The Foreign Office (FO) handled 6,015 arrest cases involving British nationals abroad between April 2011 and March 2012. This was 6% more than in the previous 12 months and included a 2% rise in drug arrests. The figures, which include holidaymakers and Britons resident overseas, showed the highest number of arrests and detentions was in Spain (1,909) followed by the USA (1,305). Spanish arrests rose 9% in 2011/12, while the United States was up 3%. The most arrests of Britons for drugs was in the US (147), followed by Spain (141). The highest percentage of arrests for drugs in 2011/12 was in Peru where there were only 17 arrests in total, although 15 were for drugs. The FO said anecdotal evidence from embassies and consulates overseas suggested many incidents were alcohol-fuelled, particularly in popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, the Balearics (which include Majorca and Ibiza), Malta and Cyprus. Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "It is important that people understand that taking risks abroad can land them on the wrong side of the law. "The punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK. While we will work hard to try and ensure the safety of British nationals abroad, we cannot interfere in another country's legal system. "We find that many people are shocked to discover that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cannot get them out of jail. We always provide consular support to British nationals in difficulty overseas. However, having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison."

Chow Hok Kuen, 28, a British citizen born in Hong Kong of Taiwanese parents, was arrested in Bangkok's Chinatown and was being held for possession of human remains, police said.

It is thought he was trying to smuggle the corpses into Taiwan.

WARNING: Graphic content. 

Human remains: Two of the six foetuses wrapped in gold leaf which were seized by police in Bangkok, Thailand. A British man has been arrested

'The bodies are of children between the ages of two and seven months. Some were found covered in gold leaf,' Wiwat Kumchumnan, sub-division chief of the police's Children and Women Protection unit, said.

It was not clear where the bodies came from.

Police said the corpses had a number of religious threads and tattoos on them.

In Thailand there is a grisly ritual known as 'Kuman Thong', where dead babies are surgically removed from their mother's womb and undergo a ceremonial ritual.

But instead of burying them, they are roasted dry and covered with a lacquer before being painted with gold leaf.

On May 8, 2012, around 11:20 pm a drunken bald foreigner was sexually assaulting a woman in public near Xuanwumen subway station across street from Sogo Department Store in Beijing. A video captured him being questioned and stopped by a couple of pedestrians passing by. In rage, Beijing pedestrians hit him and he passed out in the street until the police arrived to the sense. This video quickly spread on the Internet especially onWeibo and received much attention from the Netizens.

Netizen @烧完美好青春 also exposed photos of this same foreigner sexually harassing women on the Beijing subway many times. 
He wrote:

I am at the subway station, fuck, this society is totally messed up.  These foreign bitches sexually harass women on the subway; pushing his erection against them, totally disregard others.  He just harassed 5 women, finally, he just directly stood in front of that little girl.

Beijing Public Security Bureau @平安北京 posted an announcement on Weibo,

Last night, a video on Sina Weibo showed a drunken man sexually assaulting a woman near Xuanwumen subway station, was stopped by pedestrians which attracted many attentions. People also have asked us for more information.

After investigation, on May 8, 2012, 11pm, a foreign man was sexually assaulting a woman in public after alcohol consumption.  Pedestrians reported it to the police, and the police arrived to the sense in time to capture the man.  The police detained the man until he was sober, and he is now in custody and under investigation. This man is British citizen with travel visa to China.  This case is currently under preceding in accordance to the law.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new safety information about these cholesterol-lowering drugs that are prescribed to millions of Americans to lower the risk of heart disease. If you're among them, you should understand what the FDA's new guidance means for your health. "Before anyone gets too concerned, you should know that statins are so widely used because they have a long track record of safety and effectiveness," says Dr. Mark Taber, a cardiologist with SSM Heart Institute at St. Joseph Health Center. "All in all, statins have a very high benefit to risk ratio. The widespread use of the drugs, when indicated, probably accounts to a significant degree for the improvement in life expectancy in this country." The FDA called attention to the threat of liver damage as a rare side effect of statins and advised that regular liver enzyme testing is no longer considered useful in predicting or preventing liver injury. "Actually, in general they liberalized the follow up needed for liver function tests on patients taking statins, due to the very low incidence of true liver issues," Taber says. The main warnings related to a slightly higher incidence of developing diabetes while on statins, and a poorly substantiated claim that statins could result in cognitive impairment. Taber points out that cognitive problems, such as confusion or memory problems, were not documented in clinical studies, only by patient reports to the FDA website. "By stating these concerns, the FDA is raising awareness about the potential side effects of statins, but cardiologists already know that there are inherent risks, and we monitor patients appropriately to help ensure that side effects do not occur or are dealt with quickly," Taber notes. "If there is any evidence of a side effect that could be problematic, we can change the medication. But the fact remains that it's important to decrease risk of heart disease, and for many people statins are needed when diet and exercise alone don't result in acceptable cholesterol levels." Whenever a new prescription medication is started, you should look over the package insert to learn about potential side effects. Signs of liver damage, for instance, include fatigue, loss of appetite, right upper abdominal pain, dark urine and jaundice. Any of these symptoms should be reported to your doctor for evaluation. It is important to remember that you should not stop taking a medication without consulting your doctor first. Discontinuing use of a prescribed drug can be far more dangerous than the side effect you're worried about. "All the side effects listed by the FDA are rare, and the risk of heart attack is far more concerning," Taber says. "Some patients may need extra monitoring or may need to try more than one statin before we find the optimal choice, but in general statins are very well tolerated and don't cause problems for the people who take them." The advice above is universal when it comes to your health. Concerns should be discussed with your doctor, and decisions should always be made as part of a team approach to creating a healthy life.

