HACKERS SUPPORTING LAURA WITHERIDGE 'BLOCK' THAI COURT SYSTEM

January 13, 2016, 1:06 am

≫ Next: ANDY HALL BANNED FROM LEAVING THAILAND

≪ Previous: KOH TAO MURDER AND BRITAIN'S POLICY OF APPEASEMENT

COURTS OF JUSTICE WEBSITES DOWN

'SORRY WEBSITE IS BEING UPDATES

The international hackers group ‘Anonymous’ launched a second attack on the Thai government early today Thai time taking down some 297 sites run by the country’s Courts of justice.

Protesting against the guilty verdicts on two young Burmese for the murder of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on the Thai island of Koh Tao they brought the sites to a standstill.

All sites check showed a picture of the Court of Justice in Bangkok with the caption ‘Sorry the website is being updated’.

Earlier in the day they had signaled their action by announcing on Facebook: and announcing:

“Anonymous is preparing a huge leak of all Thai officials involved in corruption in Thai Courts.

“Anonymous has found the Thai courts to be GUILTY of unfair treatment of non Thai nationals, using scapegoats and using foreign prisoners as political pawns and for political gain.

Add caption

“You have been found guilty by Anonymous and justice will prevail.”

They then published pictures of the judges in the Koh Samui trial of Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin, pronouncing the judges guilty adding: ‘Failed Law We Want Justice’

Hannah and Laura Witheridge

They also announced ‘We stand by Laura’ referring to Hannah Witheridge’s elder sister’s outburst on Facebook yesterday about Thai justice and corrupt police.

Anonymous announced they have taken down the sites at 10 pm (5 am Thai time Wednesday) with the following announcement.

“Anonymous shuts down all Thai Court of Justice Websites in protest over the ‪#‎KohTao murder verdict. #Anonymous is supporting the campaign to ask tourists to boycott Thailand "until such time changes are made with the way Thai police handle investigations involving foreign tourists". Details of latest hack are here: http://pastebin.com/UpS1pgjR”

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ANDY HALL BANNED FROM LEAVING THAILAND

January 13, 2016, 5:57 am

≫ Next: THAI POLICE MAKE A STAND IN A WAVE OF NEGATIVE PUBLICITY

≪ Previous: HACKERS SUPPORTING LAURA WITHERIDGE 'BLOCK' THAI COURT SYSTEM

Andy Hall the British migrant workers activist has been banned from leaving Thailand and his passport has been seized in his continuing battle with the Natural Fruit Company over its treatment of its Burmese labour.

The following is the statement issued today bv Finnwatch which complains of judicial harassment. Hall was one of the researchers on Finnwatch’s report on Natural Fruit’s pineapple plant in Prachuap Khiri Kan.

Natural Fruit has brought actions against him for criminal libel and Computer Crime Act libel and is demanding he be imprisoned and pay astronomical damages.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court today confiscated the passport of British migrant rights defender Andy Hall and imposed on him a travel ban, following a temporary bail request submission. The bail request was made in advance of Hall’s official indictment next week on 18th January for an internationally monitored criminal defamation and computer crimes case brought against him by Thai pineapple exporter Natural Fruit Company Ltd.

Andy Hall was today granted bail temporary pending trial on the charges but cannot now leave Thailand before the case has been ruled on by the Court, unless permission is granted on a case by case basis. An immigration block will be placed on Hall’s movement in and our of Thailand. Hall will now petition the British Embassy to Thailand for assistance in requesting diplomatic officials to seek the return of his passport from the Court.

– The confiscation of Andy Hall's passport and the limitations placed on his ability to travel freely are a form of harrassment and intimidation. Ever since the beginning of this campaign of judicial harassment, Andy Hall has shown nothing but respect towards the rule of law and the judiciary in Thailand, alongside his willingness to respond to allegations against him in a court of law. For this reason, there seems to be no reason to treat him as a flight risk, confiscate his passport and prevent him from travelling in and out of Thailand, said Sonja Vartiala, executive director of Finnwatch.

Andy Hall will next appear at Bangkok South Criminal Court on 18th January when he will be formally indicted on the above charges, that carry a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment if found guilty. He is legally obliged to attend the hearing and will plead 'not guilty' to all the charges duing the hearing. The full criminal trial on these charges is expected to commence later in 2016.

Andy Hall's bail surety costs of 300, 000 baht presented to the Court today were shared between Finnwatch, the Thai Tuna Industry Association (TTIA) and Thai Union Group.

Natural Fruit Company Ltd. filed this computer crimes and criminal defamation case against Hall following publication of a Finnwatch report exposing labour rights violations at the company’s pineapple processing plant in Prachuap Khiri Khan province in Southern Thailand. Hall coordinated field research and conducted interviews with Natural Fruit workers for the report. Most workers at Natural Fruit are migrant workers from Myanmar.

Finnwatch is a Helsinki-based NGO focussed on global impacts of Finnish business enterprises. At the time of the publication of the report, several Finnish supermarket chains were using Natural Fruit processed pineapple concentrate in their private label pineapple juice. The retailers have since stopped purchasing pineapple concentrate from Natural Fruit due to the company's refusal to let independent auditors visit their processing plant to assess worker conditions.
This criminal defamation and computer crimes case is only one of four criminal and civil cases filed by Natural Fruit against Andy Hall. Another three cases are also still pending.

In December 2015, Natural Fruit and Thailand's Attorney General were given a permission to appeal to the Supreme Court on one of the cases, an Aljazeera interview criminal defamation case, that has already been twice dismissed by a lower court and appeals court. Natural Fruit is also seeking civil damages from Hall to the sum of 400 million baht.

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THAI POLICE MAKE A STAND IN A WAVE OF NEGATIVE PUBLICITY

January 14, 2016, 1:32 am

≫ Next: KOH TAO ' I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH ANIMAL CRUELTY BEFORE'

≪ Previous: ANDY HALL BANNED FROM LEAVING THAILAND

BUT THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME

Laura Witheridge has deleted her controversial letter about her treatment while in Koh Tao for the trial of two Burmese for the murder and rape of her sister and now according to the Thai media the Thai Police are considering suing her and news agencies for her outspoken remarks.

This could only happen in Thailand and of course little thought went in as usual to the police statement. The Royal Thai Police certainly need a spin doctor now more than ever.

They could simply have said: “We understand the grief the sister of Hannah Witheridge is feeling and our thoughts are with her at this terrible time. We can assure you that none of our officers is responsible for the comments she describes but understand her distress if such comments were made. The protection of tourists is our priority.”

And on the death of Luke Miller in the swimming pool of the Sunset Bar, they did not need to say that it was not murder or that he was probably drunk and cut himself on barbed wire while climbing on a DJ booth to jump into a swimming pool where he drowned.

We're thinking os suing' - (Spring TV)

The more information police give the more they are likely to have made a mistake. But the Thai police always seem to be horrified at the strength of foreign reaction to death's of their citizens - as if its never happened before.

This may be of course that if a local dies and the investigation seems shoddy - his family can do little about it unless its a rich family.

Police should merely have stated that a foreigner died in Koh Tao. An initial investigation show that he drowned. A serious investigation is being made into his death.

But then of course they would have to have a serious investigation..

Luke

The most serious allegation that Laura made against the Thai police was that they were corrupt and often murder cases were covered up. The only place the Thai police could sue is Thailand.

They certainly could not do it in the UK. But if they did get it to the High Court in London they might find witnesses queuing around the block to testify against them. It could put the whole of the police force on trial. In libel cases the character of the plaintiff is also determined in assessing damages.

Has Laura damaged Thai police more than they are damaged already? Down that unlikely road they could face paying millions to get a one penny award.

And suing in Thailand? Well does anybody think that Laura is really heading back there soon, if ever?

Luke Miller and James Gissing (family pic)

Laura is one of many foreigners to hit the social media with complaints against the police. The ‘Justice for Jessie’, ‘Justice for Jack’ pages are still going strong and I suspect stronger allegations are still to come.

Thai Police may also think they have successfully cleaned up the case of Luke Miller from the Isle of Wight.

Maybe not. There are a lot of questions still to be asked on that case.

And his family may well be concerned about the hurried police investigation, and post-mortem followed by a statement from Police Lt. Col. Napa Senatip that the investigation had been closed; cause of death was drowning, no clues signaling a murder.

The wounds on his face, said police, were probably caused by barbed wire as he climbed up to jump into the pool for a DJ's booth. So who saw this?

Where are the witnesses? There should be some but there is no reference to any. And if there were people around the pool - did they leave him to drown? Wasn't there even a bar tender?

Its not the sort of answer that a mother would like to hear. And Luke's mother has already been on the BBC talking about the shortage of information.

There are lots of rumours in Koh Tao about his wounds and his family are anxious to get his body back.

Nick Pearson and parents

It is not so long ago of course that Nick Pearson died of drowning in Ko Tao after falling onto rocks, or so the story goes. His mother did not believe that.

After Luke's death his holiday companions Nichola and James Gissing from the Isle of Wight could not been seen for dust.
Perhaps they were scared. James and Luke were best mates. That comes across on Facebook.

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KOH TAO ' I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH ANIMAL CRUELTY BEFORE'

January 15, 2016, 2:10 am

≫ Next: FAKE LAWYER BRIAN GOUDIE FABRICATES SAME PRESS JUDGMENT STORY - TWICE

≪ Previous: THAI POLICE MAKE A STAND IN A WAVE OF NEGATIVE PUBLICITY

FAMILIES AND FRIENDS JOIN IN WITH THE INSULTS AS MORE DOUBTS ARE CAST ON LUKE MILLER 'DROWNING'

ON NOW INFAMOUS 'KOH TAO'

New attacks against Thailand suggesting skullduggery behind the investigation into the death of that 26-year-old Luke Miller, whose body was found last week in a swimming pool on the island of Koh Tao, have been launched on Facebook as Luke’s holiday pals landed at Heathrow today.

