'HELL ON EARTH': Brit traveller spent nightmare week in cockroach-infested Thai prison because handwash leaked on his passport

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts and replies have been removed. 

[bamukloy]

5 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

Trying to look at the passport picture blew it up a bit I can understand why he was refused entry you can't see the date of issue or date it expires properly. Seems very odd it just affected those bits but hey I suppose I will give the benifits of the doubt.

 

That does sound very suspicious.

I didnt see any mention of where he has been living in the past few years. It is a bit of hassle getting a replacement for an expired Brit passport if living in Bangkok.

 

Probably another desperado English teacher living hand to mouth in Thailand and got sacked from his job.

Wouldnt be suprised if he was on overstay either.

Of course, these articles wouldnt mention an overstay..just love to  report how bad the Asians treat poor whitey

 

 

[Si Thea01]

15 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

5555,thankyou,dear abbey.I'd be locked up every day if you were the fashion police.Luckily the world has moved on since the 18 century and normal people don't give a toss about visible armpit hair.

 

 

Not having a go at you and yes you are right, you can wear what you choose, however,  just interested in a couple of aspects.  Who are the normal people you say do not give a toss?  Secondly, do you speak and understand Thai?  I'd say maybe not, as if you did, and pretended you didn't, you would actually hear what the Thai people say when they see those who  appear in public when dressed in an untidy or dishevelled manner.   Not pleasant I can tell you.  

[Shawn0000]

14 minutes ago, Si Thea01 said:

 

Not having a go at you and yes you are right, you can wear what you choose, however,  just interested in a couple of aspects.  Who are the normal people you say do not give a toss?  Secondly, do you speak and understand Thai?  I'd say maybe not, as if you did, and pretended you didn't, you would actually hear what the Thai people say when they see those who  appear in public when dressed in an untidy or dishevelled manner.   Not pleasant I can tell you.  

 

Do you really think that stands for all Thai people?  Those people saying those things are just the same as the ones on here talking about tattoos and vests and not everyone cares what those judgmental fools think of them.

[Thaidream]

Thais do not like Westerners dressing in singlets; flipflops and looking generally unkempt. If you understand Thai- you will hear their comments and they are not nice. However, they will smile at you and take your money and then curse you when you leave. So many foreigners constantly fooled-thinking they are so loved in the LOS.

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, Old Croc said:

When a plane leaves one country's airspace and arrives in another country it has departed the first. If a passenger is refused entry it doesn't reset his stay in the first country.

(Of course, if a plane returns to the departure port because of engine problems, and is not departing again anytime soon, it is reasonable to cancel the entire departure record. This would cause problems with passengers who left on the last day of their permit.) 

My experience is in Australia - no land borders.  I'm not sure how they would treat passengers in your scenario. Except to say I would be looking closely at the reasons for refusal at the other border. It could affect a decision to allow entry again.

 

I think your analysis is incorrect. At a land border, I can enter the territory of the neighboring country, but that does not mean I have officially entered that country. If denied entry, my exit from Thailand will be canceled.

 

Leaving Thai airspace and landing at an airport outside Thailand, being refused entry and returned to Thailand is a slower version of the same. Officially, the journey never took place.

 

Similarly, you cannot check out of Thailand, leave by boat for an isolated Cambodian island (without going through immigration there or,possibly being denied entry) and return by boat to Thailand for a fresh entry. Your departure from Thailand is considered null and void.

[Shawn0000]

7 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Thais do not like Westerners dressing in singlets; flipflops and looking generally unkempt. If you understand Thai- you will hear their comments and they are not nice. However, they will smile at you and take your money and then curse you when you leave. So many foreigners constantly fooled-thinking they are so loved in the LOS.

 

Some Thai's, some stupid judgemental Thai's.

[Thaidream]

If you are living in Thailand or coming here and do not understand that Thais are very judgmental not only about other Thais but also foreigners- you do not understand Thailand.  People coming through Thai borders dressed in this type of attire say to the Thai eye that they are unkempt; dirty; and  low class. Whether their observation is correct or not is beside the point.  This is what Thais believe when they see foreigners dressed like this. A foreigner can easily change a Thai person's opinion by simply dressing smartly, smiling and act friendly. They don't do it because they believe their life back in their World is superior. The Thais will continue to take their money and laugh at them for being so ignorant.

[Shaunduhpostman]

I don't get it. How could he be put in jail for simply arriving in Thailand without a visa? It's pretty routine that most people don't have one when they arrive. Seeing as Vietnam doesn't border Thailand at any point, I don't see why they wouldn't have sent him to Laos which is closer, and where they probably wouldn't have hesitated to give him a month entry or so to get a new passport. If he'd get put in jail or detention for simply trying to go back to Thailand, why would immigration send him there? It's as though someone at Vietnam Immigration took a very strong disliking to this guy and made sure he got railroaded. Still this all doesn't seem to make any sense, seems there was something else going on here or there are some pretty hostile people at both the Vietnamese and Thai immigration.