John Holliday had been on a higher 40mg dose of cholesterol pills for only a few weeks when he started to lose his concentration. ‘I’d be watching TV and suddenly find myself unable to follow the plot of a drama,’ says John, 52, a telecoms project manager who lives in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, with his wife Jill, 51, and their two children Adam, 20, and Emma, 16. ‘I’d have to read the same page of a book over and over because I couldn’t take any information in. ‘I’d always been known for my amazing memory — I was great on trivia and had total recall of events that happened 20 years ago, but suddenly I couldn’t remember things and my brain felt fuzzy.’ Just like up to seven million other people in Britain, John had been prescribed a statin to lower his blood cholesterol levels. The drugs are credited by the British Heart Foundation as contributing towards the dramatic 50 per cent fall in deaths from heart attacks in the past ten years. But while there is consensus that statins are lifesavers for people who have previously had a heart attack, concern is growing over their debilitating side-effects. They include muscle weakness, depression, sleep disturbance, sexual dysfunction, muscle pain and damage, gastro-intestinal problems, headaches, joint pains and nausea. Now, official bodies here and in the U.S. have ordered that the drugs must carry warnings for cognitive problems, too. Worryingly, it’s claimed GPs are failing to warn patients of the effect statins can have on the mind — meaning they may mistake them for signs of ageing or Alzheimer’s. ‘When I went back to my doctor after six weeks for a blood test, I told him how dreadful I was feeling,’ says John. ‘But he just said all drugs had side-effects and didn’t mention reducing the dose.’ It's claimed GPs are failing to warn patients of the effect statins can have on the mind - meaning they may mistake them for signs of ageing or Alzheimer's Things came to a head when a friend showed John an electrical circuit he’d built for his car. ‘I’d worked with circuits since I was 16 but it made no sense,’ he says. So John insisted on seeing his doctor again and repeated his concerns about his rapidly declining memory. This time the GP told him he could start on another type of statin when he felt well enough, and so John stopped taking the drugs immediately. ‘It took a few months, but gradually my memory returned and I’ve got my concentration back. I can’t say for sure statins caused these problems, but it seems like too much of a coincidence.’ Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. ordered statins must carry warnings that some users have reported cognitive problems including memory loss, forgetfulness and confusion. This followed a decision by the UK’s Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to add memory problems to the list of  possible statin side-effects in late 2009. The FDA said reports about the symptoms were from across all statin products and age groups. Those affected reported feeling fuzzy or unfocused in their thought process — though these were found to be rare and reversible. The FDA also warned, following U.S. research, that patients on statins had a small excess risk of developing Type 2 diabetes — but stressed that the benefits of taking a statin still outweigh this. The MHRA had 2,675 reports for adverse drug reactions connected with statins between 2007 and 2011. Officially, side-effects are rare —affecting only 1 per cent of people on the pills — but some doctors say they are under-reported. Dr Malcolm Kendrick, a GP and author of The Great Cholesterol Con, says he frequently sees patients suffering from mental confusion in his job in hospital intermediary care for the elderly. ‘Many of the patients I see will have been admitted to hospital after a fall or similar crisis,’ he says. ‘If they appear confused I’ll often advise taking them off statins to see if it has any effect — in my experience, about 10 to 15 per cent of people who appeared to have memory problems experienced an improvement in their memory symptoms after being taken off the drug. ‘I had one dramatic case where a lady was admitted to hospital on 40mg a day of simvastatin with such poor memory function her family asked me about power of attorney. 'I suggested taking her off statins and within a week her memory had returned to normal. She went home a fit and independent 83-year-old.’ Dr Kendrick says cholesterol is the main constituent of synapses (structures that allow signals to pass between brain cells and to create new memories) and is essential for brain function. ‘It is still not proven that statins have a significant effect on mortality — it has been calculated that a man who has had a heart attack who took a statin for five years would extend his life by only 14 days. 'Too many statins are being given to people at low risk. ‘Even in the highest risk group you need to treat 200 people a year with statins to delay just one death. 'One day the harm these drugs are doing is going to be obvious — the benefits are being over-hyped and the risks swept under the carpet.’ While Dr Kendrick’s controversial view is in the minority, one large review of 14 studies by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, published by the highly respected Cochrane Library last year, concluded there was ‘little evidence’ cholesterol-lowering drugs protect people who are not at risk of heart disease. This review has been criticised by other doctors who say side-effects are rare and that there are still benefits even for people at lower risk who do not have established heart disease. These defenders of statins include Professor Colin Baigent of the Clinical Trial Service at Oxford University, who published research in 2010 showing statins reduced deaths from all causes by 10 per cent over five years. ‘There is relatively little evidence of cognitive impairment — what evidence there is all comes from observational studies.  ‘People read about side-effects and then put two and two together and blame the statins for their muscle pain or other health problems — it’s just not reliable evidence. ‘If you look at the best-quality randomised controlled trial where patients don’t know if they are taking a statin or placebo, there is no evidence of memory problems. 'Even the FDA says the risks of cognitive problems are very small and go away when statins are discontinued. ‘We’re in danger of forgetting just how effective these drugs are.’ Dr Dermot Neely of the charity Heart UK, and lead consultant at the Lipid and Metabolic Clinic at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, agrees side-effects with statins are rare. ‘I’ve been dealing with patients on statins since 1987 and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number whose memory symptoms turned out to be caused by statins.’ However, he said he often saw patients who had not been told about side-effects. ‘It’s important GPs are clear about the drugs statins can interact with, such as certain antibiotics, as this can get overlooked. ‘If a patient notices an adverse effect after starting statins, they should discuss this with their GP —but not stop their drugs suddenly because this can be dangerous.’ Sonya Porter, 73, decided to stop taking statins after her memory problems became so bad that she walked away from a cashpoint leaving her money behind. ‘I was permanently fuzzy-headed and just couldn’t seem to concentrate,’ says Sonya, a retired PA from Woking, Surrey. Then I started to get scared I might have Alzheimer’s. After reading about memory problems associated with statins, I thought it was at least a possibility. I decided to come off the pills to see if it made any difference. ‘I didn’t ask my GP, I just did it — I’d rather die of a heart attack than Alzheimer’s disease. Within a month I felt normal again and didn’t have any problems with memory. ‘I’m terrified that I could have been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s.’ John Holliday is also reluctant to go back on statins. ‘I wouldn’t rule it out completely — my latest test showed my cholesterol levels have gone up,’ he says. ‘But on balance, I’d rather take my chances with heart disease than feel as confused as that again. It’s all very well living slightly longer — but it’s about quality of life, too.’