Just 24 hours after Laura Witheridge the sister of Hannah Witheridge, who was raped then murdered with David Miller on the island last year, was forced to withdraw an emotional ‘Thailand is not beautiful’ attack, Luke’s sister Maria and Nichola Gissing, one of his holiday companions, recorded clearly bitter criticisms of the popular holiday destination.

Luke’s death has also drawn attention to a ‘pack attack’ in the same beach bar ‘The Sunset Bar’ where Briton Luke Miller died last week in which its claimed bar staff joined forces to beat a young backpacker ‘like a dog with a piece of meat.'

The attacks fall short of accusing the locals on Koh Tao directly of the murder of Luke Miller. Maria refers only to injustice. But murder claims have been bandied about privately and Nichola and James Gissing have returned to Britain with pictures they secretly took of Luke’s body on the Thai mainland.

Those pictures, it is alleged, show that the injuries are different to those described by police, who said Miller could have scratched his face on barbed wire while climbing up a DJ booth to dive into the pool.

Sunset Bar

Thai Police closed their investigation announcing that he drowned and may have been intoxicated. There was nothing signaling a murder, they said.

Luke’s mother went on BBC TV South East to suggest there were shortfalls in the Thai investigation.

Nichola with Luke (Facebook)

Nichola Gissing who was on holiday with her brother James and Luke, all from the Isle of Wight, today posted on the new Facebook site 'Luke's Legacy'

“They hate us over there. Land of Smiles, my ass. Land of snakes and murderers, Mafia, rapists and corruption.”

She was joined by Luke’s sister Maria who said: “This won't be swept under the carpet . . . guaranteed.

“If anything good is to come out of this crazy surreal nightmare then warning others and getting justice should be the way forward.

“That island needs all the bad publicity it can get. This can't happen again. I wouldn't wish this heartbreak on anyone. Xxxxx”

James and Nichola fled to the mainland after Miller’s body was transferred for examination in the provincial capital Surat Thani. Police had initially seized their passports and mobile phones. They went into the hospital and took pictures when other people’s backs were turned.

Davud Miller and Hannah Witheridge

They boarded a London bound flight last night complaining the British Embassy was of little use. telling friends they were scared and had been followed. Before leaving that had stayed in private accommodation.

Nichola has also called for support for Zaw Lin and Waiu Phyo the two Burmese sentenced for the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.

"This page is also to out the real killers of Hannah and David and any other innocent person murdered in Koh Tao, the ones we know of and the ones that have never come to light. To save Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin the two Burmese men that have been sentenced to death for these murders, two innocent men who were tortured by Koh Tao police to admit to murders they did not commit," she wrote

When I called the ‘Sunset Bar’ the Thai who answered the phone but did not give his name said: “It was an accident. Foreigners like to go wild at parties. He probably climbed onto the DJ booth and hurt himself. We have pictures. You can come here any time and see for yourself. We have nothing to hide.”

He said there was no CCTV as it had been down for about three months. This appears to contradict a police claim that here is CCTV evidence.

The line cut and I asked a Thai colleague to call. She reported back that the man who took the call appeared to be a policeman. He said much the same. There were no secrets. She was unable to connect again.

The conversations created more questions than answers. The only conclusion was that they supported the Thai police line.

In an emotional state Nichola also claimed on Facebook she was scared to go to the Embassy because ‘certain names, won’t mention right now, are being paid off.’

It is possible she might be confusing Embassy indifference and its policy of not interfering with the justice system of another country with some sort of corruption.

Much more specific is an account on the internet describing a pack attack by Thais on a single foreigner in the Sunset Bar on Sairee Beach, Koh Tao on Boxing Day.

Pack attacks by groups of Thais on lone foreigners are not uncommon in Thailand. They usually occur in bar areas, and usually follow a small confrontation or argument, sometimes over a bill.

These attacks can be very vicious and often bottles or knives are used.

The story on a website called Planeless Travellers (linked below) has the following account. (edited) The fight appeared to have started after a trivial argument.

Davy - pic Herlinde Noppe
“Yesterday night my friend Davy got beaten up in ‘The Sunset Beach Bar’ on Koh Tao. What happened is unacceptable.

‘The Sunset Beach Bar’ is one of the most popular places to party on Koh Tao. As always, what ended up to be a terrible night, had a pretty good start.

Ien, Davy, Yasmin and I and another friend are watching the fire acrobats in front of the bar on the beach, just like many other tourists. At some point, it’s not very late in the evening yet, about 11h-ish, Ien and Yasmin decide to go home, and I stay at the bar with Davy and his friend.

Two girls and one guy, all three of them bar staff, are hitting him. The guy is stomping him with his foot, shoes on, the girls do the same.

“ At some point the staff announces through the microphone something about a free bucket and jumping in the pool. Together with some other people, Davy and his friend decide to jump in the pool. The party goes on for a while, and I am dancing with two Finish girls I’ve just met.

The next thing I see is my friend Davy on the ground being pushed in my direction, his face full of blood. Two girls and one guy, all three of them bar staff, are hitting him. The guy is stomping him with his foot, shoes on, the girls do the same. Everything happened so fast. I try to stand in front of Davy because I was pretty sure they would not hit me. While Davy is behind me – not fighting back since the beginning, but just being a victim of their actions – they keep trying to get as close as possible to continue beating him up.

A few tall male customers see what is happening and try to get the aggressive people away from Davy. I tell Davy and his friend: “We have to get out of here!” I try to take Davy’s hand to follow me and leave, but we can’t. The aggressive people keep coming to him like dogs that want a piece of meat. Luckily, the tall guys keep defending Davy, and one of them succeeds to take him out of the bar together with Davy’s friend.

This all happened so quickly. I was – and still am – so shocked about this event. I could see it was not a fight with other tourists, but that it were people from the staff.

Whatever my friend did, I was thinking at that moment, no one ever deserves to be beaten up like this.

I talked to other customers afterwards, and they too were shocked by the severe cruel approach. It really looked like they wanted to kill my friend. Not just one push or one punch on the nose, but they were continuously hitting my poor friend who was sitting on the floor like a fetus, his hands on his head, trying to protect his face.

But what happened last night – the animal-like cruelty in which some people can hurt another human being – is something I have never seen happening in front of my eyes before.

Apparently, between when I saw them jumping in the pool and when I saw my friend with his face full of blood, they were asking about the free bucket they were promised. But they were told that they wouldn’t get it, and Davy began to argue that they should. Davy was angry and showed his fuck-you-finger to the bar lady. The next thing that happened was Davy being beaten up.

I know these things happen all the time. I have seen some fights in my life: in movies, or in the corner of a bar between drunk people. But what happened last night – the animal-like cruelty in which some people can hurt another human being – is something I have never seen happening in front of my eyes before.

Some people told us to let it go. They told us that the only thing that will happen if we go to the police, is that the rich bar owner will pay them to close the case. But we didn’t care. If everyone closes their eyes all the time to these kinds of events, nothing will ever change. If because of this some people will not go to this bar anymore, that would already be an achievement.”

The matter according to the writer ‘Charlie’ was settled with just one of the attackers having to pay a 10,000 baht fine (about £200) at the local police station, which if the man was a member of the bar staff would have been settled by the bar.

Footnote Thai police have threatened to sue Laura Witheridge for her remarks, though quite where they did not say. She is not in Thailand and Thailand has no powers to see her extradition. The Courts of Justice issued the following statement: Laura initially edited her post. Then she deleted it. Now she has closed down her Facebook page.

COMMENT:

People are in grief and angry. Some of their comments may be over the top. They can be forgiven for that. But people in Thailand know how deceitful the police are capable of being. They know how people are regularly set up. The term 'goat' as in scapegoat is a common word in Thailand. The scenarios recounted on Koh Tao are uncannily similar to the experiences of the travellers in Alex Garland's 'The Beach' the film of which ironically led to a tourism explosion. A bunch of travellers thought they had found their paradise. but it had a major drawback. Mafia and death. The land never belonged to the travellers. Tt belonged to a fierce local mafia, who tolerated them, but punished those who broke their rules - terminally.

Planeless Travellers:
http://www.planelesstravellers.com/travel/yesterday-night-my-friend-davy-got-beaten-up-in-the-sunset-beach-bar-in-koh-tao-what-happened-is-unaceptable-here-is-the-story/
Luke’s Legacy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1695729067325810/

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FAKE LAWYER BRIAN GOUDIE FABRICATES SAME PRESS JUDGMENT STORY - TWICE

January 16, 2016, 2:15 am

≫ Next: 'NO MAFIA' CLAIM ON MURDER HIT THAI ISLANDS GOES UP IN SMOKE

≪ Previous: KOH TAO ' I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH ANIMAL CRUELTY BEFORE'

Weekend Diary

Having been dealing with the awful mess which is the island of Koh Tao and the death toll there of foreigners I have been distracted again by the antics of Thailand’s most famous fake lawyer and vexatious litigant, Brian Goudie, who has been repeatedly exposed for his crimes in the western media, but whom of course the Thai justice system naturally cannot get to grips with.

Brian Goudie, sentenced in Australia for six years for stealing from his employers and 3 years in Thailand for cheating a 78-year-old American woman out of hundreds of thousands of dollars has now it seems been forced to withdraw another fictitious story about a judgment by the British Independent Press Standards Organisation.

This is the third time Goudie, who even has a documentary dedicated to himself in a series called ‘Serial Swindlers’, has fabricated judgments from IPSO claiming on each occasion that Andrew Drummond (myself) had been censured.

