Crime in The Golden Triangle

The region I live in is called the ¨Golden Triangle¨. It is the mountain range where Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma all meet borders just south of China. Years ago, this was a hotbed of criminal activity on a local level, but most of that has been stompted out. As my own court case drags on, I have had plenty of time to think. Here in Thailand and southeast Asia in general, we do get a fair amount of news about foreigners who get into trouble with the law. The headlines are always a bit sensationalized, so I thought it was time to dig a little deeper. I did a little research and combined it with some of my own insights and experiences. I wanted to see exactly where I stood now that I am classified among the criminal element here, and found a few surprising facts. So, without further ado, here´s the top three in my book so far.


First up is one of the most notorious and highly publicized foreign criminal types here in Thailand. He is known as the ¨Sexual Predator¨. Often banned or shunned in his own country already, these are criminals of the most despicable nature. They prey on the poor and sometimes naive people of third world countries to gratify their own desires. Often, I see the headlines touting the capture of another child molester or rapist here. Thailand has done good job in finding and prosecuting these individuals. While they do make good headline fodder, they also make the rest of us look bad at the same time. I know some foreigners here who have great families. It pains me a little when I see people talking under their breath when one of my friends walks his 10 year old daughter to the school bus every morning. I happen to know different, but can see how some people get the wrong idea. Surprisingly, Thailand falls into about the #36 slot as far as countries with sex crimes per capita just below Kazakhstan and Costa Rica. Even more shocking is that the United States is still around #10 on that list with triple the offender rate.

Next up, we have the second most publicized foreign criminals here Thailand. Their crime of choice is illicit drugs, and I have seen a few headlines where foreigners have been arrested and prosecuted for these offenses. This is a particularly dangerous game here in Thailand because many drug related crimes still carry the death penalty. It hasn´t been imposed for several years, but the laws are still on the books. Most these days are just sent to prison for a very long time. Thai nationals and those from surrounding countries accused or suspected of trafficking drugs in Thailand often never see prosecution. That´s not because they were not charged, but because they did not survive the arrest. Tactics by local authorities on the local drug trade can be brutal at best. Normally when a foreigner gets involved in this business it is when he or she is down on their luck and has no other options to make some cash. Believe me, I considered it but the risks were just too great.

So, now we get down to me. We covered the sex and the drugs. What´s left? Oh yeah, rock and roll. That´s where I fall in. My charges are for ¨working without a permit / playing a guitar¨ and letting my visa lapse. I spent my fair share of time being down and out in this country. Over a year ago, I had to make a choice. I could either just roll over and die, or do whatever I had to do in order to survive. I chose the latter. Although I knew several locals in the ¨sex trade¨ from my days of living on the street, I doubted that I would be able to make much money there. My friends in the far north offered to let me stay and work on the family opium farm in the mountains, but that seemed far too dangerous. Instead, I stuck to what I knew and amazingly managed to keep myself alive for another year. In the end, I have to say that I´m not exactly proud, but at least I can hold my head high when the charges come down. I had few options and did the best I could. By all rights, I should have been a dead man a long time ago. It´s unfortunate that I get lumped in with all the above, but at least I know in my own heart that I did what had to do.

Living here has changed me in many ways. Some good and some bad, but I always try to make the best of whatever situation I get stuck in. That´s all for me now. Take care everyone no matter where you happen to be.