James Murdoch is to step down as chairman of UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB, but will remain on the board. He is the son of News Corporation founder Rupert, whose company had to drop its bid for BSkyB after the phone-hacking scandal. In February, James Murdoch stepped down as chairman of News International, which publishes the Sun and the Times in the UK. He said then he had moved to New York to work on News Corp's pay-TV business. News Corp owns almost 40% of BSkyB and had wanted to buy the whole of the firm. But it withdrew its bid as political pressure mounted due to allegations of improper conduct at News International's News of the World Sunday title, which was shut down last July. Sources told Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, that it was James Murdoch's decision to leave and he did so in an attempt to pre-empt further criticism as investigations continue into phone hacking. James Murdoch has repeatedly denied knowing about phone hacking at the News of the World. Nicholas Ferguson will take over as chairman.

Philip Halliday, the Nova Scotia man who has been detained in Spain for more than two years on drug-trafficking charges without a trial date, is extremely weak and thin but in good spirits, his family said Monday, hours after returning home from their first visit to him in jail. "It was pretty emotional. It's hard to describe. Definitely a lot of hugs, some tears," Halliday's son, Daren, told Postmedia News. Philip Halliday, 55, was arrested in December 2009 about 300 kilometres off the coast of Spain aboard a converted Canadian Coast Guard research vessel, the Destiny Empress. Inside a hidden compartment, authorities found more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $600 million. Halliday, an ex-fisherman who spent more than 30 years dragging scallops off the sea floor, insists he had no idea the drugs were onboard and believed he was simply delivering the vessel to a new owner. Daren Halliday said he, his older brother Cody, and their mother Sheree, were able to spend several hours with Philip in a private room over a span of two days. Recalling the first moments they laid eyes on their father, Daren said, "I don't know if there was a lot said. We hugged him pretty quick. Told him it was good to see him, that we missed him and how much we love him." One thing that was readily apparent to everyone was how much weight Philip, dressed in a buttoned-up shirt and blue jeans, had lost. Since landing in jail, he has had to have his gall bladder removed. He has also had problems with his liver and kidneys. "I thought I'd prepared myself for what Philip would look like, but I must admit I was shocked," Sheree later recalled in a Facebook posting. "He is extremely thin and weak. He walks like an elderly man and is quite emotional." "But," Sheree added, "he still has that beautiful smile that I've missed! And he hasn't lost his sense of humour." Philip was able to buy some pop, juice, chips and some sweets for the occasion, turning it into something of a family picnic, Sheree recalled. Daren said family members peppered Philip with questions about what life was like in jail. Philip, in turn, asked about life back home in Digby, N.S. The family brought Philip some novels, Sudoku game books and some clothes, including a T-shirt that said "Canada" that one of Philip's fellow inmates had requested. Philip gave the family a duffle bag full of letters that people had written to him to bring home. On the third day of their visit, the family was only able to communicate with Philip through a glass partition. "We couldn't physically touch him," Daren said. "He was on a phone. We talked through a mic. Like the movies, we put our hands on the glass. "There was a hallway he had to walk down. And one we walked down. We waved goodbye. And that was it. That was pretty hard." Family and friends back home have been pleading with Canadian officials to help get Halliday released — or at least to get a trial date set. "We're hoping to get him a quick and fair trial, to speed things up," Daren said. "It's very frustrating that nothing's changed." The amount of time someone spends in pre-trial detention varies widely across the European Union. Some countries, including Spain, can hold someone for up to four years, while other countries don't have a limit. Canadian foreign affairs officials have said that while this country cannot interfere with the judicial proceedings of another country, they have been pressing Spanish authorities for a timely and transparent trial. So far, the Halliday family has incurred $90,000 in legal fees and has had to sell their home in Digby. Family friend Peter Dickie said Monday that a Halliday Family Support Society has been formed with the goal of raising $250,000 to help cover expenses.

The United States has put up a $10 million reward to help arrest Pakistani Islamist leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, suspected of masterminding two spectacular attacks on Mumbai and the parliament building in New Delhi. The offer comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Pakistan and increases pressure on Pakistan to take action against the former Arabic scholar, who has recently addressed rallies despite an Interpol warrant against him. India has long called for Saeed's arrest and said the bounty - one of the highest on offer - was a sign the United States understood its security concerns. Only last week Saeed evaded police to address an anti-U.S. rally in Islamabad. "India welcomes this new initiative of the government of the United States," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Tuesday of the reward announced on the U.S. Rewards for Justice website. "In recent years, India and the United States have moved much closer than ever before in our common endeavour of fighting terrorists." The United States only offers a $10 million reward for three other people it suspects of terrorism, with a single reward of up to $25 million for Egyptian-born Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Saeed, 61, is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Poor train commuters, foreigners and some of India's wealthy business elite were killed by 10 Pakistani gunmen in a three-day rampage through some of Mumbai's best-known landmarks, including two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre. A total of 166 people died, including six U.S. citizens. In the 1990s, he founded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or the Army of the Pure, one of the largest and best-funded Islamist militant organisations in South Asia. He abandoned its leadership after India blamed it and another militant group for an attack on the parliament in December 2001. Saeed, released from prison by a Pakistani court in 2010, now heads an Islamic charity that the United Nations says is a front for the militant group. LeT was nurtured by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency to fight India in disputed Kashmir and analysts say it is still unofficially tolerated by Pakistan, though it was banned in the country in 2002. Admiral Robert Willard, the head of the United States military's Pacific Command, last year expressed concern over the expanding reach of LeT, saying it was no longer solely focused on India, or even in South Asia.