In fact IPSO has not censured me at all in any of the judgments.
On the previous occasions Goudie’s concerned stories about himself.

Hanks, lawyer, Goudie

The latest case was one made by Goudie for his colleague David Hanks, the former owner of the Masquerades Brothel in Keysborough, in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and it was not brought against myself, but a newspaper in Scotland, the ‘Ayrshire Post’.

It related to a story which I had written and published on this site but had not sent to the Ayrshire Post because I do not normally send to local newspapers.

Hanks had been charged together with a Russian with running a racket in Pattaya lending money to Russians at 60 per cent per month and holding their passports as security.

Hanks had made multiple complaints. They included complaints that Hanks falsely been accused of being held in custody and also had been involved in another fraud namely: “that he and an associate “are said to have targeted American billionaire TV tycoon Bill Monson”, “allegedly” telling him that they could help him to access the frozen fortune of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and that the complainant’s associate (Brian Goudie*)“wanted a fee of £7 million.” (*my note)

This was another story published on andrew-drummond.com and also by myself in a Scottish national newspaper. (PIC)

Although the Ayrshire Post newspaper published the story without permission I was happy to assist them. The initial details of Hanks racketeering case were provided by my Thai assistant from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation. It was reported as ‘Alexander Matusov’.

In fact on the court list his co-defendant was named as Alexander Komondorskiy. So that WAS a mistake. I did not state that Hanks was remanded in custody. But I of course did complete an investigation into the attempted fraud made on Bill Monson.

Hanks in 'The Sun'

Hanks was subsequently acquitted after his co-defendant and several Russian witnesses did not turn up to testify which is par for the course in Pattaya if defendants have fed the courts enough cash for ‘bail’ – no matter what the charges - even murder.

I duly published Hanks’ acquittal published on andrew-drummond.com and corrected errors. The Ayrshire Post did not publish contemporaneously but offered to publish his acquittal and also correct their inaccuracies.

The offer was not taken up. In any case as their article was the subject of an IPSO complaint – they waited for adjudication.

IPSO ruled that the newspaper should merely fulfill the obligation they had made. This was to record the acquittal and correct two inaccuracies. As for the other complaints they were all thrown out.

After it was pointed out to IPSO that Goudie was changing their judgments remarkably Goudie made some corrections and announced:

“FOLLOWING A COMPLAINT THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HAS BEEN REMOVED AND RE_POSTED”

The original headline was: “IPSO censures Ayrshire Post newspaper over Andrew Drummond article.

This was changed to: “IPSO censures Ayrshire Post newspaper over article based on Andrew Drummond article.”

Needless to say he faked it again. His story was completely different to the IPSO judgment which of course did not mention Andrew Drummond at all.

Goudie’s states in his latest story:

“Drummond was twice convicted in Thailand before absconding whilst on bail in the face of a mounting number of criminal prosecutions under Thailand's Computer Crimes Act.”

That sounds ominous. Andrew Drummond a criminal?

He does not clarify that there are two not ten prosecutions and they are actually libel cases and SLAPP cases at that, which have been taken by himself and Drew Walter Noyes, both convicted criminals and con men, whom I have been highlighting in Thailand for quite some time.

(SLAPP: A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition)

The Thai justice system is a bit slow to grasp what is going on and slow is a rather flattering word here.

Noyes

Drew Walter Noyes of course departed for the Unites states last year while on bail appealing a 2 year jail sentence for extortion. He left behind four children taking five with him.

Brian Goudie is on bail appealing a 3 year sentence for posing as a barrister and an officer in the Royal Marines to cheat Barbara Fanelli Miller out of 7.8 million Thai baht.

But both these Charlies have a string of accusations against them.
\
Goudie is also on bail for embezzlement and cheating two Britons and a German in the Thai resort of Pattaya, and a warrant of arrest has been issued against him for by his former Thai assistant on a number of charges. These also include libel allegations that Goudie, born Brian Goldie in Falkirk, Scotland, put up pornographic images of her on the internet and called her a US$6 dollar prostitute.

(Above - Noyes with current assistant in Pattaya - New Year - looking sheepish)

Drew Noyes has a felony history in the United States, where he was exposed by the Morning Star (now Star) in North Carolina by Pulitzer prize winner Scott Gold. Among the allegations in Scott’s report were property fraud, share fraud and even sexual harassment.

Both have multiple websites with headlines such as ‘Andrew Drummond is exposed as a fraud’ and ‘Myriad Lies of by Andrew Drummond’ and are actively optimising them in searches. He has also made umptten fake posts on ‘Liveleaks’.

For the full judgment see the following link:
https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/rulings/IPSOrulings-detail.html?id=285

The original story about Hanks. (Ayrshire Post story not available)
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/05/the-russian-mafia-and-former-melbourne.html
Story on this site reporting Hanks acquittal
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/08/i-am-happy-that-i-have-finally-able-to.html
Other fabricated judgments of Brian Goudie
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/01/the-fake-judgments-of-brian-goudie.html

↧

'NO MAFIA' CLAIM ON MURDER HIT THAI ISLANDS GOES UP IN SMOKE

January 17, 2016, 2:22 am

≫ Next: BENT LAWYER TAKES ON THE BBC BUREAU CHIEF UNDER COMPUTER CRIME ACT

≪ Previous: FAKE LAWYER BRIAN GOUDIE FABRICATES SAME PRESS JUDGMENT STORY - TWICE

GUNMEN SPRAY RESORT WITH BULLETS - JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE.

While a family back home still does not have the body of Luke Miller – found drowned at the Sunset pool bar on Koh Tao earlier this month – independent but non-identifiable reports to this site again say that it has ‘extensive injuries’.

And they are not, insist the sources, in any shape or form wounds inflicted by barbed wire as police on the island suggested.

Full Moon Party - Haadrin at 8am (Picture Phillip Blenkinsop) Many moons ago.

Despite anger on Facebook by Luke’s elder sister Maria, and Nichola Gissing, a travelling companion, Thai Police say they have closed the investigation after insisting on handling the post mortem themselves. They said that there are no clues signaling murder.

Luke Miller

At the Bangkok Police hospital a spokesman says it can hang onto the body for fourteen days but did not say whether the body had been released or not. In Britain over £11,000 has been raised to ‘Bring Luke Home’ and give him a sendoff.

But almost certainly a post mortem will be conducted and inquest held first.

Attempts had been made by Luke’s travelling companions to have the body sent to Thailand’s Central Institute of Forensic Science headed by Dr. Porntip Rojanasunan, who gave evidence against the police in the trial of Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin for the murders of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, from Norfolk and Jersey respectively.. This was to ensure if indeed there are discrepancies there will be Thai witnesses to testify if needed.

But Luke’s mother had been anxious that her son’s body be returned forthwith and that his friend’s James and Nichola Gissing get out of the country. This they have done while being highly critical on Facebook of the British Embassy’s role.

Meanwhile in just one incident on the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan in the Samui archipelago the Thai authorities have confirmed two essential facts which police have been at pains to deny for the last year.

Those are claims that (1) the islands are run by ‘mafia’ and secondly that the Thai authorities go chasing after foreigners when something bad happens which might affect their tourist industry.

View from Palita Lodge to Chang Phuak on the hill

A local mayor, his manager and two assistants have been arrested in connection with the shooting up of a resort called the Palita Lodge which is being reported as next to the Mayor’s Simiram bar which is now apparently managed by Russians – or at least they have been sold a lease.

The Mayor Chanin Phetsri, 54, was arrested at his home on the mainland where he runs Tha Khanom municipality in Khiri Ratthanikhom and has been charged with hiring two men to spray the Palita Lodge with gunfire. Police took away three handguns from his house.

Chang Phuak looking across to Palita Lodge

.
His manager at the Chang Phuak on Haadrin Beach jarong Hongthong was charged with delegating the job to two employees, Sihanart Chaipinit, 62, and Jirat Khuadkaew, 38. Sound like a Thai dispute.

But this is how the Bangkok Post ran the story.

“SURAT THANI — Provincial authorities will look into foreigners running tourism businesses on three islands in this southern province following a shooting incident on the full-moon party island of Koh Phangan.

A local mayor is facing an attempted murder charge in connection with the incident that was triggered by neighbours' complaints about the Russian-managed bar that he owns.”

Wongsiri Promchana, the Surat Thani governor, said on Saturday that officials would inspect businesses on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. The crackdown follows a shooting at Palita Lodge at Hat Rin beach on Koh Phangan early on Jan 12.”

Thai media reports suggested that the Russians had newly leased the Simiram bar and had then applied to the owner of the Palika if they minded if they held more parties.

Why we do not know? But the Palita Lodge owner Pairot Charoenwan is reported to have replied: ‘I am not in charge of this, why don’t you go ask the authorities?’

It seems it was down to him because he duly went off to organize a meeting of the authorities, the local mafia or big noises on the island council at which it was unanimously decided that the Russians’ bar could not hold any extra parties.

Pairot told the Thai media that he had many complaints from guests unable to sleep after the recently opened bar began holding loud parties in the open past permitted hours.

Dated picture at a Full Moon Party on assignment with Philip Blenkinsop. Pic: Blenkinsop

“They were partying until 8am on Jan. 7,” he said. “So my wife sent a message to police via Line messenger, asking them to intervene.”

Meanwhile police are quoted as saying something along the lines of ‘tut! tut!’ we can’t have the sleep of tourists disturbed.

And then came this quote from a Police Colonel Prachum: “This is a tourism destination. It’s unacceptable for this mafia action.”

Mafia action. Who is the mafia here?

