutch are as tight as a ducks arse!

[sn1per]

....since when is ..... finding....... an unmarked (?) envelope .......containing money.......considered theft.....???

Since you "found " it and, knowing it is not yours, you took it.

Theft, in law, a general term covering a variety of specific types of stealing, including the crimes of larceny, robbery, and burglary.

Theft is defined as the physical removal of an object that is capable of being stolen without the consent of the owner and with the intention of depriving the owner of it permanently.

Maybe he was just borrowing the money

Maybe he was going to use it to pay his overstay

[sn1per]

The fact his dress leaves a lot to be desired is really not important, it is the fact he is British and has stolen something that did not belong to him pouts us all in a bad light. personally a few days in Bangkok Hilton should tame his attitude if not his sexual desires for some time to come .

Do you think they will take him to Bangkok?