If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong, you’ve undoubtedly walked by a building built or managed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, the second largest property company in the world and one of the small number of prominent developers that control real estate in this land-scarce region. To say that the Kwok family, which controls Sun Hung Kai, has played a part in constructing Hong Kong’s iconic skyline would be massive understatement. Three of the tallest buildings in the city were constructed by the firm as well as one of the region’s more surreal icons, a replica of Noah’s Ark which doubles as a hotel and theme park. (The Kwoks are evangelical Christians.) Advertise | AdChoices So when news broke that the company’s co-chairmen, Thomas and Raymond Kwok, were arrested on Thursday by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), it caused an uproar that has scandalized the city of 7 million and caused the firm’s stock to tumble. Make that plummet.  In trading Friday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sun Hung Kai’s stock price plunged 13 percent, for a loss of $4.9 billion in market value.   It was easily the company’s worst loss on the market in 14 years, according to Bloomberg News. Though no charges were publicly announced and the Kwok brothers were released late Thursday evening, their arrest at the same time as the reported detention of Rafael Hui, the number two in the Hong Kong government from 2005-2007, has some speculating that the arrests were related. If so, the arrests one again underscore the tight relationship between Hong Kong’s government and local property developers, both of whom are in a perpetual race to keep up with the housing demands in the world’s most densely populated city. Mercurial rise not without its issues With estimated holdings of $18.3 billion, the Kwok family is the 27th wealthiest family in the world, according to Forbes Magazine. Their company, which was founded in 1963 by family patriarch, Kwok Tak Seng, has risen to prominence by breaking into every facet of the property business, from residential to hotels to industrial development. Bobby Yip / Reuters Thomas Kwok (R) and his younger brother Raymond Kwok, both Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, listen to a question during a news conference announcing the company's interim results in Hong Kong in this March 11, 2009 file photo. By the end of 2011, Sun Hung Kai was reported to have a land bank of 46.7 million square feet of gross floor area either completed or in development. The group also owns 26 million square feet of farmland in Hong Kong’s New Territories that is in the process of receiving planning permission to be converted to building land.  That translates into an astounding amount of property under Sun Hung Kai’s control in a city where land is extremely precious.  The company and the family have also long been in the spotlight in Hong Kong. When the family patriarch died in 1990, he left the reins to his eldest son Walter, who became chairman and chief executive. In 1997, Walter was kidnapped and held for a week before his family paid a ransom of more than $77 million to have him released. Walter returned to the company after his release, but eventually the family relationship unraveled when Thomas and Raymond Kwok dethroned Walter in 2008. With the support of their mother, the two brothers charged Walter with being unfit to run the business and after a nasty struggle, eventually took over. Thomas, 60, runs the construction of new developments and Raymond, 58, is in charge of the company’s finances.   Are Hong Kong’s business and political interests too close? The arrest of the Kwok brothers and Rafael Hui by the ICAC comes at a time when Hong Kong is dealing with a number of incidents that bring into question just how transparent and corruption-free the former British colony is today. Advertise | AdChoices On the face of it, the city has a good reputation. The Heritage Foundation calls Hong Kong the world’s freest economy while Transparency International calls it the 12th least corrupt country and/or territory in the world. (The United States came out 10th and 24th respectively.)   But the relationship between real-estate developers and the government has long been a source of simmering tensions in the crowded city. Opposition leaders and some social groups have long criticized the cozy relationship between the government and the developers. Thousands took to the streets in March to demand that the city’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang quit after he was  was accused of accepting invitations for lavish yacht dinners and private jet trips from local businessmen. In elections for the city’s next chief executive just last weekend, the winner Leung Chung-ying, campaigned on a platform of providing more low-income housing in the city.  Some argue that the Kwok scandal is the next in a storyline of business and government blurring together too closely. However, the fact that the ICAC went ahead with this investigation suggests that for the present time at least, the mechanisms in place to deter and uncover corruption are still strong in Hong Kong. Where this investigation goes from here will go a long way towards determining whether this latest crisis of faith in Hong Kong is the next step in a gradual erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and financial freedom or one that rights it once and for all.

Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested Raymond and Thomas Kwok in the agency's biggest investigation since it was set up in 1974, to root out what was seen as widespread corruption in the government and police. Rafael Hui, a former No.2 official in the government, was also arrested, according to media reports. Mr Hui resigned as an independent director of insurer AIA Group late on Thursday. The arrests yesterday came just days after Hong Kong elected Beijing-loyalist Leung Chun-ying as its next leader, pledging land for cheaper public housing. Soaring property prices, the most expensive in the world, have stirred public discontent in Hong Kong. House prices almost doubled in the five years to the end of 2011, according to real estate broker Knight Frank. "This is not good for the image of Hong Kong, which used to have a high reputation for integrity," said Joseph Wong, a former senior government official and colleague of Mr Hui.

The suspects were held this morning as part of a child exploitation investigation into the cases of 24 girls aged between 11 and 16 in Oxford. The men - aged between 21 and 37 - are now being questioned on suspicion of a string of offences including causing the prostitution of young girls, trafficking, grooming and rape. They are being held in custody at an undisclosed police station. The alleged offending is believed to span more than a six-year period. Detective Superintendent Rob Mason, of Thames Valley Police, said: ''We believe we have uncovered an organised crime group who have been running a business of selling young girls for sex.

The man suspected of killing seven people in al-Qaida-linked attacks in France is dead, the French interior minister said today. The suspect died after jumping from his apartment window after police stormed his apartment following a 32 hour standoff.  Claude Gueant says the suspect, who claims links to al-Qa'ida, jumped after police entered the apartment and found him holed up in the bathroom. Police and the suspect exchanged fire before Mohamed Merah died.  Gueant says two policemen were injured.