Lock up and pay up. Local police had millions of
extra income every month

This is of course the point at which this story goes into wild fantasy. A party is not a party on Haadrin Beach until it goes on long after dawn and there are revelers collapsed on the sand down to the water line after watching the dawn. Permitted hours means foreign businessmen’s permitted hours I am guessing.

Reports say that the Simarim bar is next to the Palita Resort. I guess it must be because guests at the Palita might have trouble hearing any noise from the Chang Phuak. It’s up a hill on the other side of the bay.

Half way in between is the spot I went to a couple of years back when Phillip Ashton was killed in the crossfire between warring parties on Koh Phangan.

What gives? Looks like the Russians have been sold a pup. And yea. Despite internationals by the Regional Police chief who says if there were mafia he would catch them, there are indeed mafia throughout the Samui Archipelago.

What to do for five minutes: Check out the TripAdvisor reports for the Chang Phuak Resort – They are very similar to reports on the AC/DC bar owned by the local mafia on Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are said to have had an argument a few hours before their bodies were found on the beach.

Hannah Witheridge and David Miller

DECLARATION OF INTEREST: As the reader might guess I’m not a great fan of the Samui Archipelago. I was first there 27 years ago when Brits being found dead there today were not even born. Nor would they realise that at this time 27 years ago and even more recent fisherman from these islands became pirates* freely raping and murdering Vietnamese boat people.

With Khun Sa. (I have changed a bit)

After filming in Burma in 1989 for ‘Lord of the Golden Triangle’ on heroin warlord Khun Sa (Chan Shi Fu) camera director Jon Woods and soundman Les Honess went down to Samui for a four day break while I fixed up interviews on the Thai side with the DEA, ONCB, and anti-drugs militia in Fang, Chiang Mai. When I caught up with them in Samui they had hired one of those ridiculous big wheeled jeeps. The brakes failed and with Jon at the wheel it rolled on the road between Chawaeng and Lamai almost sending us over the cliff. We were then subject to the customary extortion by the owner aided by police who had seized our passports. We all had to get out our credits cards and bank cards to get off the island. No choice – we had to continue filming. Not to have done would have cost more. Actually because of the nature of the film, illegally crossing borders, and filming with dodgy people, we had to pay a massive insurance premium – and the insurance company paid the cash back. Jon suffered a neck injury though and ended up directing ‘Coronation Street’ and Les and I remain friends and have met up several times since.

Jon Woods, Kimi Zabhiyan, self, Les Honess in the Shan States

THAI PIRATES AND VIETNAMES BOAT PEOPLE

*Some 800,000 people fled Vietnam between 1975 and 1995. No statistics were gathered until 1981 by the United Nations but in the first year they were it was recorded that.452 boats carrying Vietnamese boat people arrived in Thailand carrying 15,479 refugees. 349 of the boats had been attacked by pirates an average of three times each. "578 women had been raped; 228 women had been abducted; and 881 people were dead or missing." An international anti-piracy campaign began in June 1982 and reduced the number of pirate attacks although they continued to be frequent and often deadly until 1990.

The Thai pirates in the main came from southern Thailand from Hua Hin to Songhkla including the Samui archipelago.

Its not known exactly how many Vietnamese died at see. Figures vary from 200,000 to 400,000.

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BENT LAWYER TAKES ON THE BBC BUREAU CHIEF UNDER COMPUTER CRIME ACT

January 21, 2016, 2:16 pm

≫ Next: 'It was murder...and we won't let it rest'

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CAUGHT BANG TO RIGHTS - BUT WAIT -THIS IS THE THAI JUDICIAL SYSTEM

BBC South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head and two foreigners, who were massively being defrauded in Thailand, are being sued by one of Thailand’s infamous bent lawyers for libel under Thailand’s Computer Crime Act.

Head, also the President of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (2014-5), is being sue over a report of the fraud of Briton Ian Rance, who with Irishman Colin Vard featured on the BBC website and in a short documentary on BBC2.

Vard is being sued seperately by a lawyer he named, one of many people involved in the systematic stripping of his assets.

These are yet more outrageous court case brought against foreigners under an act which carries a penalty of seven years in jail and to which truth alone is not a defence. The defendants must prove public interest.

The frauds against Rance and Vard however reflect not only on bent lawyers in Thailand but also on police, money lenders and even banks who were in on the scams.

Both Vard and Rance had Thai wives who needed, as ifs often the case, a little extra cash. Both were instructed how they could do it in Phuket by using their husbands’ title deeds to obtain loans and forging signatures. All the properties of these two men were sold from under them. Vard lost seven properties worth 2 million Euros and Rance lost a similar amount. The frauds could not have been done without the lawyers,

Colin and his daughter Jessie 18 months ago demonstrated outside the Royal Thai Police last June. Police General Somyot Pumpunmuan the outgoing Police Commissioner ordered an immediate investigation and promised the matter would be cleared up within 3 months. It wasn’t.

Promises - after Bangkok demonstration, Colin Vard centre - facing camera

The current cases relate to a Phuket lawyer who notarised Ian Rance’s forged signature on a property document.

Computer Crime Cases can go on for years. So many were brought against me in fact that for a time I claimed to have been the world’s most sued reporter as crooks operating out of Thailand used the Computer Crime Act to initiate the SLAPP* cases which the plaintiff does not necessarily care if he wins or not.

Prior to arriving in Thailand after 18 years in journalism I had never been close to a libel court.

The point of SLAPP cases is to neutralise and break one’s opponent by hitting him both financially and rendering them unable to work. Plaintiffs will frequently not turn up for cases but nevertheless get the courts to keep them going. Thai courts are among the most pliable in the world.

In my case I had to turn down many assignments out of Thailand over a 3 year period. I successfully defended all but one. The remainder now look as if they will all be dismissed as the plaintiffs Brian Goudie, a Scot from Falkirk, and Drew Noyes, an American from Wilmington Virginia, have both been sentence to jail terms. Goudie, was jailed for three years for cheating an old woman out of just under, US$300,000. Noyes was given two years for extortion. Both had posed as lawyers in Pattaya.

Head confronts lawyer (this picture and top)

Jonathan Head had confronted Rance’s Phuket lawyer asking him to explain why he notarised a fake signature. The lawyer did not have an answer and waved the camera away.

Forged signature

Vard claimed he was physically attacked in Bangkok by a former lawyer there. Police took the lawyer’s side.

With millions at stake and the reputation of Thailand on the line if a proper investigation were to be made Colin Vard says he has received multiple death threats.

Both Colin and Ian are being sued by Phuket lawyers. The legal system and corrupt practices have deprived them of everything, Last month as Somyot's promises went unfulfilled Colin Vard was having difficulty even housing his family.

To read more details of his case go here

It is not yet clear how far the BBC will back Jonathan Head. These cases can take years.

SLAPP* Strategic lawsuit against public participation

Justice for Jessie

ROBBED BLIND

Defrauded by my wife and criminals in Thailand BBC

↧

'It was murder...and we won't let it rest'

January 22, 2016, 7:49 am

≫ Next: Why don’t people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights?

≪ Previous: BENT LAWYER TAKES ON THE BBC BUREAU CHIEF UNDER COMPUTER CRIME ACT

SO FAR THAI POLICE HAVE SUGGESTED THEY MIGHT SUE INTERNET POSTERS.

BUT THE EMPTY THREATS HAVE NOT STOPPED ALLEGATIONS COMING FAST AND FURIOUS

Nichola, Luke, James - FB Luke's Legacy

Holiday friends of Luke Miller whose body was found in the pool of the Sunset Bar on the Thai island of Koh Tao earlier this month are understood to now have made statements to police in the United Kingdom following the return of Miller’s body earlier this week.

And while James Gissing and his sister Nichola, who were on holiday with Miller, 26, on the now infamous paradise island, have pulled short of alleging murder, they now appear not to be pulling any punches at all.

In a Facebook post Nichola advocates a boycott of Thailand making it clear that Luke’s death was ‘no accident’.

She says:“.Our friend was murdered in Koh Tao on January 8. He was beaten and dumped into a swimming pool at Sunset bar on sairee beach. I know this message will probably be removed but If one person sees this who is considering going to Koh Tao my advise to you is don't. If you do decide that you want to risk your lives despite the inherent dangers and also attend these bar crawls,

I urge you to stick with your friends. Do not leave one another's side. The Island is dangerous and you are not safe going anywhere alone, even in pairs you are not safe. Safety in numbers at all times. I am telling you this from personal experience. I do not wish for anyone to go through the pain and horror of losing a loved one in similar circumstances.

We did not attend this pub crawl but I know how crazy they get. Hannah and David were murdered on the beach after attending these pub crawls. Our friend was enjoying a drink at Lotus bar on Sairee beach and was later found "drowned" in the morning. Do not become a story in the world news. Go home to your families alive and not in a box.

Even better do not visit Koh Tao. Our friend Luke Miller arrived home yesterday and a second post mortem will be conducted as obviously the Thai officials would like this to be passed off as an accident. It was not! Please join our page "Luke's legacy ( justice for Luke) " as we find the answers and justice for our friend in the hope that this never happens again.”

On the Luke's Legacy Facebook page she added: " we won't let this rest Luke don't you worry. Too many patterns emerging, too many deaths, too many unanswered questions and too much heart ache for so many families just wanting the truth that they deserve.. Beware of Koh Tao there is a killer/killers on the loose free to destroy lives of the innocent."

Miller’s death will be the subject of an inquest in the UK. A new post mortem will also be conducted. The Coroner’s officer and pathologist will also study photographs taken secretly by James and Nichola at Surat Thani Hospital in the provincial capital.

