Thread: Thai Police checking on foreigners, mainly teachers

i think the difference is between what is technically legal and the normal day-to-day dodgy practices.

Originally Posted by Lily

^It should not only be possibe, it should be obligitory, to report people whom you have good reason to think are paedophiles.

I'd say that a fair amount of circumspect should be exercised in this.

Reporting to the Thai police would be a pretty dangerous thing - what if you were wrong? Perhaps Interpol, or the person's own home Embassy would be a better way to drop an anonymous hint.

Grasses often end up is a spot of bother somewhere down the line - especially if you are wrong!!! Could cost you more than a pretty penny in legal costs & damages.

Personally I think that if the process helps find or deter one pedo from working in Thailand then it will be worth the effort. I am pretty sure this is just the usual blather from the cops but who knows it just may work

Originally Posted by obsidian

indeed didnt a few guys go to jail awhile back for working while waiting for thier proper paperwork to clear?

Yes, but some of the 'paperwork' included fake degrees.

Originally Posted by watterinja

Grasses often end up is a spot of bother somewhere down the line - especially if you are wrong!!! Could cost you more than a pretty penny in legal costs & damages.

I am not speaking about people whom you just 'suspect' may be doing it, but in the West, teachers, doctors and nurses are obliged by law to report any evidence of child abuse.

Why can't teachers here be under the same obligation?

^^ if this is true then i am off point here.

^ it only occurred to the thai powers that be 6 months ago to make domestic violence illegal. this is a primitive place. in a western country i would agree completely but here it is such a cultural circus. caution is an xcellant rule of thumb even when you are completely correct.

Originally Posted by Lily

Originally Posted by watterinja

Grasses often end up is a spot of bother somewhere down the line - especially if you are wrong!!! Could cost you more than a pretty penny in legal costs & damages.

I am not speaking about people whom you just 'suspect' may be doing it, but in the West, teachers, doctors and nurses are obliged by law to report any evidence of child abuse.

Why can't teachers here be under the same obligation?

I hear you & understand what you're driving at.

'Under law'... what is the Thai law regarding reporting of such matters? How would it be handled? Would a person's dignity & human rights be upheld - even if a suspect? Under Thai law, are you guilty until proven innocent, or innocent until proved guilty? It makes a difference.

Look at John Mark Karr, for instance. The fellow was technically innocent under western law, but as guilty as all hell, under Thai interpretation.

Originally Posted by watterinja

The fellow was technically innocent under western law, but as guilty as all hell, under Thai interpretation.

Well, to be fair to the Thais, it did seem he was guilty of something terrible.

In Thailand a confession, not matter how it is obtained, says you are guilty.

It was a bit of a different case, though, wasnt it?

Not many people confess to something like that. The Thais would never have heard of that happening.

^ True, fair-enough...

It would seem that if the Thais concentrated on the people who supply the children to these guys, prosecuted and put them in prisons, it would help out a lot with this problem. It,s kind of like only going after the drug user, but never looking at the drug dealers. What kind of police work is that?

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Teachers in Thailand have a legal obligation to report suspected abuse, as do doctors, nurses, psychologists, public health officials, local government officials and anybody else in similar positions of responsibility

Well, I am pleased to hear it, but I wonder if they do? The Thai thing of not interfering, may get in the way of it.

I used to work for the CRB back in Blighty... and it is fookin hard for anyone to get any info out of them with out having a set of meetings to decide whether the company who need the info is responsible enough to have it...

So the chances of the boys in brown getting it is........... slim to none

Originally Posted by dirtydog

"We are scrutinising more than 1,000 foreign teachers working in Thailand,'' he said.

I wish him luck finding 1,000 teachers who are working.

^
very good....

Having lived through the "McCarthy era", I have a strong aversion to lists. Even worse today when the media is clamoring for any sensational headline. Once on a suspect list, not sure how anyone suspected of being a pedophile can ever clear their name even if completely innocent.

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

I wish him luck finding 1,000 teachers who are working.

They are all too busy posting on forums!

Originally Posted by Norton

Once on a suspect list, not sure how anyone suspected of being a pedophile can ever clear their name even if completely innocent.

The way it works where I come from is that the report is investigated and if it is found to be unsubstantiated, no record is kept.

Of course this has problems too, in that people can be investigated many times and there is no correalation between the reports.

Not any different really than if a child dies at home (cot death or accident) there is a police investigation into it, no matter what is written on the death certificate.

Originally Posted by Norton

Having lived through the "McCarthy era", I have a strong aversion to lists. Even worse today when the media is clamoring for any sensational headline. Once on a suspect list, not sure how anyone suspected of being a pedophile can ever clear their name even if completely innocent.

how old are you, norton?