ID: Your life might depend upon it

For your questions about , knowledge and experiences of the official side of life in Korat, shortly: the dealings with thai government offices etc. Topics about law and where to find a lawyer or real estate agent speaking English and who can be trusted.
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KoratCat
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ID: Your life might depend upon it

Ungelesener Beitragvon KoratCat » Fr Mai 11, 2007 6:21 pm

I was forwarded today's newsletter of the Pattaya Expats Club with a breathtaking and frightening story:

A most unfortunate accident occurred to a Mr. Matt Hayes, a young English teacher from America. He was injured this last week by hitting a truck on a rented motorbike, and was reportedly not wearing a helmet. He was rushed to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, where, his expat friends contend, he was turned away from emergency room treatment because of having no ID on him. According to reports, Matt was then put on a pick-up truck and advised to drive to Chonburi hospital. He didn't survive the road journey and died of internal bleeding.

The PEC and Pattaya People reporters will be seeking three hospital statements about what their emergency admission policy is, and whether ID's are required. Matt's expat friends conjecture that he might have lived if treated on arrival at BPH.
.

I'm frightened by this. Accidents happen! If our emergency treatments depend upon presenting an ID which we just might have lost in the accident etc. . . . We should find out what our local hospitals in Korat do require. Maybe a tattoo by the embassy or whatever.

Who's got an idea how we can secure treatment if we get into a situation like that. Always carrying our passports not only puts them in the danger of getting lost but, as I said before, when people have accidents there could be vultures around, pretending to help. Things might disappear.



And I thought Aesculapius was influential among doctors. But the name of the game "medical tourism" seems to be money only.
Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser man tut es! Erich Kästner, 1899 - 1974

dutch (†2012)
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Ungelesener Beitragvon dutch (†2012) » Fr Mai 11, 2007 7:06 pm

This remind me of the following story:
My brother in law(only son of a very wealthy chinese/thai family) had an accident after a business visit.He didn't carry any ID on him and to him happened the same as to the person in this message.His wife stayed behind with a 2 year old boy and pregnent from a twin.
Irony:the family was rich enough to buy the whole hospital.

I am carrying my drivers license and credit card (3).
Will follow this post to see if there are any workable suggestions showing up.

Homer (?2011)
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Ungelesener Beitragvon Homer (?2011) » Fr Mai 11, 2007 10:20 pm

I always carry a copy of my passport. This can help a little in a situation like this. But I don’t have a good answer on this. Terrible story!

Preeti(Bank)
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Ungelesener Beitragvon Preeti(Bank) » Sa Mai 12, 2007 6:19 am

i never carry my original passport:just a color copy signed from the officer in the Khorat police station.I think my thai driver license will be ok.

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Ungelesener Beitragvon KoratCat » Sa Mai 12, 2007 2:18 pm

I received a correction of the above story. As I understand it is mainly about that he was the victim of a hit and run case and the mode of transportation to the other hospital which is a long way:

A most unfortunate accident occurred to a Mr. Matt Hayes, a young English language teacher from America. He was fatally injured last week by a hit and run construction truck on a rented motorbike. His bad luck was compounded by issues over emergency medical care. He was rushed to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, where, expat friends contend, he was turned away from emergency admission because of having no ID on him. According to news reporters, Matt was then put onto a baht bus and advised to drive a long way to Chonburi hospital.

He didn't survive the road journey and died of internal bleeding on the way there. The PEC has now clarified Pattaya hospitals emergency admission policies in Thai law and two of Matt's expat friends have been invited along to tell their eye witness accounts in an issue important to all expats. This tragic case highlights our vulnerability in medical emergencies. Can we learn painful lessons from Matt's death ?


The fact that he was victim of a hit-and-run, a criminal offence, and that Bangkok Pattaya Hospital refused to help him, constitutes in my eyes - under Western laws of course - an offense itself in German Criminal Law it is called "Unterlassene Hilfeleistung" (§ 323c StGB), might be translated as denial of rescue though necessary and which was possible and could be expected under the circumstances.

Is it as easy as just sighing "This is Thailand"? If sheer bureaucracy can refuse rescue by medical facilities and make me die after I was victim of a criminal offense it should rather be "This cannot be Thailand!"

The Association of Foreigners in Thailand has been suggesting that foreigners with a 1-year-extension-Visa be issued an ID card-like document. This could be easier carried around and especially it could be read by Thais. Fotocopies of passports might not necessarily be understood as such by many Thais. Carrying a piece of ordinary paper around for a while in this climate might lead to the paper not being able to get read anymore when needed. So I rather suggest to support the AOFT's idea of a foreigner's ID card.
Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser man tut es! Erich Kästner, 1899 - 1974

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Ungelesener Beitragvon KoratCat » Sa Mai 12, 2007 10:24 pm

Marty who is active with the AOFT has given me the following information on this:

"We had suggested . . . that The immigration department issue an ID card similar to the new Smart Thai National ID. As the previous government was going to issue smart cards to all Thai Citizens. We have heard nothing on this at all. As you know everything is on the back burner or taken off the stove now with the present government.

Our argument was that it would speed up 90 day reporting, another thing we would like to see scrapped, speed up passage at borders etc as it could just be swiped in a reader by the immigration officer. They were to have the technology in place by now but again I think that is on hold as well.

No one wants to even discuss anything at the moment and it will probably be at least a year or more once a stable government is in place before they will even consider anything in regards to foreigners."
Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser man tut es! Erich Kästner, 1899 - 1974

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Ungelesener Beitragvon KoratCat » So Mai 13, 2007 7:30 pm

Here's a good suggestion I copied from Talk-Thailand forum

lukamar hat geschrieben:Carrying your passport is required in Thailand. Unfortunately that's not always possible in every day life. AOFT has suggested that long term stays of a year or more be issued an official ID card but no initiative has been taken on that issue by the government, and that's understandable given the situation over the past year.

This is what I did so I would have something on my person when running down the road to the store etc.

I made a high quality copy of my passport main page and the passport cover. I then reduced it to the size that would fit in my wallet and then had it laminated. One side said Canada the other was my info and my picture. Looked quite official actually but i never had to use it and do not know if this violates some law. When we traveled from place to place I always took my passport and my homemade ID card. Laminated this way the card is waterproof and probably could even be taken when you are Scuba diving etc.

Just a suggestion that may help in a situation like the one above. You could even have 1000 BT laminated in there too so you would always have some backup cash in the case of an emergency.

Source
Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser man tut es! Erich Kästner, 1899 - 1974

Preeti(Bank)
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Ungelesener Beitragvon Preeti(Bank) » Mo Mai 14, 2007 5:27 am

As i do;color copy of passaport signed by an officer at the immigration.
The alterntaive,whatever we can never have an id thai card,is to carry your thai driver license.


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