TotallyOz Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 It is very odd to me that a Swiss National, young lady, student is arrested on charges of overstay and kept in prison for one month and her embassy was not contacted. There must be much more to this story. http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Missing-Swiss-student-tourist-alive-and-well-in-Thai-prison-20039.html PHUKET: A 22-year-old Swiss student tourist reported missing while on holiday in Thailand has been found alive and well. She’s being detained in Ranong Prison for allegedly stealing a camera belonging to an immigration officer. The search for Tscherina Nora Janisch, a foreign-exchange student studying at the National University of Singapore, began on January 15 when her mother, Elizabeth, posted a concerned note on the popular travel website Travelfish. Mrs Janisch became worried after she had not heard from Tscherina since December 22. Her daughter habitually contacted home once a week. The Travelfish posting was quickly carried across many websites and was picked up by mainstream media across the region. Cpl Rungroj Somjai of the Ranong Tourist Police saw a report in a local newspaper on January 19 and quickly reported to the Swiss Embassy in Bangkok that had seen Tscherina weeks earlier. In a bizarre twist of protocol, the Swiss Embassy reported the news to Tourist Police Commander Roy Ingpairoj in Bangkok, who informed the Phuket Tourist Police, who in turn reported the news to the Ranong Tourist Police, who investigated the claim and found Tscherina incarcerated in Ranong Prison. “Ranong Tourist Police reported to the Swiss embassy they had found Tscherina. The embassy contacted her family and this morning [January 23] her mother, Mrs Elizabeth Maria Janisch, came to Ranong with Tscherina’s aunt and asked to post bail of 130,000 baht to have Tscherina released,” Cpl Rungroj explained. The Swiss student is being held on charges of stealing a camera belonging to a Ranong Immigration Officer. Tscherina presented herself to Ranong Immigration on December 25 while trying to exit the country to do a “visa run” to Myanmar. She had entered Thailand on December 8 with a tourist visa, which allowed her to stay for 15 days, explained Cpl Rungroj, who was called to aid Ranong Immigration as an interpreter. “She refused to pay the fine [500 baht per day] for the three-day overstay, so the officer had to charge her. While the officer was typing the arrest record, she asked to go to the toilet,” he said. “A few minutes later, one of the immigration officers noticed she went into the investigation room and walked out acting suspicious. The officer asked to search her and found in a pocket of her shorts a Canon PowerShot A640 from one of the immigration officers’ desks in the investigation room,” Cpl Rungroj said. “She was charged with overstaying her visa and with theft. She confessed to the overstay, but denied stealing the camera. She was then transferred to Ranong Prison while awaiting her case to be heard in court,” he added. “I talked with Ms Tscherina’s lawyer today. He told me he has submitted a request to the court to post bail. They are now waiting for the court’s response,” Cpl Rungroj said. Quote
Rogie Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 There must be much more to this story. I agree - until we know a bit more it's very perplexing. One thing worth mentioning, just in case anybody reading this is currently visiting Thailand on a visa or 15 or 30 day entry - memorise the expiry date stamped in your passport. DO NOT OVERSTAY! BUT IF YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED TO PAY THE FINE! Quite frankly, it is ludicrous to refuse to pay. Unfortunately some people don't realise the repercusions when you rub immigration officials up the worng way. TotallyOz 1 Quote
Guest Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 1 I noticed the overpayment counter near the passport control in BKK airport. What are the implications of a small overstay? Just pay up, without any fuss, lectures or ongoing consequences for future visits? 2 If the young Swiss lady really stole the camera, that would be an exceptionally stupid thing to do. In fact it's so stupid, I wonder if that's what really happened. Quote
Guest joseph44 Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 If you are leaving the country with overstay, just mention it to the immigration-officer, pay the overstay fine and that's it. One day overstay will be waived, but after that you'll have to pay THB 500 per day (including the first day). There are people with months or even years who leave the country and pay 'only' the maximum fine of THB 20,000 without a lecture or whatever. Just beware of getting caught during a raid or any other police-encounter; being caught with an overstay can be disastrous. Detainment in the Bangkok Police Deportation Detention Center until your are able to pay the overstay fine and come up with an outbound air ticket or in worst case, deportation and a black-list notation. As said: Take care of your "Permission of Stay" stamp and the date that's on it. Quote
Bob Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 It is very odd to me that a Swiss National, young lady, student is arrested on charges of overstay and kept in prison for one month and her embassy was not contacted. There must be much more to this story. My thoughts exactly, Michael. Her embassy should have been contacted within a very few hours and the embassy staff should have made contact with her directly in less than 24 hours. Presuming that occurred (if it didn't, something's rotten with the Phuket system and/or the Swiss embassy), then I can only guess (and hope) that the reason the Swiss embassy didn't immediately notify the girl's parents was due to something the girl said or requested. Quote
Guest Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 Either the girl is rather thick, or there are some dodgy dealings on the immigration department side. Difficult to say which. Regarding the overstays, if the charge can be simply paid without any negative effect on future stays, I figure it has to be the cheapest and most convenient way of extending a trip by a couple of days. Quote