Thai immigration police investigations have indicated that a 14-year-old Malaysian girl and her five Rohingya friends had taken a lift from a stranger in Malaysia near the Malaysia-Thai border before entering Thailand illegally. The six have since been rescued by the Thai police. Deputy Commander of Immigration Bureau Investigation Centre Pol Col Chartchai Lamsaeng said Wednesday, the six took the ride on a Malaysian-registered van offered by a Malaysian man near the border on March 8. The five Rohingyas comprised four boys and a girl, aged between 14 and 16. The six were friends and know each other. "They were given drinks by the man and fell asleep shortly," Chartchai, who led the investigation into the case, told Bernama here. He said, they could only remember passing through Hat Yai, Petchaburi or Nakhon Phatom and ended up at Hua Lamphong in the capital. "We are surprised how they could pass through the border checkpoint without any travel document," he said, adding it was unclear whether the teenagers intended to enter Thailand when they took the van ride. "The man even took them to a mosque in Hua Lamphong. However, it was not clear what happened to the man after that as the teenagers made their way to the Hua Lamphong Train Station." Chartchai said, some vendors near the railway station gave them money to buy train tickets to return to Malaysia. They were caught by the police at the station as they failed to produce valid travel documents and were sent to an immigration police office here, he added. The immigration police later contacted the Malaysian Embassy here. "Our investigations showed that all six were safe and not harmed or abused by the man," said Chartchai, adding that the immigration police would investigate the case under human trafficking law, which carried a penalty of between five and 10 years imprisonment. "We managed to get a sketch of the suspect based on information given by the teenagers. Thai and Malaysian police are working on this case," he said. He said the Thai authorities were trying to determine if an international crime syndicate was involved in this case. An initial news report from Malaysia stated the girl had told her mother during a telephone conversation on March 12, that she and the rest were abducted and taken into Thailand before they were rescued by the Thai authorities at the railway station on March 11.

POLICE say a British man and his Thai wife have been robbed and beaten to death at a seaside resort south of Bangkok. Police Major General Wichean Tantawiriya says three Thai men - a security guard and chef at the resort and their friend - were arrested today and had confessed to killing the couple and taking a mobile phone and 5000 baht ($155). Wichean says the bodies of Michael Raymond, 68, and Suchada Bowkamdee, 52, were discovered yesterday in their bungalow at the Jack Beach Resort in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, 350km south of Bangkok. He says they had checked in a day earlier. Wichean says two of the three suspects were addicted to methamphetamine, a stimulant, and needed money to buy drugs.

Narong Jaikam, aged 48 was arrested in the parking lot of Tesco Lotus Pattaya on Friday 2nd of  March with 2,000 tabs of Yah Bah and a pickup. He then admitted to being a jail bird for 10 years, for drug related offences, and to being very addicted to gambling. Following further investigations, the Pattaya police, led by Superintendent Pol. Col. Nantawut Suwanlaong and his Deputies arrested his 4th wife Mrs. Kanok-on Serk-kan-ya, aged 36. The officers received a report that another stock of Yah Bah was stored in her house in the Surasak Sub-district of Sriracha, and indeed, 4,763 tabs of Yah Bah were found in the house, hidden in many boxes. The police ran a test for drug use on Mrs. Kanok-on, and the result was positive. Mrs. Kanok-on confessed that she was the 4th wife of Mr. Narong. His 1st Wife was 70 years old, and suffers from paralysis. She claimed that she just came to know of his drug dealing about a month ago, but the police did not believe her claim, and she was taken for further questioning.

A Middle Eastern tourist has reported a member of the police’s Mobile Brigade unit for extortion, police said on Monday. Al Mutairi A Nasser, 40, said First Brigadier S.G., an officer in the brigade known as Brimob from the Kelapa Dua base in Depok, had together with three civilians attempted to extort money from him in the early hours of Friday. “The four broke into a villa, claiming to be members of the National Police conducting an anti-drug raid,” said Adj. Comr. Imron Ermawan, the Bogor district police chief of detectives. Nasser, a Saudi national, was at the time staying at the “Pratama” villa in the South Tugu village of Cisarua. Imron said the four had tried to set Nasser up by giving a sex worker a pack of marijuana and sending her into the villa with instructions to leave it there. “But when the four did the raid and search, the pack was not found,” Imron said. However, the four still extorted the tourist to the tune of 8,100 Saudi riyal ($2,200). “The perpetrators pointed a gun at Nasser and drove off in the vehicle rented by the victim,” the detective said. Nasser reported the incident to local residents, who then reported it to the local police. The four were arrested at a villa where they were staying, not far from the scene of the crime. “From the perpetrators, the police confiscated 8,100 Saudi riyal, a revolver, 22 bullets and a Toyata Avanza van,” the Bogor detective chief said. Adj. Comr. Hery Santoso, the Bogor district police chief, said the four were being questioned and faced charges of extortion and theft. The charges carry up to seven years in prison. The Brimob member, S.G., will also be investigated for suspected violations of the corps’ code of ethics by his unit in Kelapa Dua, Hery added. “The authority to decide whether there was a violation of the code of ethics lies with his unit in Depok,” Imron said. The four suspects were being detained at the Bogor district police headquarters.

