Shocking attack on elderly Brits in Hua Hin

[dtaai-maai]

THAI HELL Retired Brit couple in Thailand beaten to a pulp by neighbours in driveway row – but now THEY are the ones facing prison

A PENSIONER couple who retired to Thailand after falling in love with the ‘Land of Smiles’ were beaten to a pulp by neighbours - but now face jail amid claims of "blatant corruption".

The dream sunset years of Middlesbrough pair Des and Mary Byrne have turned into a “horror beyond their worst nightmare” with their passports confiscated and no means of escaping “bent justice”.

Brits Des, 77, and Mary, 69, face financial ruin and are forbidden from leaving the tropical Southeast Asian country for life-saving hospital treatment.

Mary, a former NHS palliative care nurse, suffered a broken nose, bleeding on her brain, and irregular heartbeat when they were set upon during a bitter planning dispute.

After being knocked out in the unprovoked ambush one of the assailants told her partner: “you’re alright, she’s still breathing”.

During the brutal attack, which was caught on CCTV film obtained by The Sun, Des was battered to the floor and hit 22 times to the head.

He was unconscious and needed a hospital stay to recover from his horrific head and back injuries.

A couple in dispute with them over an access road in their retirement villa - aged in their 40s and trained in Thai kickboxing - were initially found guilty of assault and ordered to pay compensation.

But they appealed the verdict and despite the damning evidence, following a judicial U-turn, the Byrnes have now been charged with causing their fit neighbours ‘superficial injuries and mental anguish’.

And after “refusing to pay a bribe”, Des and Mary face a March 12 court date at which they have been warned they will be jailed.

They also fear a post-prison probation sentence which means they won’t get their passports back for years.

Mary sobbed to The Sun: “We just want to come home. It’s like something out of a bad movie. We are already trapped like prisoners despite not being locked up.

“Our health has deteriorated and we’ve spent our life savings on this horrible ordeal. The system here – the police and judiciary - is so bent.

“We have begged for help from the British Embassy and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, but are told there’s nothing that can be done.

"They just assured us we’ll get our medicines brought to us when we’re locked up.

“The whole thing is on CCTV but we are being victimised.

"Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles because the people are known for their hospitality and friendliness.

"But our idyllic retirement in paradise has landed us in a living hell.”

The nightmare for the Byrnes is a far cry from the happiness they felt in 2021 when moving to a retirement villa in the seaside resort city of Hua Hin - promoted officially as the ‘Thai Riviera’, just a 2.5 hour drive from Bangkok.

Mary said: “My sister lived in Sydney and we fell in love with Thailand on numerous stopovers and trips. We’d holidayed here dozens of times.

“We rented at first then spent around £200,000 on a villa in a new retirement complex. We were so happy.”

But their dream life turned sour after returning from a shopping trip to find developers undergoing building work on their property.

And their neighbours said they now owned the access road to it.

A row broke out and the Byrnes managed to stop the development on their land for three months after hiring a lawyer and discovering the local residents had no legal right to muscle in on their home.

Tensions escalated until in December 2023 the couple were alerted to their warring neighbours pulling up plants in their garden and screaming abuse at them.

They went outside to investigate when the couple were attacked – with Mary shoved to the floor and Des knocked down and repeatedly hit and kicked while out cold.

Des, who worked as an analyst in the chemical and oil industry, said: “When we came around we asked other neighbours for help but were told to get lost and ‘go home’.

“The police were not interested either. We tried to file a report at Sam Roi Yot Police Station but they didn’t accept our complaint.

"Eventually we found someone who took us to hospital. It was all such a horrible and shocking ordeal.”

The couple’s neighbours initially pleaded guilty to assault and were ordered to pay a small amount of compensation.

But incredibly in July last year the Byrnes were summoned to court – to be told they were now being prosecuted over the attack.

Mary said: “Our fingerprints were taken and passports confiscated and, despite us being 25 years older, we were said to have injured and harmed our super-fit, Thai boxing-trained, neighbours.

"One of our attackers dropped their phone when beating us and now we’re accused of property damage too.

“We were told if we paid the prosecutor money and pleaded guilty it would all go away or we’d get treated more favourably.

"Our first lawyer was afraid to go to court. The second just took our money and did nothing.

“But we have refused to pay bribes. It is so wrong. The corruption is unbelievable. We’re just cash cows to them.

“We have had to spend our life savings on new legal representation and selling our dream retirement home – for our own safety. We can’t be at risk of attack again and are living out of suitcases in temporary accommodation.