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, evadgib said:

What would you and the morons who gave you a standing ovation have them do?

 

Some kind of replacement passport / ETD would seem to be in order.

[evadgib]

What in the OP convinced you otherwise?

[Liquorice]

7 hours ago, Si Thea01 said:

 

 

With you 100 percent.  There are so many holes in this story or should I say, fairy tale, that it would put a block of Swiss cheese to shame.

 

Yeah, but at least you could count the number of holes in a block of Swiss cheese. 

[Si Thea01]

8 minutes ago, Faz said:

 

Yeah, but at least you could count the number of holes in a block of Swiss cheese. 

 

 

I could but there are some that may not.

[Basil B]

I am surprised anyone would spend 6 days in a detention centre if their passport was accidentally damaged...   

 

If the passport was still readable, surely a warning to get it changed?

If not then could not a Consulate/Embassy staff member attend to issue a Emergency Travel Document?

 

Or ... just another one of those Brits we see so often on the fly on the wall documentaries, boozed up, banging their fists on the table, already has a history of over staying, that no one has time for?

 

I am sure there is more to this than a damaged passport.

[Xircal]

10 hours ago, madmitch said:

Something's not right about this story, and being The Sun, who are in the habit of sensationalising, it doesn't surprise me.

 

Has anyone else experienced having to pay for the privilege of being accommodated in a Thai detention centre? Normally it's used for those that can't pay the overstay fine. And, as was pointed out earlier, it looks quite luxurious compared to the detention centre at Phuket Immigration office and any Thai jail

 

 

 

I wouldn't describe the state of that pillow in the Sun's article as "luxurious".

[Xircal]

What strikes me as odd is that the handwash gel stain doesn't appear on the opposite page. Admittedly, you can't see much of that, but I would have thought some of it would have leaked on to it.

 

So presumably it happened in the restroom of whichever Vietnamese airport he flew into. Since that page has a plastic cover he could have wiped it off quite easily enough I would have thought.

 

If it happened in a Thai airport, I would have thought immigration would have had something to say about it or even the airline staff when he had to present it prior to boarding.

 

And how do you get handwash gel on that particular page in the first place? Did he take it out of his pocket, opened it to that particular page while he washed his hands? If so, why? Is he narcissistic or something and wanted to admire his own photo?

[tubby johnson]

Is that handwash gel, or is he so in love with himself that he came all over his passport photo? 

[Broeno]

12 hours ago, colinneil said:

Big girls blouse !! Get over it you will survive.

Been there done that, i survived.

Thai prison at least he had a mat to sleep on, i had to sleep on the concrete.

Run home to mummy she will take care of you.

Or run to Thaivisa. I was there and had to sleep on the concrete floor. Get over it instead of bullying others.

[Wazza1]

What an a$$clown, that will teach him to take care of his important travel documents, my passport is in a plastic sleeve and kept in a travel wallet along with entry cards for the main countries I go to and a pen. He should have got 6 months for being an idiot without a license.

[Wilsonandson]

Why didn't he ring his school when he got into trouble in Vietnam? They could have sorted it all out. Obviously new to Asia.

[Deserted]

How can this be a crime?

[billd766]

4 hours ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

I don't get it. How could he be put in jail for simply arriving in Thailand without a visa? It's pretty routine that most people don't have one when they arrive. Seeing as Vietnam doesn't border Thailand at any point, I don't see why they wouldn't have sent him to Laos which is closer, and where they probably wouldn't have hesitated to give him a month entry or so to get a new passport. If he'd get put in jail or detention for simply trying to go back to Thailand, why would immigration send him there? It's as though someone at Vietnam Immigration took a very strong disliking to this guy and made sure he got railroaded. Still this all doesn't seem to make any sense, seems there was something else going on here or there are some pretty hostile people at both the Vietnamese and Thai immigration.

 

He was returned to Thailand because that is where he came from. The airline that took him had to return him at their cost. I would think that when he checked in at the Thai airport that his passport was OK or he should not have got past the airline check in let alone Thai passport control. If he got past there then unless he had a re-entry permit to come back any visa he had would have been invalidated.

If, as he claims, the damage was done whilst in flight, then the Vietnamese were correct in refusing him entry. By returning him to his point of departure he would then have had to enter Thai Immigration and passport control. They most probably refused him entry and any sort of visa because of the damaged passport.

Until he could contact the embassy they couldn't having wandering around the airport and as he was refused a visa he was possibly offered a flight back to the UK. Whether he has the wherewithall to buy a ticket is not made clear. It is unlikely that the UK would have accepted him either with a damaged passport so he would either have to visit the embassy and get an ETD or the embassy would have to come to him to get all the details.

All of this takes time and money so they locked him up in the IDC jail until it was done.