Friends and family are understood to be tired of suggestions that Miller had an accident while drunk or under the influence of a drugs. This is the line which has been put out by both police and the owners of the Sunset bar, which like the AC bar where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are said to have had an argument on the night of their death, is also owned by an influential island family.

David Miller and Hannah Witheridge

Both James and Nichola Gissing are convinced that the injuries, particularly on Luke’s face are not from ‘barbed wire’ as police suggested but from being beaten.

Pearson

The findings of a British Coroner’s inquest have no legal standing in Thailand but if those findings suggest murder was involved the Coroner and Hampshire Police can through the Foreign Office request the Thai Police conduct more enquiries.
Whether the Thai authorities carry out meaningful enquiries of course is subject to conjecture.

Dyfed-Powys Police and the Foreign Office have been trying for more than 15 years to get the Thai police to solve the rape and murder of Kirsty Jones from Brecon, in the northern Thai capital of Chiang Mai.

Thai Police have also closed the file on the murders of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, on Koh Tao in 2014.

Despite a bungled, or deliberately distorted investigation and a controversial trial, they are standing by he conviction and death sentence of Burmese migrant workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo.

Defence lawyers are currently appealing.

And on Koh Tao there still remain controversies over the deaths of young Britons Nick Pearson whose body was found on some rocks on Koh Tao and Christina Annesley, who was found dead in a guest house. She has messaged that she had been taking medicine for a chest infection.

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Why don’t people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights?

January 22, 2016, 8:20 am

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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CALLS FOR ANOTHER INVESTIGATION IN THAILAND

With slumping trade and foreign investment figures, multiple political arrests and detentions, a decline in the tourist market while Burma’s increases by 50 perc cent, multiple fraud cases with foreign victims, and last but not least, the realization that the most innocent and attractive tourists in Thailand are the ones getting murdered *, things are not looking to rosy for the Land of Smiles.

Indeed the most bitter victims say that’s no smile at all. It’s a smirk. This could all be remedied of course with a new education and justice system, but that may not happen in the near future despite annual promises, because with education comes not only the realisation that the justice system is weighted which most people know, but the means and confidence to do something about it.

The rich guys are not going to help.

Meanwhile I cannot help but offer you this quote from the now no longer grining and singing General Prayuth Chan-Ocha defending the arrest, and alleged beating of a student activist who complained of army corruption.

"Why don’t people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights all the time?"

Those who came to power in the military coup are now substantially rich. The corruption they came to stamp out is of course the corruption of their enemies but even then they have had to come to terms.

They are stifling the media and currently trying to control the internet in Thailand by reducing it to a single gateway. Google says it will act on Thai court judgments.

Does this mean that the military will now speed up the justice system so it can get judgments against enemies, say within one year? I think we should be told.

It’s certainly time for what passes as the judiciary to make a stand and assert their so called independence from state.

* Almost all of the young Britons murdered in Thailand have been in their twenties, university educated, and from good families. and also attractive - from Joanne Masheder in the 90s to Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014.

Here’s the latest arrest with Human Rights Watch statement:

Thailand: Investigate Army Abduction of Student Activist

Drop Charges Against Peaceful Critics, End Military Trial of Civilians

(New York, January 22, 2016) – The Thai government should urgently investigate the abduction and alleged beating and mistreatment of prominent student activist Sirawith Seritiwat by army soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrest, which Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha said was for violating the ban on public assembly and political activity, is itself unjustified under the right of all persons to peacefully assemble and protest.

Sirawith has been released after the Bangkok Military Court dismissed the police request for his pre-trial detention. According to Sirawith and eyewitness accounts, around 10:30 pm on January 20, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the army’s 2nd Infantry Regiment snatched Sirawith as he was walking with his friends outside the Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus. Sirawith was then pushed into a pickup truck with no license plate and driven away to an unknown destination.

The ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta denied knowledge of Sirawith’s arrest and his whereabouts until soldiers handed him over to police custody around 2:30 am on January 21. Sirawith said he was blindfolded and beaten while being interrogated by soldiers.

“The abduction and apparent mistreatment of a prominent student activist is further glaring evidence that wanton violations of human rights are the norm under the NCPO’s military dictatorship in Thailand,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“What’s even worse is Gen. Prayut brushed off international concerns and condemnation, and appeared to tolerate the abusive treatment Sirawith received by emphasizing the military could ‘use any measure’ to carry out an arrest.”

Sirawith said soldiers pushed him into a pickup truck and drove him to an unknown destination:

They blindfolded me and put a cloth bag over my head. I could not see anything. Those soldiers did not tell me where they were taking me to. The pickup truck took many turns, making me confused [about] which direction I was heading to.

Sirawith said soldiers beat him after they dragged him out of the pickup truck to interrogate him

When the pickup truck stopped, I was dragged outside. I was dragged along [the] tall grass. I did not know what would happen to me. Then I was ordered to kneel down on the ground. They kicked me. They asked me “Do you want to be famous?” Why did you talk to journalists?” “Don’t you know your duties to serve the nation?” Then they slapped me in my head. They jabbed my head with something hard – I thought it was a rifle barrel.

Similar to the NCPO’s reaction to previous reports of abuses in military custody, the junta quickly and flatly dismissed Sirawith’s story. The NCPO spokesman Col. Winthai Suwaree gave a media interview on January 21 stating that no violence was used during the arrest and Sirawith was treated gently and respectfully.

Instead of ordering an investigation of this incident and holding soldiers responsible for abuses accountable, Gen. Prayut said at a January 21 press conference at Government House that officials could use any measures to arrest Sirawith:

Officials acted on an arrest warrant. He [Sirawith] violated the Public Assembly Bill and the NCPO’s order [Order Number 3/2558, which bans public assembly and political activity] ... Officials could use any measures to arrest him. The arrest doesn’t have to happen in front of camera, which could then trigger a protest ... Why don’t people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights all the time? … No one is allowed to oppose [the NCPO]. I dare you to try to oppose [the NCPO] ... I don’t care what the international community would think about this. I will send officials to explain to foreign embassies. I am not afraid of them. I will tell them to understand that this is Thailand and we are enforcing Thai laws.

Also referring to Sirawith and other dissenting student activists, Gen. Prayut mentioned in an earlier televised speech on January 15 that, “Some university lecturers encourage students to oppose the government by teaching them about freedom, democracy, and human rights. These students will end up in jail or dead. They will have no future.”

Since the coup in May 2014, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly expressed concerns about abuses of persons arrested by soldiers and interrogated in military custody. Under provisions of martial law and, later, section 44 of the interim constitution, the military authorities have the authority to arrest and secretly detain people for up to seven days and interrogate them without access to lawyers or safeguards against mistreatment. The NCPO has consistently dismissed allegations that soldiers have tortured and ill-treated detainees but has provided no evidence to rebut those allegations.

Human Rights Watch questioned the compatibility of the arrest with Thailand’s obligation to respect the international right of peaceful protest and assembly, and also stressed that police, not the military, should have been responsible for the arrest as they are lawfully responsible for the execution of arrest warrants and have the appropriate training on the rights and safeguards guaranteed to detained persons under Thai and international human rights laws.

Thailand is descending deeper into rights abuses under military rule with increasing arrests of critics and peaceful dissenters, Human Rights Watch said. Sirawith and five other activists from the New Democracy Movement (NDM) will be put on trial in the Bangkok Military Court for organizing a train trip to Rajabhakti Park – a park newly built by the army to honor the kings of Thailand – as a part of their campaign to criticize military corruption. The junta considers this activity a violation of Order 3/2558, which bans public assembly and political activity. If found guilty by the court, the activists could face up to six-months in prison.

International human rights law prohibits governments from using military courts to try civilians when civilian courts are functioning. The use of military courts in Thailand also fails to meet international fair trial standards under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a party.

The Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has stated in its General Comment on the right to a fair trial that “the trial of civilians in military or special courts may raise serious problems as far as the equitable, impartial, and independent administration of justice is concerned.” This is particularly problematic in Thailand, where every element of military courts functions within the Defense Ministry’s chain of command.

“The junta uses arbitrary arrests and draconian laws against dissenters and critics to maintain its hold on power,” Adams said. “There is no apparent light at the end of this dark tunnel since the military shows no signs of easing its oppressive rule, or restricting officials with unchecked powers from committing abuses with impunity.”

(Top Picture from 'The Beach' starring Leonardo di Caprio

↧

TOURIST NUMBERS DOWN IN THAILAND - LOGIC - CHARGE THEM MORE

January 24, 2016, 3:06 am

≫ Next: FRAUDSTER WEEK IN THE THAI COURTS – BUY TWO GET ONE FREE

≪ Previous: Why don’t people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights?

Flying Sporran’s Weekend Diary

I had to laugh at the headline this week in the Khao-Sod (English) over a plan by the Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to charge a 360 baht fee to tourist to pay for the upkeep of tourist attractions.

This seemed to follow the logic of local house sellers who, when they can't sell their houses, put the prices up.

I do not know many tourist attractions in Thailand, except the beaches, which the Thai authorities or owners do not charge foreigners for – in some cases four times that of the Thai tourist but it reminded me very much of a plan I was party to about 18 months ago.

A foreigner has put up a plan to charge each tourist 500 baht on arrival for which the tourist would get medical insurance cover. This was to cover the treatment of hundreds every year who fall victim to the perils of Thailand – most in motorcycle or car accidents – and do not have cover.

It seemed there was a nutshell of an idea there. But the foreigner was convinced that on a 1 per cent or 2 per cent ‘creative idea’ commission he was going to be sitting pretty.

He even invited me along for a meeting at Kingpower – the company which operates the Duty Free shops at Suvarnabhumi airport – to discuss the project.