"But we can’t leave the country or get the health care we need. The hearings and documentation is in Thai, and so we rely on translations when available. It’s all a blur and looking bleak.

“Without our passports in the last few months I have missed one of my sister’s funerals, and god-daughter's wedding. And the expert medical care I need is out of reach.”

She said: “We are prepared for the worst. It has taken such an emotional and financial toll. We never thought our retirement would go like this.

"Thailand: Land of Smiles? It’s more like the Land of Corruption. Thailand has turned our dream into a nightmare.

"We’ve spent 35 years loving Thailand. Now, we just want to escape it.”

Frantic family members of the Byrnes in the UK – including Mary’s brother, nieces and nephews, and Des’s brother - have enlisted support from British politicians.

Labour’s Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing and Central Acton has begged for help from David Lammy and Catherine West MP, Under-Secretary of the State (Indo-Pacific).

In a letter seen by The Sun, the MP urged: “Mr and Mrs Byrne have had their passports confiscated and had counter charges pressed against them by perpetrators, due to this being framed as a mutual altercation.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33737639/ ... pp_article

[Dannie Boy]

I was having a nice afternoon until reading that d-m, what a terrible state of affairs and the British Embassy can’t get involved - what a bunch of

[Hahuahin]

Sometimes it's easy to regret even setting a foot in this country where morality and humanity don't even reach the third world level and corruption and greed have been replaced with God

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33737639/ ... rs-prison/

[Big Boy]

Cases like this certainly make you wonder how Thai law works

[PeteC]

BBC as well:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5nqzwddxgo

[Hahuahin]

British retirees escape Thailand prison drama
In an astonishing twist of fate, an elderly British couple have narrowly avoided what had seemed an inevitable prison sentence in Thailand. Instead, they’ve been handed 9,000-baht fines (£200), allowing them to plan their much-anticipated return to the UK.

It was at least good that they weren't put in jail, but one wonders about the legal system here when they still have to pay a fine of Thb 9,000, - for getting beaten up.
hahuahin

[pharvey]

British retirees escape Thailand prison drama
In an astonishing twist of fate, an elderly British couple have narrowly avoided what had seemed an inevitable prison sentence in Thailand. Instead, they’ve been handed 9,000-baht fines (£200), allowing them to plan their much-anticipated return to the UK.

It was at least good that they weren't put in jail, but one wonders about the legal system here when they still have to pay a fine of Thb 9,000, - for getting beaten up.
hahuahin

I've heard slightly different, but if they have managed to get back to the UK, I'm happy (rather than a Thai Jail). It won't however just be 9K Thai Baht will it? They have likely lost everything!

They used their savings, I believe sold their house in the UK and as such bridges are burnt. What are the chances do you think of them getting any money from their Thai property rather than the "Local Leaches" moving in?

[Hahuahin]

Yes, I don't guarantee that quoted here, I'm just repeating news from another news source that I don't know if is allowed and reproduce here and therefore no link. But I can try https://thethaiger.com/news/hua-hin/tha ... ison-drama

As for the couple's future when back in England, I wish them nothing but the best and hope they get back their housing investment in Thailand.
For everything else that applies in official departments here including the legal system I call กระ
hahuahin

[buksida]

but one wonders about the legal system here when they still have to pay a fine of Thb 9,000, - for getting beaten up.

The same legal system where you can get sued for slander for reporting the truth or posting a review!

Justice doesn't prevail in Thailand. Deep pockets do, which is why this kind of atrocity happens so often.

[wenshidi]

The article mentioned Sam Roi Yot police. How far south of HH was their development? All the way down as far as Pranburi and Dolphin Bay?

[caller]

The article mentioned Sam Roi Yot police. How far south of HH was their development? All the way down as far as Pranburi and Dolphin Bay?

Well, because it was Sam Roi Yot police, I always assumed it was the Sam Roi Yot beach area (Dolphin Bay).

[HarryVardon]

If this is all true it is just another case of corruption in the Thai Police and legal system. A large amount of money has obviously changed hands. It surprises me that the British Embassy has not publicly stood up for these people. They are being paid to look after British Citizens abroad!

[Dannie Boy]

Although of course you’re correct HV, they’re too afraid of upsetting anyone, so the poor people remain the victims and have to deal with it themselves. Scandalous!!

[Big Boy]

They are being paid to look after British Citizens abroad!

[wenshidi]

They are being paid to look after British Citizens abroad!

That seems to be quite a common misconception.