A dialogue I have recently had with a long-term resident of Manila, now married and with children, recalling his early days in the Philippines: “Why do men of all ages flock to the bars of the Philippines and ‘buy out’ a young and beautiful girl when, in these days, brothels are available in every country? The answer lies in the girls themselves. In a Western brothel you are left in no doubt that you are engaging the services of a professional sex worker – a prostitute. Everything is professionally carried out. The service you require, the payment in advance, the penile inspection, then the impersonal act, and piss off. Next! The Filipina bargirl has a totally different view. Once she has agreed to go with you, money is never discussed with her. The mamasan of the bar will have informed you how much you are expected to pay, and generally this will be higher than the girl herself expects to receive. The girl herself could win an Oscar for her performance from the moment you leave the bar. She will act as though you are her regular boyfriend, with whom she is in love. If you decide not to go straight back to your hotel room but party on a little, she will prove fun to be with, and openly flirt with you. When you do get back to your room, she will be playful and loving and only get upset with you if you offer her money directly. She won’t refuse it, of course, but you are then paying her for sex, and this upsets her image of herself. She is not a prostitute, but your girlfriend. During the time together, she will have regaled you with stories of her life, mostly total lies. The only time you will come anywhere near the truth from a Filipina bargirl is when she cannot think of a lie fast enough, but it is fun. The best thing though, for the man, is that even though she is to receive money for having sex with him, she has the attitude that she had just as well get as much pleasure as she can as well. So the sex is good – very good. The problem is, that not being used to being treated in this manner, virtually all foreigners will fall in love, and this is dangerous. Many commit to sending money on a regular basis in the belief that the girl is going back to college, or to help keep her baby, or even to keep her out of the bar and having to have sex with strange men. They hope that she will remain faithful until next year’s annual holiday, when he definitely will be back. Ho, ho, ho. Even if she accompanies him to the airport and with much crying kisses him goodbye, the fact is the minute his back disappears into the airport, she is in a cab back to the bar trying to find another customer as soon as possible. Yes, she has taken money, but what has she given? A great deal more than sexual satisfaction. On every flight leaving Manila or Cebu, many seats will hold a man with his head back against the headrest, a small smile on his face just recalling the happiness he has felt by being with her. Those memories will last a whole year because the customer has been made to believe that she sleeps with him because she genuinely likes him very much, not just for the money. The man now feels that no matter his age or looks, he can still be attractive to beautiful women”. Advertisement There were a couple of points I guess I wanted to raise in the interests of dialogue. The first is that, as you say, bargirls lie to you and to themselves. They lie to you probably because of the intimate nature of the job. In my experience, everyone needs some privacy in some way, and the true life and feelings of a bargirl therefore are clearly off limits to the average punter. That being so, I am not sure that you ever really get to know any of the girls. They may have opened up to you more than to any other foreigner, but still you are unlikely to have got much truth, as you yourself acknowledge. That makes it difficult to understand the girls, who are presenting a 'face' to you, tailored to meet your needs. I suspect that the better you are as a client, the more likely you are to not be told the truth. After all, what advantage is there to a bargirl in telling you of her needs and fears? You are paying for pleasure and fun. Charm is a part of the job. There are numerous studies that attest to this fact: If you want the truth, you have to not be engaged in a financial relationship with a prostitute. Otherwise, as you suggest, it’s a buyer's market. The second point is that, while I agree with you that the Asian mentality in relationships between men and women is very different, and possibly we Western women could learn a little from our Asian counterparts, there is clearly an unpleasant power relationship going on here. The Western prostitute handing over a sex act rather than a ‘relationship’ is in some ways being more honest than the prostitute in Manila. The nature and duration of the transaction is clear to both parties, and that is a dignified, shame free experience. The Western prostitute is not ashamed of selling sex: so there is no need to dress it up as something else. She doesn’t need to pretend she is your girlfriend (although you can pay for a girlfriend experience), because she isn't. And those bar girls weren't your girlfriends, either. They pretended to be because, in a strictly Catholic country like the Philippines, a girl who is a prostitute is ruined, unfit for marriage, and considered shameful. Pretending that there is no money involved makes her feel less ashamed, in a country where she would be considered a disgrace. That, I suspect, is the reason for not saving for the future: What future does she have to save for? She can’t go back to the provinces and get married, the time span in which she can work is limited, and when she is too old, there is no futurefor her. I mean, what actually happens to old bargirls? The image or perception of the snaky, charming but cheating Asian bar princess is an old one, covered extensively in literature and film, and bought into by many Europeans, often in an attempt to justify behavior which would not be acceptable at home. So, while it is interesting that the girls clearly opened up about their lives to some extent with you, and this may have given you some partial insight, it would still be dangerous to generalise from your own limited experience. You have to remember that not all who go to Asia for sex are nice but sex-deprived fellows. A goodly proportion will have desires that are difficult to fulfill in the West, violence, rough anal, no condoms, very young girls (and boys). Others are too old, too fat, too stupid, or too ugly to get laid in the West. Bargirls have to be just as nice to these customers. And, moreover, there is little or no institutional protection in the Philippines from violence, humiliation and degradation. Advertisement Because you are fundamentally a decent fellow, you assume that all men are the same. I can assure you that a good proportion of Westernsex touristsboth like and get off on the power relationships that you felt uncomfortable with. They can also get away with things that would be punished severely in any Western country. Perhaps one of the most dangerous positions we in the West can take in relation to Asian bargirls is that they are ‘different’ to us, that they like their work, that hospitality and charm are reflective of their true feelings. In countries with no social welfare, we should not confuse a smiling face with a suggestion of free choice. In Sydney, there is a slow burn going on about brothels specialising in Asian women, promising the 'Asian' experience. Quite a number of the women are trafficked, and some are very young. The stories which have surfaced from these brothels have shown that the average Sydney guy who wants an 'Asian' experience is after an experience with a submissive woman who will do what he says, meekly, and make him feel a hundred feet tall afterwards. He wants to feel powerful in relationship to a woman, and from that power flows sex. Sex and power have always been linked, and power can be very sexy, both to the more and less powerful participant, but what is going on here is more related to these men feeling powerful by dominating, rather than just by purchasing sex. That is unpleasant, and can be very degrading to the woman. At least Western prostitutes set limits, and start from an equal perspective. 'Asian experience' prostitutes consistently tell of not being allowed to say no, even to humiliating and painful sex acts, also including sex without condoms, which is clearly unsafe. Where do you think those men go if they can't have their 'Asian experience' in Sydney? While I acknowledge your insights into the lives and feelings of bar girls, forgive me if I decide, on balance, to give the ‘Asian’ experience a miss.