I remember sitting there over Latte in Kingpower’s city centre hotel with Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn wondering why he and Kingpower should pay for such an idea when they can just walk away with it. The hardest work is putting it into practice (getting the government to take it up) and collecting the cash.

The TAT Governor did his mathematics. He reckoned Thailand would benefit by 10.8 billion baht. When I say Thailand I mean of course that in the loosest possible way. But that was charging 360 baht.

My guy was suggesting 500 baht or even 600 baht. He did his maths and reckoned that might make him a dollar millionaire. As he has left the country I think it is safe to report this.

These sort of meetings can only happen in Bangkok. Actually most of the conversation was over Leicester City Football Club which Kingpower own now that was quite interesting.

I think the TAT Governor is a chancer. He should concentrate on getting the tourists back rather than charge double for the tourist attractions

↧

FRAUDSTER WEEK IN THE THAI COURTS – BUY TWO GET ONE FREE

January 25, 2016, 3:46 am

≫ Next: BANNED FROM THAILAND FOR LIFE - CON-MAN AND SEXUAL HARASSER DREW NOYES

≪ Previous: TOURIST NUMBERS DOWN IN THAILAND - LOGIC - CHARGE THEM MORE

BUT WILL DREW NOYES BEAT THE POLAR VORTEX IN HIS QUEST FOR JAIL TIME?

It’s going to be a busy week in the Thai courts with our famous trio – The Three Stooges all set to make appearances on various charges from fraud, embezzlement, extortion, to well, plain fibbing.

The Three Stooges are of course, Drew Walter Noyes,60, a fake American lawyer from Wilmington, North Carolina, appealing a two jail sentence for extortion, Brian Goudie, 48, from Falkirk, appealing a three jail sentence for extortion, and David John Hanks, a former brothel owner from Melbourne, Australia, who is being sued for libel.

First up is Drew Walter Noyes, who with his wife Wanrapa Boonsu, has to hear the result of his appeal against his extortion sentence in Pattaya Court.

Drew Noyes

He was running a protection racket telling businesses, in this case the Thonglor Clinic in Jomtien, that they had to pay him if they were to operate in Pattaya and not be raided by police. He left for the USA last year promising to return to face sentence.

Unlike the case against migrant workers activist Briton Andy Hall, who has had his passport withdrawn in Bangkok for allegedly defaming the Natural Fruit Company in its treatment of Burmese labour, Noyes was given not only his passport back but also permission to travel abroad.

In Andy Hall’s case the judge said it was standard practice to withhold passports of foreigners and stop them leaving the country. Andy Hall is in court in Bangkok tomorrow.

In Pattaya of course the standard practice is to reap in as much cash as possible bailing foreigners hoping they will not have to claim it back. Many a child sex offender has taken this route which is why we see lots of arrest pictures in the newspapers but very few conviction stories. On a good case the court can rake in US$15,000.

Noyes meanwhile has been helping run his One Stop Service Center – as ‘One Stop Legal Services’ from Wilmington, North Carolina, where he says he is living in perfect harmony with some five of his children (he left three legal ones behind) and 'racoons, elk, wild beaver, alligators and flowing streams.

Initial calls are taken by a hapless Brit called Trevor Owen who appears to have a thing about women in uniform.

He has a thing about Immigration to the UK which may be the reason he is in Pattaya.

I don't think Donna will be answering his plea from 'One Stop Legal' in the picture below, but punters should be advised there is no such name as One Stop Legal Services in Pattaya. It's merely a name made up by Noyes. If anyone signs a contract with One Stop Legal there is no company to sue if things go wrong.

But Wanrapa Boonsu (also due in court appealing the extortion case) meanwhile is in charge.

Noyes is certainly continuing the pretense of returning to Thailand. New signs have gone up outside the One Stop Service Center with his photo all over them.

As Noyes was still dealing with customers from Wilmington last week it seems unlikely he will turn up for his case. On the other hand he had spent considerable time in Pattaya dining with judges, attending National Law Day and even holding a legal seminar.

Three foreigners - guess who?

It is expected however that he will now claim he cannot attend because of the current big freeze on the other side of the pond and disruption to air travel due to a polar vortex.

WILL BRIAN GOUDIE RISK JAIL?

Second up is Brian Goudie, who has been sentenced to three years posing as a British barrister to cheat Barbara Fanelli Miller, 78, of Madison, Wisconsin out of nearly US$300,000 part of which was bail money for her son.

A warrant is out for his arrest on a number of charges including ‘revenge porn’ and he has cases this week in Bangkok for bankruptcy, and libel, and in Pattaya for fraud and embezzlement.

He has been holed out in the Key Bar in the Jomtien Complex in Pattaya (formerly the ‘Jaggie Thistle’ and before that the ‘Blarney Stone’ of former northern Irish drugs trafficker Jimmy ‘Doc’ Halliday. The Key Bar is all shut up.

He was looking very nervous on a video taken over the New Year in Pattaya but continuous to announce on Facebook that he is bringing more and more charges against his ‘enemies’. As he is bankrupt and says he has not cash this seems at odds with reality. He does NOT however have his passport.

He is unlikely to turn up as I guess he will be arrested if he does. He could be in the boondocks or have slipped over the Cambodian border.

WILL DAVID HANKS KNOW THE DAY OF THE WEEK?

Third up is David John Hanks, who worked for Drew Noyes as ‘Pattaya One Stop Service Center’ and also worked with Brian Goudie in an attempt to scam 7 million Thai baht out of American media mogul Bill Monson, who lost his fortune to former Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Hanks is relatively talentless and has in the main been used by Noyes and Goudie for his ‘bulk’. He is being counter sued for defamation in Bangkok by Ally Cooper, myself and Kanokrat Nimsamooth Booth.

* A check at at 1.50 pm today GMT showed that all Delta and |American Airlines flights routed from Charlotte to Narita and onto Bangkok were operating as scheduled.

Charlotte International airport is open - if he has not left by now he won't make it of course. Otherwise he will need to claim 'jet lag' for not turning up. Yes he has claimed that before and judges have allowed it.

↧

BANNED FROM THAILAND FOR LIFE - CON-MAN AND SEXUAL HARASSER DREW NOYES

January 26, 2016, 4:07 am

≫ Next: NOTICE TO READERS – MOVING HOME

≪ Previous: FRAUDSTER WEEK IN THE THAI COURTS – BUY TWO GET ONE FREE

AND CO-CONSPIRATOR BRIAN GOUDIE ALSO GOES ON THE RUN

International con-man Drew Walter Noyes who was first exposed on this website, was today banned from Thailand for life after skipping bail while appealing a two year jail sentence for extortion in the Thai resort of Pattaya.

His partner in crime who Wanrapa Boonsu, also failed to turn up to face the reading of the judgment of her appeal, claiming, through lawyers, she was in hospital was ordered to report to Pattaya Court in March.

Noyes had fled to Wilmington, North Carolina, with five children by two Thai wives, Wanrapa and Nittaya Chaisit and was reported to be living in a one story shack which he had bought in Nittaya’s name for tax purposes. He left three other children behind in Thailand.

Last week however he was still trying to do phone deals on behalf of his One Stop Service Centre, in Thepprasit Road, Jomtien.

At the same time in Bangkok Court, a co-conspirator of Noyes, Brian Goudie, born Goldie, of Falkirk, failed to turn up to answer bankruptcy proceedings and a damages claim by Briton Ally Cooper for internet harassment.

Goudie is appealing a three year jail sentence for fraud and embezzlement. He had cheated a 78-year -old woman from Madison, Wisconsin out of nearly US$300,000 – that included his legal fees and bail for her son – who died in jail when he did not get adequate treatment for a heart condition.
Goudie had posed as a British barrister and a former office in the Royal Marines to cheat foreigners and tourists in Thailand, who urgently needed legal services.

Brian Goudie

Had Goudie appeared in court he would have been arrested on a number of charges including ‘revenge porn’ by posting indecent images of his former assistant and girlfriend on the internet.

His is due in court again in court in Pattaya tomorrow in a damages case being brought by two Britons and a German, who say they were cheated when he went to them for advice. They have brought criminal and civil cases.

Later in the week on January 28th another co-conspirator David John Hanks, from Girvan, Scotland, is due in court in Bangkok to face a 5 million baht damages case. Hanks the former owner of Masquerades brothel on the outskirts of Melbourne, had last year been acquitted of racketeering charges brought by the Department of Special Investigations after his Russian co-defendant paid bail and skipped the country.

Hanks and Noyes with twin Thai military generals - from s self-promo in the Pattaya Times

Hanks assisted in Drew Noyes’ extortion of the Thonglor Clinic in Pattaya when Noyes demanded 7 million baht to stop a police raid on the premises. He told Michel Goulet at the clinic that he was in the sex business, knew Chinese mafia, and that Goulet should listen to what his boss Noyes had to say.

Noyes had courted immigration officials, army generals, police and judges in Pattaya and had set up the Pattaya Times newspaper, to promote himself and lure potential clients to take their business to the ‘most credible re-assuring professional American to makeThailand his home”. For a while the newspaper even had an advertising partnership with the ‘Bangkok Post’.

Among his coups was to fool the US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and to get elected to the presidency of the Lions Club of Bangkok (Silom 310D). He posted the photos of all his 'friends' on his business websites.

)

But he has fled America where he had been the subject of an investigation by the Star in Wilmington, in which journalist Scott Gold wrote about his ‘myriad of lies’ and exposed his fraudulent property and share dealing, sexual harassment. According to the 'Star' a women employee reported that he demanded oral sex services if she was to keep the same number of hours at the company they both worked at.

He also had an FBI record for larceny.

