radioman Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/457571/andrew-drummond-quits-thailand Crusading journo quits Thailand Andrew Drummond, a British investigative journalist who has specialised in exposing the activities of foreign criminals in Thailand, is leaving the country after 25 years. In a statement posted on his popular website, Mr Drummond said he was returning to Britain because he and his family no longer felt safe in Thailand. "The primary reasons were a direct threat to the safety of himself and his three children from foreign criminals in Thailand working in liaison with the Thai Police and Thailand’s Computer Crime Act, which he said was being used by foreign criminals to silence criticism of their activities," the statement said. Mr Drummond's body of work includes countless reports on the shady activities of foreign crooks, from financial swindlers to sex traffickers and killers, mostly based in Pattaya and Phuket. The reports have outraged and titillated readers in equal measure, while making their author the target of frequent litigation and threats. "I have enjoyed my time in Thailand where I have made many good Thai and foreign friends but there comes a time having too much knowledge which I cannot keep to myself can be too dangerous," he wrote on his website. "My well being has been threatened as have those of my children. This is not of course the first time, but the recent threat came from a group of people who have killed with impunity before, and have even had police set up people on false charges." Mr Drummond also said he had "left information in Thailand which should be of use to the DSI" in conducting further investigations. He also expressed dismay at the growing use of the Computer Crime Act to intimidate and silence people who expose wrongdoing. He mentioned the Phuket-based journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, who are being sued by the navy for reprinting a Reuters report that alleges complicity by navy officers in human trafficking. He also mentioned Andy Hall, the migrant workers' advocate who faces a number of court cases. "The harassment of Andy, Alan and Chutima, has no place in a country calling itself free," he wrote. "Thailand's inability to take criticism, and its greatly flawed justice system, are major handicaps to its progress." Mr Drummond said he still faced three lawsuits in Thailand by people accused of criminal activities in his investigative reports. "I have worked as a journalist for over twenty years in Britain, the United States and Australia without being sued once," he wrote. "In many ways foreign criminals will be seen to have won this battle. They have not won the war." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Live by the pen, die by the courts... I was on occasion entertained by Mr. Drummond's reports, and they have in some ways contributed to my overall understanding of how the systems dominant in Thailand work, so thanks to him for that. Thailand is a great place to go and have fun, within specific bounds it is a place of really enjoyable freedoms, but those freedoms are within limits, and Thailand is no place to go about crusading against the Thai systems and those who benefit most from them. It can hardly come as a surprise let alone shock to those who are familiar with the place that their views will eventually require them to shut up, or pack up. Maybe in the beginning the various crusaders were naive enough to believe that Thailand was a place of real freedom and open expression, but it does not take long (about as long as it takes to read You-Know-Who Never Smiles) to come to a different understanding. Whether it's Thaksin's world or the elites, or whoever comes next (if there is change some day), it's hard for me to imagine that there will be room for real critics of those with money and power. Not to say that I don't love and respect the place, you just have to be aware of the delineation of what is okay to say and do, and what is not. YimSiam YimSiam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 He made that decision a year or more ago. Can't say I blame him. It has nothing to do with the current government, since he hadn't had a fair shake under its predecessors either. I hope he'll keep covering Thailand, though it will have to be at a distance. He used to post of this board a few years ago as Famous Grouse. I've never met him, but I definitely got the impression that I'd like him. He's the old fashioned type of journalist, the kind willing to get off his butt and dig out the facts, and then report them as he sees them. Unlike most, he has reported on crime not politics. He'll be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 It's a dilemma for sure, tell the everyone what you know, as good and sensible citizen of the world, then get whacked on the head. or Live a quiet life and see wrongs that you could do something about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 If you've followed his writings, you'd know about the problems he has had in the last few years after he researched several expats. Unlike movies, the good guys don't always win in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 YS, in some ways Thailand remains semi-feudal. And never forget that "democracy" began in 1932 with a military coup. Thailand has one foot in the present and one foot in the past. Ignore that and there is likely to be a price to pay. Drummond found out the hard way. Change comes slowly here, and usually reluctantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Drummond's most recent ... http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/01/the-long-arm-of-phony-barrister.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 " Another one leaves " Just curious, who was the other one that left ? ............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Relevant if not exactly the same: Paul Handley, Andrew Marshall, Giles Ungpakorn, Eric Campbell, Nick Nostitz... even Jonathan Head for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 And that young lady Erika Fry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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