Being a sex worker these days isn't what it used to be, at least for those whose rights are backed up by the Empower Foundation. Much has improved - no more pimps or mamasans, and fewer punches thrown their way. Being "rescued", though, causes them all sorts of problems. Most people remain unaware of the dramatic new context in the flesh trade, Empower director Chantawipa Apisuk said at the recent release of a report, "Hit & Run: Sex Workers' Research on Anti-trafficking in Thailand". "We have now reached a point in history where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practices than there are women exploited by traffickers," she said. The government and the agencies that abet its efforts to "help" prostitutes have, in many ways, gone too far in enforcing the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. The modern sex worker has work tools apart from makeup and condoms, said Chantawipa, who founded Empower in 1985 to safeguard their rights. They have cell phones and the Internet. Rather than greedy pimps, their support network is centred on a trusted tuk-tuk driver or the local motorcycle-taxi guy who takes them around and protects them. These people have designated workplaces - restaurants, massage parlours, go-go bars, beer bars or karaoke clubs. Their work might also entail dancing for or drinking beer with the customers. More than 20,000 sex workers make use of Empower's contact points in 11 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central region, including several on the Burmese border. Empower has seen the industry develop continuously through three decades and 10 governments. Sex work is now widely regarded as a quasi-legitimate profession, with its own form of employers and self-employed workers. Inevitably, though, prostitution remains a crime in the eyes of many, and those plying the trade are treated accordingly. But the kindlier view, that they are victims of human trafficking, isn't a great deal of help either, Chantawipa said. Legislation aimed at stopping the trafficking of people has had a serious adverse effect. The "Hit & Run" report is an effort to assess the state of the profession. More than 200 sex workers helped the foundation conduct a survey over the course of 12 months, in bars, restaurants and brothels across the county and even into Burma and Laos. "We trained them in legal rights," Chantawipa said, although some were already university graduates and several even had law degrees. "We call them our 'high-heeled human-rights defenders'." It's a play on the term "barefoot lawyer" - a solicitor who cares about justice rather than fees - explains Liz Hilton. She's worked with the foundation for nearly 20 years and helped coordinated the project and the associated Rapid Action Training for Sex Workers. "The first round of training was done in 12-month blocks in 2008 and 2009. There were 23 sex workers - men, women and transgender people." The survey determined that more than 50,000 sex workers have been involved with Empower since it started, including migrants mainly from Laos, Burma, China and Cambodia. Migration, it was noted, is part of the "culture" of sex work, and the brokers involved in transporting people are generally seen as helpful. Most don't charge exorbitant rates for their service. One of the "high-heeled rights defenders", Sasumi from Mae Sai in Chiang Rai, said she often helps fellow sex workers with legal matters when they're arrested. She's been in the business since she was 20. She's now 27. "I've seen a lot of improvement in the workplaces," she said. "We're better off there than taking a risk waiting around on the street. If better choices are available, then naturally we choose them." Nang from Mukdahan, who also helped with the survey, said few women arrested under the anti-trafficking legislation know what it is. "They're just going to work, they think, so why are they being arrested?" Mala moved to Mae Sot because she couldn't earn enough money there for her family. Muay moved across the border to Mae Sai, convinced that whatever Thailand offered had to be better than what she left. Picked up under the anti-trafficking law, they both got sent back. "We came to build new lives for our families, not to be sent home empty-handed and ashamed," explained Dang Moo, another Burmese sex worker in Mae Sot. Kiaw from Laos pleaded for understanding among the Thai public and authorities that sex workers prefer not to break any laws. "We aren't criminals. We're just honest people trying to build better lives." The women might build a house for their parents or put a kid brother through school. But the anti-trafficking law regards sex workers as victims, so those who enforce it believe they are "rescuing" the prostitutes. That just makes things worse, say the sex workers. "Before I was arrested I was working happily, had no debt, and was free to move around the city," said Nok, a Burmese. "Now I'm in debt, I'm scared most of the time, and it's not safe to move around. How can they call this 'help'?" Once "rescued" and after a period of detainment, the foreign workers are deported (only to return at the first chance) and the Thais usually have to undergo vocational training. "Thai society still looks at sex workers in the old context," Chantawipa said, and even the government's "modern" view of sex workers as victims is outdated. The aim now is to get the government and other concerned parties to stop using the word "victim", to stop putting trafficking and sex work in the same category. Riddled with loopholes, the anti-trafficking law meanwhile is undercutting women's efforts in other areas, Chantawipa said. It confuses the organisations opposed to trafficking about sex workers' true status - are they criminals or the victims of criminals? NEW CONTEXT Empower's survey has determined that: - Today's sex worker provides enough income to take good care of the family. - Their workplace - usually an evening entertainment venue - has regulations, covering work schedule and monthly salary paid according to skill level. Thus, sex workers are employees. - Gone, for the most part, are the days of random arrest, regular violence, pimps, the prostitution mafia and the "green harvest", when girls are recruited upcountry. In their place are helpful "older brothers" - the motorcycle-taxi or tuk-tuk driver, the bar manager. - Sex workers now have hi-tech tools like smart phones and the Internet, and they're also skilled at using them. Nighlife's tapestry Empower launched its research project last month with a one-day exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, displaying the "Mida Tapestry", sewn by migrant sex workers as a way to document and show the impact police raids have on their lives. It carries a second message in that the detained sex workers are regularly forced or offered sewing lessons as a cure-all for social ills.

 Comment By Professor Alan Stevens Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous is too confusing The problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro – or even San Francisco A masked municipal policeman stands outside a shopping mall in MexicoAP On one hand it is right to state that there are communities in British cities suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation and that this contributes to their drug and crime problems. But on the other, these ­problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro or Ciudad Juarez – or even San Francisco or Los Angeles. The problem with the INCB report is that the wording is unclear. It gives the impression that its comments on no-go areas could apply equally to all of these cities. But it should have been more careful in specifying which ones it was referring to. The cities in Central and South America have more extreme ­problems which come from bigger social inequalities. They are dramatically more affected by crime and health problems. For example, in the past few years in Rio there have been repeated attempts to crack down on the areas controlled by violent drug markets. For a while these places were no-go zones. But authorities have acted in a militaristic fashion in the past year as they prepare for the World Cup.

