I Put Son in Thai Jail

[Central Scrutinizer]

I put son in Thai prison

 

A MOTHER?S love may be unconditional but when Christine Wilson, 41, discovered her son James, 26, was involved in a smuggling cartel in Thailand, she went to the police. He was arrested in Bangkok and jailed.

 

Here married mum-of-three Christine, from Prestatyn, Flintshire, tells SAMANTHA WOSTEAR why she put her son behind bars.

 

DOTING mum Christine was so proud of son James. She says:

 

When he left for university in September 1997, I missed him terribly. I would call him once a week just to check he was OK.

 

Within 18 months he had changed. He looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders ? a far cry from the bubbly 18-year-old I had known.

 

Early in 1999, James called to say he was desperate for help from my husband and me. He had got into serious debt and needed Mum and Dad to repay the £12,000 debt he had piled up on bank loans and credit card bills to subsidise university life.

 

I was relieved to know what was troubling him and happily handed over the cash. James promised he would get himself straight and I believed him.

 

But when he returned in June he was still distant. He seemed less ambitious than before. Five months later I felt I didn?t know him any more.

 

James then stunned us by saying he had not sat any exams in his second year due to the stress of his debt and would have to repeat the year.

 

But that wasn?t all he had been hiding. In January I was shocked to open the door to bailiffs demanding our personal possessions to settle a debt James had amassed.

 

?I felt sick. Where had the £12,000 gone? Every day we were getting letters from credit and loan companies demanding James pay back what he owed.

 

I wasn?t surprised when he called from Heathrow airport in June to say he was going to stay with a friend in Australia for a while to escape the debt.

 

He didn?t mention uni or the thousands of pounds he owed us.

 

I decided to forget about the money. He was my son after all.

 

I didn?t hear from him again till Christmas Eve 2002. He told me he was living in Bangkok. Every couple of months he would call from a different country ? Italy, France, Japan, India.

 

I once dared to ask him how he was funding his jet-set lifestyle and he slammed the phone down. I never quizzed him again in case I lost him.

 

I had to bite my tongue when he turned up out of the blue in May 2003. Alarm bells rang when he told us he was only here for the weekend. No one takes a day trip to Prestatyn from Thailand.

 

He told me he was in trouble with some dangerous people. I was terrified that he could be involved in drugs.

 

Jailed ... James was sent to a Thai prison

 

I begged him to stay in touch.

 

Later that evening my eldest son Dean, who is 33, phoned. James had confessed to dealing in illegal passports and smuggling them all over the world.

 

He had no plans to give up either ? he owed too many people too much money.

 

I didn?t have to think twice. I called the police straight away.

 

I had a duty as a mother to protect my son and others.

 

But it all went terribly wrong when the police failed to pick up James before he left the country. Now he would be at the mercy of the Thai authorities.

 

As a result of my call, James was arrested by customs in Bangkok. Within a week he sent a letter but had no idea it was me who put him behind bars.

 

He asked us for money as the prison system was quite different to the one over here and basic requirements such as pillows and sheets had to be bought.

 

I wrote straight back but again didn?t tell him it was me that had put him there. He was going through enough without that.

 

James described seeing cockroaches and rats as big as cats. Meals were few and far between and often rancid.

 

My son was at an all-time low and I had put him there. But it was another three months before I told him it was my fault.

 

James reacted badly. I tried to explain and sent him £60 each month. He never replied.

 

After six months in custody, James was found guilty of passport forgery. He was sentenced to a year in prison, of which he served six months.

 

I discovered through the British embassy he was being deported at the end of May 2004.

 

I was relieved his ordeal was over and hopeful it would have taught him a lesson.

 

It was not until November 2004 that he came to see me. I welcomed him but he ranted that we had interfered and ruined his life before storming out.

 

I might never see my son again but I don?t blame myself.

 

He chose a dangerous life. All I did was limit the damage.

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk./article/0,,2001290023-2006260239,00.html

[Nervous_Dog]

And I though you had put your son in Jail Cent!

[Central Scrutinizer]

Dog,

 

Nah, my two boys are alright.

 

Cent

[cardinalblue]

Yes, i love kids like this blaming their parents that "they have ruined his life"....

 

This type of person is the true "L" in life and will be for his entire life. It's in his make-up...

 

Now she should have been responded that she should have aborted (legally of course) him when she got knocked up when she was 15...

 

That would have saved both of them a lot of grief! Now i wonder if he is one of these guys one often sees lurking around nana, washington square or another entertainment establishment looking for the next scam, con job or hand-out?

 

He fits that profile (okay we don't have his side of the story) that eventually goes off the deep-end kills his parents and blames the world for his problems....

 

CB

[bust]

It reminds me of the Bali 9. One of the parents knew their son was up to no good and informed the Australian Federal Police. Now this is where it gets tradgic. Instead of the AFP pulling this kid aside as saying "hey we know whay you are up to" they tipped off the Indonesian authorities. Kids now got 25 years out of it. Not condoning what the kid did, but what a dilemna for any parent.

[Central Scrutinizer]

All,

 

"But that wasn?t all he had been hiding. In January I was shocked to open the door to bailiffs demanding our personal possessions to settle a debt James had amassed."

 

And, what's with this? The kid was over 18 when he amassed this debt. How is it the parents responsibility because some silly cunts give credit to an 18 year old? I'd tell them to fuck off and go see the kid for any bills owed. Yeah, like I'll let them in to take my electronics and furniture when they are the idiots for lending money to young college age kids. Is this true in England that they can do this? Sounds odd to me. Unless the parents signed on as guaranteers of any loans he took out I don't see how they are legally responsible for any debts he incurs after age 18 (legal adult).

 

Cent

[Ckrisg]

Cent

 

No Baliffs in the UK can not force parents to pay a siblings debt, most probably he gave his parents address when he took the debt on.

 

They were merely visiting that address, once you explain the situation to them, you can then tell the baliff to fuck off..................

[junglesoup]

At a time when we are the most indebted that we ve ever been, credit is given in the UK like there is no tomorrow.

 

I made a transaction for about 2000 pound on my visa card and when I got my statement in it said we are please to increase your credit limit to £ 5000. Feel like ringing them up and saying, "Did i fucking ask you to increase my fucking limit?"

 

Hate these bastards with a passion. They market there fucking cards to people they know are financially compromised. If you are struggling to make payments and make a late payment then they stick another £20 on top. I mean whats the reasoning behind that.

 

They are legalised loan sharks, some charging 22% interest.

I d never steel money from any individual, or do I ever owe anyone money, but I would have no qualms about ripping these fuckers off in anyway possible. When they ask for the money I d send them a letter saying they hadn t read my small print. You arent getting it.