KIDS POWER – WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!
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| Jessie Vard and her brother Daire at Ministry of Justice |
A YouTube video from a 16-year-old Irish girl brought up in Thailand condemning the corruption of police and officials has gone viral with other children now posting on the internet site offering their support and complaining their families have received similar treatment.
Jessie Vard, daughter of Irish children’s author Colin Vard, demonstrated against corruption outside the headquarters of a major Thai bank at the weekend claiming that the bank was part of a cartel, supported by police, which stole 7 homes from them on the holiday island of Phuket.
She reported on YouTube: “We are in the Thai Bank main office in Sukhumvit with the TV reporters. The bank told us to make a police report about the bank manager in Phuket at the Lumpini police station. They know as well as us the report has to be made at the police station where the crime was committed which is in Phuket. Why do we have to make a report about the manager? Why does the bank who hired the manager not want to take any responsibility for the people they hire who do wrong? Can it be just the manager’s fault? Aren’t there any checks at head office on 10 million baht loans made by banks in Thailand?”
If the allegations against the bank are true, it will not be the first time a major Thai bank has been involved in the fraud of property from foreigners.
She also attended the Ministry of Justice where her father says an official instructed the DSI to investigate how he was robbed of some 67 million baht’s worth of property on Phuket.
Last week Jessie posted a video on the internet in Thai describing her father’s fight against corrupt police and lawyers. She has reposted again a new video with English sub-titles.
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| Colin Vard at Ministry of Justice |
And now other children have gone on YouTube to protest about corruption their parents had to face too.
One called Ty says he understands how Jessie feels as his family was also robbed of their home and their father was robbed of his business on Phuket.
‘These people destroy families,’ he says and says he is now scared to go out. ‘But we do play games at weekends, so you can come over and play too.’
A second boy Luke says: “We had the same problem and it has been going on for five years and we are nowhere near the end. My dad is always in court in Phuket and I do not have much time to play with him except at weekends.
“Even if it’s just 30 minutes it’s just the happiest moment.” He adds that his family has wasted 5 million baht from lawyers who messed up their cases.
And a third Dee, his brother, says he is bored with his father going to Phuket. He wants his father home to play games with him. Jessie can come too, he says.
It’s believed one of the complainants is the son of a British citizen who was robbed to a similar degree as Colin Vard.
Jessie Vard has described how local police deliberately changed evidence to help a cartel of bent lawyers and police, to obtain his properties with the help of his children’s nanny. Vard was unaware that he lawyer had kept the originals and given him copies of his title deeds.
The BBC has been filming cases of foreigners defrauded in Thailand.
COMMENT: KIDS POWER.
This is an interesting development. Perhaps this could really snowball into Kids Power – Are the authorities going to lock kids up for protesting – and telling the truth – as they do to adults.
Its a snake pit. The investigations are a travesty, the facts cannot be reported properly otherwise journalists will be intimidated, secrecy and fraud are bedfellows and there is no functioning government. One wonders why foreign governments through their diplomatic channels can't actually act in defence of their citizens.
Without their intervention there can be no pressure and frankly one has to question the point of their presence as long as they remain so utterly supine.
the question is not: …why foreign governments CANT act…. it should say why they WILL NOT act…. i think its often just because they want to go on with their good and peacefull living in LoS like in other tropical countries around the world and not send to Alaska or Siberia…
Tropical countries for foreign Embassy staff is like constant holiday…. the often forget where the paycheck is coming from, its the TAXPAYER supporting their lazy life
She's doing a great job publicising this via Facebook…good to see BBC and Thai PBS covering it…hopefully it doesn't fizzle out and they get some justice
Indeed Gerry. The Consulates are well aware of what is going on in Phuket. Some have even fallen foul of the corruption themselves. There was a recent story in the Phuket Gazette involving the Governor, Chief of Police and Navy asking that reports be made regarding the above story. Those reports have been made and the officials have been given the opportunity to save face. Until there is some accountability the chimps will continue to party.
Yes it's a snake pit. And I do feel sorry for the kids. The question is how responsible should governments be when citizens go to Thailand and make bad decisions?
What, like having all your money and property stolen by the police and other corrupt officials and have your children imprisoned and nearly killed sort of bad decision?
The FCO are currently providing consular assistance
Colin Vard is Irish so not sure why FCO would unless it's some sort of agreement as there's no Irish embassy.
Jessie has posted on FB that they are no longer in the witness protection scheme… Seems like it's building to a climax
The FCO have also denied the rumour that the Moon is made of Cheese – Caerphilly.
Err regardless of whether the citizen made a 'bad decision' or not, no government should then use that as grounds for being complicit in the manipulation of evidence, obstructing and perverting the course of justice. Isn't that much obvious?
A lawless land.
OK. Let’s just say he was a victim of circumstance. No decisions involved. That’s a very Thai attitude BTW. How much assistance should such victims expect from their governments?
Great work, Nong Sharky!
& she didn't have to raise her voice or even speak French, as Pi Sharky is known to do –