Today’s blacklisting of Noyes and the arrest warrant for Goudie mean that a tranche of cases brought by the duet against their enemies under Thailand’s Computer Crime Act libel laws against four people who had stood up to him. (including myself but not are for any words written but for publishing pictures like the one here of Goudie).

Michel Goulet, co-owner of the Thonglor Clinic, reported Noyes extortion attempt, after reading exposés of Noyes activities on this site. His activities included cheating clients, selling housing built for poor Thais to foreigners at extortionate rates, posing as a lawyer, sexual harassment of Filipina staff, and inventing a phony biography.

Dr. Goulet points to Noyes and Boonsu on their arrest

Asked to comment today Dr. Goulet texted today : “I’m happy. One bad apple removed. Thanks for your help.”

Judges in Pattaya today seized the 500,000 Thai baht (US$14,000) bail Noyes had paid to be allowed to go to the United States.

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NOTICE TO READERS – MOVING HOME

January 27, 2016, 4:13 am

≫ Next: MICK ‘THE MURDERER’ CALLS FOR RESPECT FOR THE DEAD

≪ Previous: BANNED FROM THAILAND FOR LIFE - CON-MAN AND SEXUAL HARASSER DREW NOYES

In view of a Google announcement that readers will have to log in as Google users to view sites set up under Blogger such as Andrew-drummond.com I have decided to provide an alternative site on a safe server elsewhere.

Hopefully this site will be even more readable as the print on this site seems to be getting smaller as I age.

Stand by and watch this site of My Facebook Page for details.

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MICK ‘THE MURDERER’ CALLS FOR RESPECT FOR THE DEAD

February 1, 2016, 7:55 am

≫ Next: The Pattaya Times Legacy - returned by a Native American

≪ Previous: NOTICE TO READERS – MOVING HOME

TRAILED BY THE GHOST OF HIS VICTIM

Briton Michael Taylor, also known as ‘Mick the Dog’ and ‘Mick the Pom’ or simply ‘Mick the Murderer’ has taken time out on Facebook for people to respect the Thai bar girl he is alleged to have murdered at his apartment in Chalong Beach…some 12 years ago.

A warrant was issued for his arrest for the murder of Jangtra Weangta and at the time Pol Maj Jessada Sangsuree, inspector of Chalong Police Station, said at the time that he had 13 statements implicating Taylor, plus the murder weapon and his trousers with blood on them.

Taylor however, now 53, hopped it to the Philippines and opened a bar in Zambales Province called ‘Dog’s Offshore Bar’.

He had offered as bail a land title deed worth US$10,000.

Readers of this site may recall that Mick had an alibi. He could not have done it as he was on the beach having sex with a ladyboy – and the ladyboy confirmed the story with police.

Jantra

I called the Offshore Bar while he was there, but he was ‘too busy’ to talk and he later skipped it to Cambodia. I don’t know why he ran because the Thai authorities did nothing to seek his capture.

I say that guardedly because what both the Thai Police and the Philippines Police say or do cannot be relied upon. Suffice it to say nobody went looking for him.

He was certainly not, it seems, very popular in Pundaquit where the Dog’s Offshore Bar was located as he had played heavy handed with local expats there and they soon got to hear of the murder allegations.

Now having been the subject of much discussion on Khmer 440– the Cambodian website for foreigners – he has apparently turned up back in Thailand claiming that he has no problem with police and calling on readers to have respect for the dead.

Whether he is in Thailand and bluffing or in Cambodia is subject also to some dispute.

Michael Taylor, now calling himself Mick Goddard on the net, is being pursued by the ghost of Jantra Weangta on Facebook, well at least by someone using her name, calling for someone to take heed of the warrant and arrest him.

I’m not sure if this is going anywhere. Extraditions between Cambodia and Thailand are as rare as those between the Philippines and Thailand and require lots of paperwork, legal submissions etc.

Maybe of course the Thai police do not have 13 witnesses and the damning murder weapon and bloodstained trousers. Or if they did the knife is now being used as a policeman’s can-opener.

One is obliged to take the view that Mick has either gotten away with murder and the Thais were happy with their US10,000 or Mick was stitched up in the first place.

Interesting alibi though. And a first.

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The Pattaya Times Legacy - returned by a Native American

February 1, 2016, 8:01 am

≫ Next: THE REAL FEARS FOR CHINESE DISSIDENTS IN THAILAND

≪ Previous: MICK ‘THE MURDERER’ CALLS FOR RESPECT FOR THE DEAD

Native American tracks down the Flying Sporran to deliver a gift.

A Native American has tracked down the Flying Sporran in the UK to deliver a rare item, a Pattaya Times jacket which he received together with a Press Card after paying one million baht for shares in the long since defunct newspaper in Thailand.

The jacket came with the simple message: “I'm in the States now and am sending you my 'One Million Baht Jacket' as a way of saying thank you for a job well done, also I think it would make a good story and a good photo of you wearing it…Your Friend”.

In an earlier report I referred to the Native American as ‘Geronimo’ as, apart from ‘Sitting Bull’, it’s one of the few American Indian names I know.

But my ‘Geronimo’ is not an Apache but comes from Southern California where there are a number of Native American gambling casinos.

Geronimo, well he’s stuck with the name now anyway, was congratulating me on eradicating the ‘Pattaya Times’ from Thailand.

This newspaper was of course the voice of American Drew Walter Noyes which he used as an instrument to convince the Pattaya authorities that he was a respectable member of society.

Of course if just a quarter of the local officials could read English they would have realised he was quite the opposite.

The author

Sadly closing down the Pattaya Times does not rank alongside the achievement of my colleague and sparring partner Nick Davies of the Guardian who effectively closed down Rupert Murdoch’s ‘News of the World’ - but then again Nick did not succeed in getting rid of the publisher, Roop, or the editor Rebekah Brooks.

The publisher of the Pattaya Times has however gone back to Wilmington, North Carolina, evading a warrant of arrest, and together with his wife Wanrapa Boonsu is appealing a conviction and two year jail sentence for extortion.

Geronimo, who naturally considers Noyes a US immigrant, had been offered 12 per cent in the Pattaya Times plus a work permit as a journalist. He got the work permit and press card, showing just how corrupt are the labour and immigration departments in Pattaya, but of course his shares were worth nothing.

When he demanded his money back Drew threatened to publish a story about him ‘ going with lady boys’. Drew was like that.

Noyes fed another reporter who upset him, Ivan Schiffer, to immigration police for overstaying his visa.

Drew of course should have been prosecuted for employing illegals including a Filipina who signed a statement saying she was locked in a room in Keha condo by him and assaulted.

Incidentally this is what Noyes wrote to 'Geronimo': 'First you will get (edited) for lying and theft, then (edited) for lying and blogging, then (edited) for lying, then you for lying and filing a false report (and some other things we know about)....Maybe it's time to expose you, your admitted criminal activities, financial background and wierd lifestyle to all cowboys and Indians and Mexican, US and Thai officials? "

Partnership with the Bangkok Post (from the Pattaya Times)

Ok.the English is not so good - but Drew was probably on deadline.

In a way I miss the Pattaya Times. I could read how Drew Noyes was a member of MENSA, an award winning lawyer, and author who was writing a book with the chief judge of Chonburi on libel, and who had the cure for AIDS and uniquely knew how to solve the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

And I could read Wanrapa’s stories about the dangers of oral sex, which somewhow seemed identical to stuff appearing on the wires.

Not the Pattaya Times

PS: I have not physically got the jacket yet. Wells Fargo are sending it around on Saturday. I'm not sure I want to be seen dead in it though. Perhaps a picture as I take it to the local charity shop?

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THE REAL FEARS FOR CHINESE DISSIDENTS IN THAILAND

February 1, 2016, 7:55 am

≫ Next: TOURIST GORED BY ELEPHANT ON THAI ISLAND OF KOH SAMUI - IT WAS HIS FAULT CLAIM!

≪ Previous: The Pattaya Times Legacy - returned by a Native American

CHINESE AGENTS WORK WITH IMPUNITY IN THAILAND - SAY DISSIDENTS.

While Thailand maintains it is friendly with the west and the United States remains Thailand's number one ally there are now the obvious indications that the country has hopped into bed with China in more than one way.

Spy or Janitor? - Coldface

First of all of course there are all those Chinese minorities who are either openly handed back on a plate to the Chinese after seeking safety in Thailand, and then there are those dissident Chinese, who just turn up back home travelling presumably by Tardis, having sought sanctuary in Thailand, and are now confessing crimes, quicker than a Burman on a Thai holiday island.
.
The fear for many Chinese in Thailand is very real and shortly before I left Thailand a number of Chinese beat their way to my door in Bangkok. Well not literally my door – we tended to meet on neutral territory. I was as cautious as they were.

Curiously none of the Chinese 'defectors' I met had actually come to Thailand on holiday.

They all seemed exceptionally nice but all were very scared. Some were on bail from Chonburi, having been arrested, they said, on false charges and then visited in prison by Chinese security personnel in full military uniform, others had come illegally across the Laotian border.

Some sought asylum abroad in Britain, America, or Europe, and some thought information they had might be useful to the US or British governments and help their cases.

Others wanted to make their way just to a neighbouring country as Thailand was not quite as friendly as expected, which in fact was exactly what I was planning at the time.

(While I was free to come and go as I please I did not want particular criminal groups, who had ‘operatives’ as they called them at Suvarnabhumi international airport, to make life difficult.)

I empathised with these Chinese.

But I don't think the gun came from Toys R Us

They were a far cry from the stereotype in the Thai media of spitting, urinating, queue jumping, oafish tourists.

But then westerners particularly British tourists can tend to be a but oafish in the media too.

On the contrary their manners were impeccable.

But there was nothing I could do. I did pass on details to the British and US authorities. The Brits never replied but the US authorities did meet a couple of them.

