Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing yet again this so-called 'beach bully' case. You know I want to be clear, I'm sure that this person is going through some pretty difficult tribulations at this point and this moniker has basically just sort of been applied, this 'beach bully' notion but we are sort of using it just to explain what these videos are about for people who may not be interested in this case, they may not want to watch or they may not care to keep up with it, so we are going to sort of use that term because that's what the Press basically has been sort of using. I sort of get that this person is going through a lot; I'm not really meaning to pile on by making these videos but long story short they can provide teaching moments if you will regarding Thai Immigration and I do think that is rather useful. 

Quoting directly from a recent article, the reason I thought of making this video, I was reading in the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Anutin rules out Fehr's Visa appeal. "Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that he would not consider any appeal made by a Swiss man whose Visa was revoked for allegedly kicking a doctor in Phuket." Quoting further and a direct quote: "Quote: "Does anyone [not] want to see his Visa revoked? Not this Interior Minister," Mr. Anutin said during a visit to Si Sa Ket yesterday. Pol Maj Gen Songprote has said he will be allowed," (he being the accused in this case) "he will be allowed to stay in Thailand on bail to defend his case in Court. However Mr. Anutin said the Court case will not be used as an excuse for Mr. Fehr to regain his Business Visa. Quote: "The court case can continue," he said. "It has nothing to do with the Visa issue." 

So a lot going on in there and also I think it is worthy for purposes in this video to point out another article again in the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com. Hats off really, very much so to the Bangkok Post for their coverage on this. They have been really keeping detailed track. I urge those watching this video, go check out both of those articles in detail if you are interested in this case. 'Kicking' Swiss man in Phuket loses visa. Quoting directly: "The Immigration Bureau has revoked the Business Visa of a Swiss man who allegedly kicked a Thai woman relaxing on a beach near his villa in Phuket deeming him a threat to society. The behaviour of Mr. Fehr, reported by the Phuket Governor and the Commander of the Phuket Immigration Police, was deemed a threat to social peace Police Col Parinya said. Phuket Immigration Police should detain him but he may seek a temporary release to defend himself in the physical assault case," said the spokesman." And that was a spokesman for the Thai Immigration Office. 

Long story short, there are two things going on here: there is the criminal case which again the Press has been keeping close tabs on and then there is the Immigration matter. Immigration matters are not necessarily connected to police matters directly. There could be a correlation but long story short, the Interior Minister has said regardless of what is going on over with the criminal case that this person is not going to be getting a Visa, and that is a keen difference to point out. It's kind of a fine point in terms of understanding sort of Thai Bureaucracy in the jurisdiction of for example the Police Force versus Immigration Bureau versus Interior Ministry which is at the end of the day tasked with issuing visas here in Thailand. Again these are subtle differences but they can have tremendous ramifications. So again the court case being one thing, the criminal proceeding and then Immigration status being another, somewhat akin to there being, I remember years back when I first basically left the United States, it became common practice for Defense Attorneys in American criminal proceedings to need to be able to provide some level of advice regarding the Immigration implications of certain pleadings etc., pleading guilty for example in an American criminal context because it could have Immigration ramifications and the two bodies of law are not the same. In this case the two adjudicatory powers if you will between the judiciary dealing with criminal matters here in Thailand and then the Interior Minister himself, who at the end of the day is ultimately responsible for Immigration matters in Thailand specifically the Interior Minister, or Ministry I should say, does oversee Visa issuance and visa maintenance in Thailand, different thing you are dealing with. You are dealing with the Court in one proceeding, you are dealing with Immigration in another proceeding and Immigration has made it clear it would seem or the authorities or the one major Authority or only Authority when you really get to the top, I guess you could say of the Interior Ministry has said "yeah look we're not going to be issuing visas in this person's case in the future", presumably based on not only their discretion but also based on their observations of what has occurred here.

Again as we discussed, I hesitate to comment on my own opinion because I don't actually know what transpired here. That presumably is the job of some adjudicator to basically interpret, make findings of fact and conclusions of law in the matter. Until such time as I see something to that effect, I am going to reserve my own personal judgment. That said Immigration here in Thailand has a different, obviously, a different mandate and they have to at the end of the day make their own adjudications whether or not foreign nationals should be permitted to remain in the Kingdom of Thailand.