Jump to content

Belgian man arrested for working as tour guide


Thaivisa News

Recommended Posts

Chiang Rai:- A Belgian man was arrested while leading a group of tourists to have lunch in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district Saturday.


Pol Lt Pitpatchara Pitchayanan, deputy inspector of Chiang Saen Immigration checkpoint, said Bramewanden Bozer, 30, who carried a Belgian passport with 90-day tourist visa stamp, was charged with working as a tourist guide without a work permit.


The deputy police chief was checking the tourist site in Sanmakhet village in the district when he spotted the Belgian using an amplifier device to talk to a group of tourists like a guide.


Pitpatchara asked to see the work permit but the Belgian could not produce.


Bozer admitted that he was leading a group of 23 Dutch tourists to visit the Golden Triangle in Chiang Saen and were taking them to have lunch when he was arrested. He said he was paying Bt1,000 to B1,300 a day.


But after police charged him with working as a tourist guide without a work permit, Bozer argued that he was not a guide but he simply worked as an interpreter for the guide of the tour group.


He was handed over to the Chiang Saen police station for taking legal actions against him.


Pol Lt Wannachai Sukjaem, another deputy inspector of the Chiang Saen checkpoint, said his checkpoint had received a lot of complaints from Thai tourist guides that several foreign tourists had competed against them for tourist guide jobs.


The Thai guides said the foreigners entered the country as tourists and then applied for jobs at tourist firms.


Wannachai said several foreigners have been arrested – mostly in February – for working illegally as tourist guides.


  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

he can most likely speak Flemish, which is very close to formal Dutch at lot of Belgian's do speak it

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is really an important Thai bust. When we read about a few Thai big men and Thai bankers hauled off for racketeering and money laundering, then the Thai law enforcement and reform can be taken seriously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

English is the second language for the Dutch , they speak excellent English , you are correct, he broke the law.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another 'innocent' person arrested?

You asked about it twice, I'll answer you once.

Yes, in my eyes he is innocent.

I don't give a damn about work permits and requirements.

He was offering a service that the Thais could not offer as none of them could probably speak Dutch.

Many of you will condemn me for what I said but this is my opinion.

He didn't commit a crime he just wanted to make a living.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone now....................

Why do you feel it is ok to come to Thailand and break the law without consequences?

There are laws against what he was doing

He chose to break them

Now he deserves to pay the price

If he could provide a service that no one else could he should have applied for a work permit thru a tour comapny

IMO it depends...if there was indeed a Thai tour guide present and the Belgian was acting as a translator, I see no wrong. In the case no Thai guide was present he violated the law.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am a little surprised that no one from TV forum's 'Visa Terminology Police' has jumped on this from the OP "....carried a Belgian passport with 90-day tourist visa stamp".

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

he can most likely speak Flemish, which is very close to formal Dutch at lot of Belgian's do speak it

Most intelligent Belgians (rare) do speak Dutch. (running joke between Belgians and Dutch we complain about their intelligence and they complain we resemble Scots in how cheap we are)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Dutch are very smart people. Most speak some English and some speak it very well. It is possible the Belgian was able to communicate to the Dutch tourists in their own language better than the Thai guides can speak English. However, he broke the law and the law won.

Wrong place, wrong time. Remember where you are!

Actually while it is true.. that we are highly intelligent.. one of the highest IQ's in Europe not everyone is and / or speaks good English. My mom is one of those whose English is not that great. So I can understand them to have their own guides.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-381057/European-IQ-map-proves-Brits-brainy.html (fun Dutch 107 Brits 100 and they call themselves brainy in the article.. almost identical to how thais often twist the the facts) (I have seen other scores But the Dutch seem always to get good scores)

It actually goes for a lot of people that they like to be addressed in their own language and provisions should be made. My gf is a tourguide and she told me how her company often bribed the police to let a Korean join the trip she would communicate with him and he would tell the clients. They police was ok with this as long as a Thai guide was there (and payments were made of course).

Thai guides don't have a problem with this only when the guide is effectively cut out. Personally I feel they should learn the language of those they serve..but a much higher salary should be available then.

Edited by robblok
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.





×
×
  • Create New...