The problem is that Mandarin Chinese is not my forte. I did not have the cash to pay interpreters to translate the reams of documents I had given and even if I did there was no way I could assess their value.

Besides, as I cannot find anything in Toys R Us that is not made in China, I am not sure western powers are going to do a lot to upset the trade apple-cart.

And the only experience I had with Chinese prior to the recent visitors was with Chinese who were being trafficked to the west, who had agents and cash. In their case the Thai Immigration jail in Suan Phlu appeared to have a revolving door.

A lot of the information coming to me concerned Chinese commercial and military spying activities. A lot has been written about this and the Chinese appear to be good at getting trade secrets in this sort of way, but I guess so are the Americans. But everything here is a guess.

This man pictured above has either the handle ‘ Coldface Chow’ and is at the top of the China’s internet spy network, or he’s the janitor of a local school. If he’s the former then I guess I can kiss this website goodbye. I hope not. A lot paperwork came with his picture.

Thailand is of course going the Chinese way on the net. In China there is no Twitter or Youtube and Google and Yahoo have bent to the Chinese authorities.

Thailand meanwhile is trying to get Google and Facebook to censor stuff which the military government does not like and of course is also pushing the single internet portal.

Why all this talk about democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights indeed?

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TOURIST GORED BY ELEPHANT ON THAI ISLAND OF KOH SAMUI - IT WAS HIS FAULT CLAIM!

February 1, 2016, 12:36 pm

≫ Next: TIME TO BRING BRIAN GOUDIE IN NOW FOR FRAUD EMBEZZLEMENT AND REVENGE PORN

≪ Previous: THE REAL FEARS FOR CHINESE DISSIDENTS IN THAILAND

A 36-year-old Scotsman was reported today to have been gored to death by an elephant while on an elephant ‘safari’ on the Thai island of Koh Samui.

The island English language newspaper is quoting one report saying that the Scot had teased the elephant with bananas.

This was followed quickly on the report by comments such as ‘Serves him right’ and ‘som nam naa’ - the Thai for services him right.

When a tourist gets killed in Thailand, it is often according to initial reports his or her own fault.

When the English Taylor family was attacked in Nong Nooch in Pattaya in 2000 with the death of Andrea, aged 20, and injury to her father and elder sister, initial reports suggested that the elephants had been annoyed by the tourists.

"Sethaphan Buddhani, a Pattaya-based director of the Tourist Authority of Thailand, said the elephant's mahout had claimed that Miss Taylor tried to feed the elephant a banana and then teased it by twice pulling back her hand. He said: "The manager said the elephant tried to grab the banana and hit her. Everybody tried to run away and the elephant thought he was in danger." (DAILY TELEGRAPH)

It was not true. The father sued Nong Nooch but after five years was only awarded £66,000 damages. After deductions for travel and legal fees, that left the father with £15,000. The judge that at the time said this was the highest award the court could give.

Helen Taylor - survived (Andrew Chant)

This was odd as at the same the Shin Corp, of Thaksin Shinawatra, was at the time suing Supinya Klangnarong for damages to the tune of US$130 million for a mere libel.

Already the local newspaper report is being discredited by a witness who says she was with the Scotsman’s 16-year-old daughter in hospital.

The story did not sound right.

Hopefully later this morning we shall have a clearer account.

Andrea Taylor’s elder sister Helen by the way is campaigning against using elephants as a form of entertainment an has joined the 'Born Free Foundation'. The elephant concerned was not a native to Koh Samui but had been transported there for that purpose.

fOR some history follow this link:

http://factsanddetails.com/asian/cat68/sub431/item2465.html

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TIME TO BRING BRIAN GOUDIE IN NOW FOR FRAUD EMBEZZLEMENT AND REVENGE PORN

February 3, 2016, 6:15 am

≫ Next: Cartoonist 'Stephff' - who baited Thailand's military government - gets the boot (updated)

≪ Previous: TOURIST GORED BY ELEPHANT ON THAI ISLAND OF KOH SAMUI - IT WAS HIS FAULT CLAIM!

He has been sentenced to three years in jail for cheating a 78-year-old lady out of nearly US$300,000, which including posing as a lawyer to pocket the bail money for her son who went on to die in jail without treatment for a heart problem.

He got bail while claiming he needed freedom to care and look after a young daughter in Prachuap Khiri Kan, south Thailand.

But instead he has been gallivanting as expected with a Pattaya bar girl.

An arrest warrant has been issued now against him on charges relating to ‘revenge porn’ and making false documents to evade charges of running an entertainment establishment without the proper licences.

The victim was a previous Thai girlfriend.

The warrant has been issued against both his names, Goudie and Goldie, and as his passport has been seized and does not have a current visa, he may try to leave the country on counterfeit documentation.
\

Goudie is a professional conman, Under his birth name Goldie, the former bank clerk, was jailed in Australia for 6 years for stealing over A$300,000 plus from his employers, a West Australia mining company.

He arrived in Thailand pretending to be a former officer in the Royal Marines, and a qualified barrister and Scottish advocate and set up as company called Alba Laws.

He also set up companies in Hong Kong to receive his ill-gotten gains at an HSBC account.

He is also in the courts in Pattaya in relation to defrauding two Brits and a German over a property deal, an embezzling cash a court had awarded them.

He had up until recently been staying at the ‘Key Bar and Restaurant' in the Jomtien Complex just south of Pattaya. This was the former ‘Blarney Stone’ which he acquired illegally on the death bed of Ulster drugs trafficker Jimmy ‘Doc’ Halliday.

Arrest warrant

If you see him let me know.

As you can see from the video. Make a lot of people happy

Known asssociates:

Alan Macdonald, Hua Hin Property developer, but not wanted in Hua Hin. Can be seen around Nana and Cowboy in Bangkok..

John Macdonald, former Glasgow publican and taxi driver. Lives in View Taley 2. Pattaya.

He’s a little nervous.

↧

Cartoonist 'Stephff' - who baited Thailand's military government - gets the boot (updated)

February 2, 2016, 10:54 am

≫ Next: ANOTHER SPEEDBOAT ACCIDENT IN THE ANDAMAN (caution graphic pictures)

≪ Previous: TIME TO BRING BRIAN GOUDIE IN NOW FOR FRAUD EMBEZZLEMENT AND REVENGE PORN

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST AS THAI GOVT CONTINUES PULLING PAPERS OF JOURNALISTS

Sad news today that Thailand’s best cartoonist – in the English language press – Stephff – has had his request for visa and work permit removed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stephff – real name Stephane Peray – kept us entertained for years and all governments and were the butt of his humour.

He announced on Twitter:” Very good news for those who hate me, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused me [sic] renewal of my visa, work permit and press card after 16 years.”

Of course the military dictatorship of Prayuth Chan-Ocha is an obvious target for any cartoonist and Stephff did not pull his punches in ridiculing Thailand’s new ill-tempered premier.

He joins four other foreign journalists who have had their credentials removed by the current government. Stephff stresses there is no proof that his digs at Prayuth are the reason for the refusals.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand has lodged protests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to little avail. The FCCT itself is under attack and has been forced by the military, through police, to cancel a number of discussion programmes.

My accreditation with the Ministry of Affairs and Thai Government Public Relations Department expired on November 16 2015 just a couple of months ago. But the Thai government started blocking this website last summer.

Best of luck Stephff wherever you go – and let’s hope the Nation has the cojones to publish a few more of your cartoons to honour the work you did for them.

Stephff won't be going to Cambodia. He already upset Hun Sen while working on the Phnom |Penh Post.

Better still could not your government find the France is a fly-over country only for Thailand’s military leaders?

STOP PRESS: It looks like this problem is about to be resolved. There has been dialogue between the FCCT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Footnote: I have been receiving widespread reports from other foreigners with problems getting visas work permits. It seems that the relevant authorities want to clean up undesirables in Thailand but actually do not have the wherewithal to determine who is and who is not. . That will already be clear to readers of this site. Besides its a moment for opportunism. A foreigner who has been here 23 years in the aviation security sector was told he would only be given a month visa instead of the usual year. They said he needed to prove he was not a terrorist as terrorists were posing as foreigners with work permits.The foreigner said his job involved security against terrorism. They agreed to give the permit but demanded an extra 5000 Thai baht. 'So if someone wants to plant a bomb here its only 5000 baht'.

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ANOTHER SPEEDBOAT ACCIDENT IN THE ANDAMAN (caution graphic pictures)

February 3, 2016, 6:46 am

≫ Next: --- Article Removed ---

≪ Previous: Cartoonist 'Stephff' - who baited Thailand's military government - gets the boot (updated)

TWO RUSSIANS SERIOUSLY INJURED IN INCIDENT OFF ‘THE BEACH’

Two Russian tourists were seriously injured when they were run over by a speedboat while scuba diving off Maya Beach in the Andaman Sea today.

The Russians, whose lower leg was sliced off was rushed by boat to Phi Phi Island hospital on the main island nearby for immediate surgery.

Maya Bay on Phi Phi Ley island was the setting for the Hollywood film ‘The Beach’ starring Leonardo di Caprio, from the Alex Garland novel of the same name.

The driver of the speedboat Adisorn Denmamood, 27, has been arrested for recklessness, Thai police said.

It is the second speedboat incident this month in the area.

On January 6 a 52-year-old French woman was killed instantly while swimming in a marked swimming area off Poda island, also in Krabi Province of southern Thailand.

The speedboat driver Yothin Subsak, 29, was arrested and charged with causing death by reckless action.

He confessed, said Police Commander Man Rotthong.

Thailand does not rigidly enforce health and safety laws and such incidents and others including local ferries are not uncommon.

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