Hi Hillary,
I honestly buy the Pattaya Mail to read about the next problem you have to try and solve. You have good advice. I would like to say to all the men out there, everything you do is self inflicted. But, I have a different problem and it is affecting my love life. So I am seeking your advice. I bought an expensive car and paid a lot of money, also put it in my lady’s name, after 6 months some very opportunist Thai man stole the car. The police now have this man in the monkey house, they also know that he sold it in Bangkok for 300,000 baht and they cannot recover it.
I find this very hard to believe, it is now six months and many police and all the rest want money and they will go and find it. Why must people get extra money to do what they are employed to do? If it can be returned I have no problem to pay – but why are Thai people so corrupt? The insurance do not care, I have a lawyer and he does not care for obvious reasons. Possibly you can give me the right advice. Who can I talk to? Yes I understand this is maybe not your problem.
Petal Mike
Dear Petal Mike,
“Corruption” is a hot subject right now, with the demands for under the table payments apparently higher than ever before, but I think you have to change your mind-set a little, Petal Mike. You ask “why are Thai people so corrupt” but are Thai people any different from other people? Did you use a genuine copy of Windows when you wrote your letter? Did you never try and fiddle your tax? I read an article the other day on a court clerk in the UK who was caught and sent to prison for taking corrupt payments. So it’s not just here. Countries throughout the world are making noises. But that’s about as far as it goes. So what can we do get your motor car back? You have to remember that “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” In your case, ask the policeman how much it will take to get your car back, pay it and say “Thank you”. Now, before people write to me castigating me for my stand on this, it should be remembered that most foreigners who come to live her do so because of the free and easy lifestyle. Greasing the wheels under the table is part of it. It has always been part of it in Asia. It is the way things are, and it is different from the west.