Again if he was angry and upset at the Immigration guys in Thailand is also not mentioned but upsetting them is not what a wise man would do. Talking quietly and asking politely for help gets you a long way, ranting and raving, screaming and shouting gets you into the IDC.

Nothing has been mentioned or at least known about his attitude.

At the end of the day however the fault is his alone.

[ericthai]

14 hours ago, Ianatlarge said:

Just what is wrong with the people here criticizing this backpacker? He was imprisoned for no good reason. Shirt, tats, attitude, none of these are reasons for imprisonment. Perhaps it is officialdom who need an attitude adjustment? It is called justice, where people who have travel problems receive assistance, and people who kill other people on the road go to jail. Not the other way around.

I dont understand if he tried to enter Thailand and they suspected his passport was no good and refused entry then why could he not fly home.  What was the reason for him to be detained. He didnt overstay a visa as he was not back in Thailand yet. Seems like there is more to this story.    

 

Also I agree with allot of other posters attitude does make a bog difference in Asia and Vietnam immigration is vert strict. The detention does not look that bad I've seen Thais living in allot worse than that, dirt floors, an outhouse, wash up with rain water kept in drums outside, etc..  If he is a back packer he should be used to these conditions I thought they all lived as cheap as possible.

[Shawn0000]

5 minutes ago, ericthai said:

I dont understand if he tried to enter Thailand and they suspected his passport was no good and refused entry then why could he not fly home.  What was the reason for him to be detained. He didnt overstay a visa as he was not back in Thailand yet. Seems like there is more to this story.    

 

Also I agree with allot of other posters attitude does make a bog difference in Asia and Vietnam immigration is vert strict. The detention does not look that bad I've seen Thais living in allot worse than that, dirt floors, an outhouse, wash up with rain water kept in drums outside, etc..  If he is a back packer he should be used to these conditions I thought they all lived as cheap as possible.

 

"Seems like there is more to this story."

 

No, you have jut completely misunderstood it. 

[ericthai]

6 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

"Seems like there is more to this story."

 

No, you have jut completely misunderstood it. 

So what did I miss?? He went to Vietnam they refused his entry, he returned to Thailand refused his entry and put him in detention. Is this correct??

[Shawn0000]

Just now, ericthai said:

So what did I miss?? He went to Vietnam they refused his entry, he returned to Thailand refused his entry and put him in detention. Is this correct??

 

I am sorry, I thought you thought he was coming to Thailand from home.  He had been in Thailand, then flew to Vietnam where he was refused, so he did already have a Thai visa, and as he was never accepted into Vietnam he would not have been granted a new visa on arrival when he came back to Thailand, and by then his original visa was expired so he did not have one at all.  Why they did not just let him pay the one day overstay fee and travel on somewhere else is perhaps due to his passport being declined in Vietnam and the assumption that his passport would also be declined elsewhere.  There clearly was no need to detain him though, safe passage to his embassy would have been more in order.

[gregk0543]

Oh he is famous but still the story not completely told. https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBBCSouthToday%2Fvideos%2F1128868517203737%2F

[ericthai]

10 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

I am sorry, I thought you thought he was coming to Thailand from home.  He had been in Thailand, then flew to Vietnam where he was refused, so he did already have a Thai visa, and as he was never accepted into Vietnam he would not have been granted a new visa on arrival when he came back to Thailand, and by then his original visa was expired so he did not have one at all.  Why they did not just let him pay the one day overstay fee and travel on somewhere else is perhaps due to his passport being declined in Vietnam and the assumption that his passport would also be declined elsewhere.  There clearly was no need to detain him though, safe passage to his embassy would have been more in order.

Still dont make sense if he left Thailand he got stamped out so he cannot be on overstay. What I dont understand is, if he was refused entry into Thailand (which it dont say) then he could fly someone else. He is British so he should be allowed another visa exempt entry,  Like I said something is missing as it's not clear why he was in detention because his passport was damaged? If so then its very possible it was how he behaved with immigration about this. 

[Shawn0000]

Just now, ericthai said:

Still dont make sense if he left Thailand he got stamped out so he cannot be on overstay. What I dont understand is, if he was refused entry into Thailand (which it dont say) then he could fly someone else. He is British so he should be allowed another visa exempt entry,  Like I said something is missing as it's not clear why he was in detention because his passport was damaged? If so then its very possible it was how he behaved with immigration about this. 

 

You can only get a visa on arrival if you were accepted at your destination, his exit stamp would have been cancelled when he was returned so he wouldn't have been refused entry as he was technically still there, just now without a valid visa or a usable passport.  It could have been exasperated by his attitude, which could quite understandably of been a little off considering his circumstances and assuming his account of the events are accurate and his passport was accidentally defaced, I know I would find it difficult to keep my cool in such a situation.

[dcnx]

19 hours ago, tomwct said:

 Looking at this guy with his tank top and tattoos, I would have refused him entry into

Vietnam. If you dress and act properly you will be treated with respect rather than being put in a detention room.

 

You sound like loads of fun.