Kingpins remain untouched

A Bangkok Post report this week showed 36 foreign nationals and one Thai were detained during tourist police-led raids on 104 locations across the country in the early hours of Thursday.

A quick analysis of the numbers reveals certain inefficiencies. Raids, requiring hypothetically 10 police per raid, on 104 locations yielded 36 individuals detained, six visa overstays, 27 illegal entries and four miscellaneous charges.

Thus we see thousands of man hours producing no one charged with serious crimes. Illegal entry and visa overstays are a dime a dozen crimes with no victims.

Can anyone remember the arrest of a major drug kingpin, paid assassin, or the Ferrari man in the hit and run incident that killed a police officer? How about the head of a major crime family lately? The CEO of a corporate industrial polluter perhaps?

But since we are rid of those highly dangerous visa over-stayers, I'm sure everyone is sleeping easier tonight.

Michael Setter
Immigration procedures

Re: "37 foreign 'outlaws' arrested", (BP, May 18).

During almost every Operation X-ray, foreigners who overstayed for months or years have been arrested. I wonder how this overlooking of excessive stays happened.

There are laws and rules in which foreigners are granted a stay, usually 90 days, at immigration counters at all ports of entry.

If you desire more days of stay, you must request extension procedures at immigration offices. Then, when you leave the country at any port of departure without a re-entry permit, your record of entry and stay will be void.

Is there any system to follow up/trace every visitor against their entry records, or any IT technology that automatically warns security departments when their departure is beyond the allowed stay days on their entry record?

RH Suga
Airbnb axed yet rich carry on

Re: "Airbnb's unpaid tax bill remains a double-edged sword", (Business, May 19).

Convenient e-booking for tourist becomes illegal. How about renting luxury watches? Shooting wildlife? Thailand 4.0 and start-ups may go backward.

Thonglor JB
Objectivity is impossible

The left and the right have always accused the media of being biased against them. But what needs to be understood is that since those in the media use their own bias and prejudices to decide what stories to cover and from what angle they should be covered from, objectivity is impossible.

What we need to do is expose ourselves to various news outlets and listen to the arguments of opinion writers on both sides of an issue. I used to be pro-Israel and I laughed at the vegetarians.

Now I'm pro-Palestinian and pro-animal rights. I changed because I was willing to learn about other opinions even when that made me feel uncomfortable.

I'm not saying you have to agree with me. But I am saying that we have to get out of our comfort zone and seek out a variety of sources which will show us the different ways to view an issue.

But if you wait for the media to become fair and balanced you'll be waiting your entire life.

Eric Bahrt
Bias in the PostBag

Re: "Fishing for the truth", (BP, May 19).

I note that HHB, the recent defender of the preposterous Clara Holzer, has now exceeded any bounds of credibility by asserting the volunteer force in Syria, the "white helmets", are an offspring of al Qaeda -- and "partially controlled and financed by the BBC". Where does HHB, whoever he or she is, get this baseless drivel from?

When HHB then goes on with the rhetorical question of how inane it would be to surmise the Syrian dictator and president Bashir al-Assad gassed or abused his own citizens almost certainly indicates that HHB is a mouthpiece of the Syrian and/or occupying Russian regime.

Anyone who still doubts the foregoing is invited to check the internationally recognised fact-finding website Snopes.com.

While I'm sure the Bangkok Post welcomes contributions from all sources, letters from the like of HHB and dear Ms Holzer should be accompanied by the warning to take the contents with a large pinch of salt.

Martin R
Pot calling the kettle black

Turkish president (dictator) Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a laugh. According to international reports this week, he insists Israel used excessive force on Gaza protesters, while Erdogan called out the army to fire on his own citizens, arresting hundreds, for protesting against his heavy-handed, dictatorial means to rule.

This is an example of "the pot calling the kettle black".

Buttercup
Subscribing to the truth

Well, call me naive, but I don't go to Syria to find out the truth for myself because I trust the BBC to tell the truth. I trust the Bangkok Post, The New York Times and the Washington Post to give me at least an approximation of the truth and that is why I subscribe to them.

I do not trust the propaganda that comes from the Fox Network and I do not trust conspiracy theories. It is that simple and I feel sorry for you if you no longer trust these fine news organisations.

PG

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