From paradise to hell
I translated a story that happened to a french family in Thailand. They waited for the husband to be back home safely before telling their story, here it is :
"My husband spent 7 days in the Lamai jail (Koh Samui) following a car accident.
Our rented 4X4 car was at a stop when a speeding motorcycle came and hit it in the bumpers. It was a thai driver and his wife. The result was a fractured leg for the woman. The insurance took care of it. The police asked to see us again 8 days later. Meanwhile we went to see the thai family and we agreed to pay them 100,000 Baht (they were first asking for 150,000). We went back to the police station to register the agreement. There the police asked us to come back the following day to sign the document.
When we came back they arrested my husband, kept him in custody the afternoon and asked 100,000 baht to bail him out. Despite us paying it, he was kept in jail. We took a lawyer but he seemed unable to do anything against that mafia-like police. We applied 3 times for bail, each time it was refused. Until the 4th time they agreed provided an extra 250,000 baht were paid. In jail my husband learnt from fellow french prisonners that it was a common practice amongst that corrupted local police. After his release, my husband was visited by the police, they asked him 50,000 Baht and the following day he had an appointment with the police's lawyer. He was asked another 65,000 Baht in order to remain free and get his passeport back.
2 days later everything was cleared and my husband was able to fly back to France. I had gone back with my 7 year old kid before, my husband was afraid something could be done to harm us when he was in jail. During that 15 day ordeal we were put under a very strong psychological pressure, i won't detail the living conditions in the thai jail but it was really distressing. Our lovely holidays turned into a nightmare. I know it will sound an unbelivable story... it was to us. That organized corruption on this island is known from many, including the french embassy in Bangkok. It has to be stopped. People must be warned if they don't want to fall victim of these scum in uniform.
Flavia"
I contacted Flavia, she got all the documents to prove the reality of this incredible affair, and she's contacting the media and the french government, because she doesn't want another family to suffer from the 'Koh Samui Gang'. The more people know about it, the better, but she hopes something will be done so that Thailand remains a tourist paradise.