Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing yet again one of these stories of Foreigners Behaving Badly. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Thai Examiner, that is thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Young German tourist arrested in Phuket for 2,000 Baht theft from spa Center on Tuesday trying to give back. Quoting directly: "A 25-year-old German tourist was arrested at a Phuket spa after CCTV footage showed him stealing 2,000 Baht from a cash drawer while the cashier was away. He later returned to apologize and repay the money but was detained under a court warrant and now faces theft charges." Quoting further: "A 25-year-old German tourist broke down on Wednesday after his arrest and detention. Phuket Police took him into custody at a spa where he allegedly stole 2,000 Baht and a pair of slippers the previous day." So I don't know if I quite read that right. Did he come in on the first day and steal the slippers and then came in the next day and stole the 2,000 Baht? Not quite sure. The other thing with this sort of breaking down and everything, look on a certain level, I get what it's like to be in your twenties and to make a bad decision and to just be, not to cast aspersions, but just talking hypothetically in a general sense, to just be a dumb kid and to just do something that's not a real smart decision.

That being said, Thailand doesn't mess around with its legal system around here and they get pretty upset with stuff like this. And honestly, this is one of those things where I look at it and I say to myself would you have done this in your home country? Why come to Thailand and do it? Just kind of my own thoughts. That said, quoting further: "Identified as Mr. (we're just going to redact the name) he faces theft charges, visa revocation and deportation after criminal proceedings conclude." So yeah, not only does he have the criminal charge now pending against him, but if convicted, then presumptively you have got Visa problems making him deportable. Quoting further: "Following the investigation, Police sought a Court warrant. The Phuket Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant. The warrant listed a theft charge under Thai Law. Later, police coordinated with Immigration Officers. The suspect's foreign status required immigration involvement. Officers prepared to execute the warrant." Quoting further" "According to police, the suspect expressed remorse. He admitted involvement in the theft. He did not deny taking the money. After the arrest, officers transported the suspect to Muang Phuket Police Station. There, formal processing took place. Case documentation was prepared. Meanwhile, police confirmed the theft occurred the previous day. The spa had reported the incident on Tuesday. Officers responded after reviewing the complaint." So yeah, it looks like Thai Police were pretty quick to get on this and they have gone ahead and detained this person, and this person is now pending charges as well as the possibility of deportation. 

I'm sure this was probably upsetting, but at the end of the day, and I'm not trying to be flippant about any of this, but I don't know what this person thought the consequences of this were likely to be, and again it just kind of raises the question in my mind, would you do this in your home country? And there's a lot of that, when we get into these Foreigners Behaving Badly kind of videos where I am just saying there going "would you do this back home?" Like for me, something crazy, would I do that in Kansas? And if the answer is no, maybe don't do it in Thailand. That being said, again this person is young. It was to my mind it's kind of the move that a young, again I don't want to directly cast aspersions or something, but it is just something that a kid; it's a kid mistake, it is like a childish mistake. That said it's a pretty costly one, because you are a foreign national in a foreign country. They don't really want thieves in their country so it's very likely, at the very least, this person is going to be detained for a while before being deported from the Kingdom of Thailand.