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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

BRITS IN TROUBLE ABROAD: THAILAND TOP

Thailand figures prominently in a report published by the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that details the places British citizens are most likely to run into trouble.
Proportionately for Brits, the Land of Smiles is the most likely country to be arrested for drug offences, and the second most likely place to be arrested (behind United Arab Emirates) for any offence. Visa overstays are mentioned in the report as being a contributing factor.
Thailand also came top as the place the Britons were most likely to be hospitalised. The Kingdom also ranks top as the country where UK citizens abroad are most likely to die.
The report covers the period from April 2008 to March 2009. It also provides the following data about visits, crime and consular assistance relating to British citizens.

Total number of visitors to Thailand: 812,000
Number of British residents: 41,000
Drug arrests: 54
Total arrest/detention: 202
Total death: 288
Hospitalisation: 198
Rape: 3
Sexual assault: 1
Total other consular assistance: 151
Total consular cases: 843
Passports lost/stolen: 774

1 comments:

Anonymous 6:02 PM  

I am a little surprised by how low the crime numbers are, or perhaps it is BECAUSE such statistics are so low that there are so many dodgy Brits around in Thailand. Without trying to mix with such types, I have come across several in Bangkok whose activities range from the petty criminal who stiffs fellow foreigners and Thais alike for pathetically small sums of money (all the while maintaining an image of kindness and charitableness) to the keep-away-from-him sort living off of overtly criminal activities that would see them in jail if caught.

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