British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control, a United Nations drugs chief said yesterday. Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said there was “a vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities” in cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The development of “no-go areas” was being fuelled by threats such as social inequality, migration and celebrities normalising drug abuse, he warned. Helping marginalised communities with drugs problems “must be a priority”, he said. “We are looking at social cohesion, the social disintegration and illegal drugs. “In many societies around the world, whether developed or developing, there are communities within the societies which develop which become no-go areas. “Drug traffickers, organised crime, drug users, they take over. They will get the sort of governance of those areas.” Prof Ghodse called for such communities to be offered drug abuse prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services, and the same levels of educational, employment and recreational opportunities as in the wider society. The INCB’s annual report for 2011 found persistent social inequality, migration, emerging cultures of excess and a shift in traditional values were some of the key threats to social cohesion. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and “faced with a future with limited opportunities, individuals within these communities may increasingly become disengaged from the wider society and become involved in a range of personally and socially harmful behaviours, including drug abuse and drug dealing,” it said.

Ford Executive found dead in his North Pattaya apartment | Pattaya One News: "A Ford Executive based at their plant in Rayong was found dead in his apartment at the Ananyar Condominium in Naklua on Thursday. A cleaner at the location discovered the body of Mr. Michael aged 50 from Australia, an executive security official working at the Ford Motor Company Factory in Rayong. He was lying, fully-clothed, on the floor next a sofa in the living room area. He was slumped, under a coffee table and for now Police suspect he may have suffered a cardiac event which led to his passing. Police found no evidence of foul play and no evidence of trauma on the body and will send the body to the Police Forensic Institute in Bangkok and will await the results of a post mortem examination before they close the case. The Australian Embassy in Bangkok have been informed."

British Bar owner arrested by Immigration police | Pattaya One News: "At around 2:00am on Wednesday police from the Immigration office based in Jomtien entered the Roxy go-go bar on Walking Street and arrested Mr Jason Hill, a 41-year-old British national on a charge of working without the correct documentation. He was brought to Pattaya Police Station where he was interviewed and allegedly accepted the charge. He was also asked for his passport but told officers it was back in his room. Further checks are expected to be made regarding Mr Hill’s visa status."

British man caught with class 1 drugs by Pattaya Police | Pattaya One News: "On Thursday afternoon senior police at the Soi 9 station held a press conference to showcase a motley collection of nine people, five men and four women aged between 18 and 44, who had been arrested in a sweep of the city and charged with drugs and theft offences. Standing out among this crowd was David Solomon, a 44-year-old British national who was alleged to have been in possession of five packets of the Class 1 drug yah ice totalling 6.36 grams. An 18-year-old Thai teenager was caught with 10 yah bah tablets, while the remainder had lesser amounts of the same illegal narcotic and one man, aged 24, was also caught in possession of a stolen motorbike. It looks as though the Pattaya Provincial Court is going to be busy over the next few days."

Pattaya Immigration issue order to revoke visa of British National | Pattaya One News: "A British National is expected to be deported from Thailand after Pattaya Immigration issued a notice of visa revocation against him. A press conference was held at the Immigration Office in Jomtien on Tuesday Afternoon to announce the detention of Mr. Roderick William Robinson aged 73 from England who was caught in a joint operation with The Special Organized Crime Agency from UK at the V&M Terrace in Soi Beokeow. The Police detailed 4 separate cases involving Mr. Robinson dating back to 1999 with a case as recent as March 2010 in Australia. In each case the suspect is accused of crimes against minors. For this reason, the Immigration Department made the decision to issue an order to revoke his visa and ordered an immediate deportation to UK, even though Mr. Robinson is currently not wanted in connection to any of the cases. This is a relatively new law whereby Immigration have special powers to revoke a visa if they consider the subject to be a danger to Thai Society or is likely to commit a crime in Thailand. Mr. Robinson will be transported to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok where he will await the deportation process to be completed."

Foreign Motorbike Driver dies following accident at unfinished stretch of road in Jomtien | Pattaya One News: "It was only a matter of time until the long-running road-works on the Thappraya Road leading to Jomtien Beach would claim a life. In the early hours of Tuesday Morning, Police and Rescue Services were called to the road following a single vehicle road accident. Lying on the partially completed road was Mr. Dergey Plekhanov, thought to be from Russia. He had been thrown from his motorbike after he had hit a road-sign which ironically urged drivers to exercise caution due to the road modification work. The victim, who was not wearing a safety helmet is believed to have driven down a part of the road that was closed to traffic. He sustained a major head trauma at the scene and despite efforts by medical staff to revive the man, he was pronounced dead-on-arrival at hospital."

Thai Man dies after mysterious knife attack and road accident in North Pattaya | Pattaya One News: "A Thai Man, thought to have been stabbed by a local gang, who later died from his injuries in Hospital, was taken to the morgue at Banglamung Hospital on Thursday Afternoon. The man was picked-up by emergency workers at the North end of Pattaya Third Road after he fell from his motorbike which he was seen to be riding at a high rate of speed as if he was attempting to escape from someone. Witnesses mentioned seeing a group of men on other motorbikes following behind who drove away when they saw him fall from his motorbike. The man, who was carrying no forms of identification was rushed to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital but could not be saved and was declared dead soon after his arrival. Stab wounds were evident on his right leg and superficial wounds were found on his upper body. For now, the exact cause of death is unknown and Police will wait for the results of a post mortem examination before they proceed with the case."

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Tourist Police arrest prostitute accused of stealing money from Norwegian Tourist | Pattaya One News: "Late on Wednesday Night at the Pattaya Tourist Police Station, a press conference was held to announce the arrest of a woman accused of stealing money from a hotel room occupied by a Norwegian tourist. The initial complaint was received from Mr. Biyon Beklick aged 43 who resides at AA Pattaya Residence Hotel in Soi 13 off Pattaya Second Road. He informed Police that he had taken two prostitutes back to his room and went to take a shower but was careful to take his valuable items with him into the bathroom. While he was in the shower, one of the two women walked into the bathroom and grabbed his wallet and ran out of the room. The other woman remained in the room and assisted Mr. Beklick in contacting the Tourist Police who found the women nearby who was still in possession of his wallet which contained 10,000 Baht. The suspected thief, Khun Sharlinee aged 24 was later charged with theft and transferred to Pattaya Police Station for processing."