Can anyone offer practical help here please?

[cliveshep]

My nephew (by marriage) is about to start his final year in University. Until now his aunt's deceased husband's Police friend has supported him by writing a letter saying he is of good character etc and then the boy hands the letter to the University who then pays his bursary or grant. This year for some reason the policeman friend has refused to do it, possibly because the boy's  mother, who I support being my wife's sister, was not hospitable to him last time he came or maybe for some other reason as he has turned off his phone number.

 

With a week to go the boy needs to find someone in Government who will write this letter for him so he can restart UNI, or he has to find 35000 baht.

 

They are extremely poor, I am poor too because my paltry devalued UK pension already looks after the two sisters and the boy as well as myself and my beloved and there is no way I can provide the money. What I need is a nice Government official or police officer prepared to write saying the boy is a good boy etc and sign it so he can do his final year.

 

I can offer a few thousand tea money but that's it and time is short.

 

Please don't reply with gratuitous insults, but if anyone does know a Government official who would write such a letter it will keep this youngster on his educational course and save him.

 

He actually is a good lad, but his dad left him so no support for Mother and him, and his aunt's policeman husband was killed in a police shootout so no help from him and no help from his father's police friend any more either.

 

Can anyone offer an intro to to help out please?

 

 

[oldcarguy]

I do not know anyone.....

 

But thanks for trying to Help ,

 

Do you know the Thai Cop ? and can go over and "beg" him to help ?

Eating a little crow might help the boy :) , you know how it often about "Face"

 

Good Luck

[cliveshep]

I don't know the cop personally unfortunately, nor do I even know his name. He comes from Khon Kaen Police station which is an awful long way from Lam Luk Ka, Pathom Thani which is our neighbourhood.

[Kwasaki]

If you have no luck in finding someone, may l suggest, seeing as it is his last year why not get to borrow the money by the many ways and means,  paying small amount back every month.

[cliveshep]

They are trying that route but the problem is no one works so they have no way to pay back. Everyone knows that it could be money lost.

 

The daft thing is that all it needs is a simple letter signed by a government official to solve his problem, and I do not know any or I'd ask!

 

Edited April 25, 2017 by cliveshep

[grollies]

Maybe start with the Head of your Village, ask for an introduction to the local police chief. Dying in the line of duty, surely they must respect that. And DON'T offer 'tea money' it's a bit out of fashion right now.

[happylarry]

Seriously Clive, have you thought this through?

Although your intentions are honorable you do realize that you would be asking a government employee to tell a lie.

i don't know if you could be arrested for that but it may not be looked at favourably by some people, if you chose the wrong one.

Think again mate!

HL

[cmsally]

Have you thought about going to the Uni and asking about alternative routes. it could be a case of that letter was getting him school fees paid as being a govt employee dependent. The friend was maybe basically saying that the boy was his dependent. Govt employee benefits are getting harder to come by and any stretch of the truth is endangering their position and pension . it is the same everywhere at the moment.

If this is the case it will be hard to find someone to sign your best course of action is to ask at the Uni what your options are.

[benalibina]

3 hours ago, grollies said:

Maybe start with the Head of your Village, ask for an introduction to the local police chief. Dying in the line of duty, surely they must respect that. And DON'T offer 'tea money' it's a bit out of fashion right now.

Really ???

[Bang Bang]

12 hours ago, happylarry said:

Seriously Clive, have you thought this through?

Although your intentions are honorable you do realize that you would be asking a government employee to tell a lie.

i don't know if you could be arrested for that but it may not be looked at favourably by some people, if you chose the wrong one.

Think again mate!

HL

BS. This is standard MO in many Asian countries. I dealt with it when I was in India. Different forms required different levels of official attestation. It was just a matter of rustling the ole friends/family circuit to find the right person, who more often than not didn't know me from Adam but didn't bat an eyelid either.

 

Heck, in the OP's case I would just pop into a local PS or govt. office and explain the situation to anyone who looks like they've got a bit of time on their hands. 99.99% they'll be sympathetic, no one will think ill of him for trying to help a Thai kid and no one will expect cash for scribbling a few lines.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Bang Bang

[happylarry]

17 hours ago, Bang Bang said:

BS. This is standard MO in many Asian countries. I dealt with it when I was in India. Different forms required different levels of official attestation. It was just a matter of rustling the ole friends/family circuit to find the right person, who more often than not didn't know me from Adam but didn't bat an eyelid either.

 

Heck, in the OP's case I would just pop into a local PS or govt. office and explain the situation to anyone who looks like they've got a bit of time on their hands. 99.99% they'll be sympathetic, no one will think ill of him for trying to help a Thai kid and no one will expect cash for scribbling a few lines.

"No one will expect cash"......Dream on mate.

HL

[p_brownstone]

Does it  have to be a Government Official - would the Abbot of the local Temple not be acceptable?

 

Just a thought.

 

Patrick

 

 

[cliveshep]

I think the salient point we have been making to the lad is "if you are going to have a problem find out about it earlier, not at the last minute, thus turning a minor drama into an all-out crisis". As for the Abbot of the local temple I have to say I don't know, an interesting point I will ask about. I suspect my wife won't know the answer so will probably say "no" to be safe in the annoying Thai way.

 

Thanks for all your interest, the boys mother and aunt have raised 20k out of the necessary 35k by borrowing from everyone, I have been persuaded by a tearful wife to help out by lending the remaining 15k from our meagre savings in the form of a loan that, like all the others, will never be repaid because none of them work!

[steven100]

well sounds like you raised the 35k which is good and I sincerely hope the boy appreciates the effort you, mother & aunt have put in to solve the problem.

As mentioned earlier,  it seemed a bit weird asking a government official who doesn't even know the boy from a bar of soap to write and sign a letter to say he is of good character ....  you are asking the officer to lie ... and he could loose his job over it (  not saying it would come to that but that's the reality )

You may look back at this in 5 or 10 years when the boy is a lawyer or a doctor or in a position of high statue and realize '  that raising 35k for him was worth every cent '

good luck to him at UNI.