Guest timmberty Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 why would you want to stay an extra couple of days ? surely you can only get into thailand on holiday if you prove you have a flight out booked ? so rather than paying a small over stay fine you have to rebook a flight, which to switzerland would be in the region of 700 pound minimum. and if you do want to stay how hard is it to do a boarder run? if her flight was booked for 2 days after she was due to leave i doubt she would have been allowed in in the first place. if you do end up in jail for overstaying do you then have to pay a fine when you leave for all the extra days you have spent in jail ? Quote
Rogie Posted January 25, 2013 Posted January 25, 2013 . . .extending a trip by a couple of days. why would you want to stay an extra couple of days ? Deliberately extending it straightforward, provided you know the risks; if you just turn up at the airport and are 'caught' overstaying it would seem, going by what others say, it is a simple matter of paying the appropriate fine. If, on the hand, you are 'caught' by the authorities as for example in a drug swoop, or a road traffic offence, and are proved to have overstayed, that is potentially very serious and people have ended up in jail. surely you can only get into thailand on holiday if you prove you have a flight out booked This question is often raised, and as far as I am aware it is unusual to be asked to show your onward ticket at immigration. Be that as it may, airlines are reluctant to allow passengers without visas to board flights whose return date is more than 30 days (taking the UK situation as an example) after departure. So, you might get away with it, but why risk the hassle? and if you do want to stay how hard is it to do a boarder run? There again, easy in theory, but disastrous if you're caught. if you do end up in jail for overstaying do you then have to pay a fine when you leave for all the extra days you have spent in jail ? No idea! Just too awful to contemplate. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 25, 2013 Posted January 25, 2013 surely you can only get into thailand on holiday if you prove you have a flight out booked ? That is indeed the law. Whilst I have rarely heard of anyone being stopped at Immigration on entry and asked for the return ticket, I was twice stopped by airlines who threatened to deny me boarding as I could not show an onward ticket. (Before I lived here, I usually purchased most of my air tickets in Thailand since that was then cheaper than most other countries). One was a Cathay Pacific business class ticket from Hong Kong and the other a British Airways first class ticket (using miles) departing Sydney. I kicked up an almighty fuss and pointed to the regular Bangkok entry/exit stamps in my passport. In each case, I was only permitted to board after providing a guarantee that I would pay for my own return to Hong Kong/Sydney in the event I'd be denied entry and the airline's fine from the Thai air authorities! As usual, on entry I was not asked to show the outward ticket! Quote
TotallyOz Posted January 25, 2013 Author Posted January 25, 2013 I have been in and out of Thailand a hundred times over the years and never once asked for a ticket confirmation on either side. In the USA, when anyone travels to Brazil, they check at check in to see the return ticket. If you don't have one, you don't get on the plane. Quote
pong Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Bitte beachten=please note. Elsewhere I read her family has requested that ALL fora-postings etc should be removed about this case. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 There's a later 24 January report in the Phuket News - which is therefore in the public domain - which states that the Tscherina Nora Janisch's mother and aunt have arrived in Thailand. They have a lawyer and bail of Bt. 130,000 has been requested for the release of the daugher/niece. The Phuket Gazette also reports on the same date that the bail has been paid and the young lady is now out of jail. It quotes the mother - Mrs Janisch also expressed her gratitude to the judge for granting her daughter’s bail, as she believes the theft accusation is the result of a misunderstanding between the officers, her daughter and the interpreter. I wonder why the family has requested all posts on all fora be removed? The thaivisa thread about this case extends to 12 pages. It has been closed, but the reason given is the use of an undesirable Thai word. But it adds if there is more public information, it will continue the thread. I'll make no further comment except to suggest the bail amount seems high. Quote
Guest Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Elsewhere I read her family has requested that ALL fora-postings etc should be removed about this case.They may have requested that, but I cannot think of any moral reason why we should comply with the request. As long as what is reported as fact is accurate, I cannot think of any legal reason either. After all, IF someone gets into some difficulty with the authorities, it usually gets reported. Such is life. Quote
TotallyOz Posted January 27, 2013 Author Posted January 27, 2013 I read somewhere that Casey Anthony requested the same. But, when news happens, it is the public domain. You can't then go and retroactively remove all instances. Impossible. Quote
williewillie Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 can't figure out why this thread is in the gayThailand section. I guess anything goes and the gay part isn't a factor. Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 can't figure out why this thread is in the gayThailand section. I guess anything goes and the gay part isn't a factor. I've always thought anything could go here that was related to Thailand or Gay Thailand. If neither, then generally the Beer Bar. This is the main forum for all things gay in Thailand including Gay Pattaya, Gay Bangkok, Gay Chiang Mai, Gay Phuket. Post information here on events, places, activities, questions, and comments. Keep the topics related to information on Thailand. Quote
