The well-known crime journalist of De Telegraaf, John van den Heuvel, makes mincemeat of the complaints that Johan van Laarhoven's lawyers are using that the Dutch government would have handed him over to the whims of the military regime in Thailand.
He states in an opinion piece that Van Laarhoven's lawyers should not complain because the man himself has misbehaved. The former owner of the Grass Company coffee shops in Den Bosch has systematically skimmed off his profits to evade taxes. This is how he earned millions in black money with which he then lived like a sun king in Thailand. He bought a huge estate there, several boats, etc.
The Thai judiciary has thoroughly investigated the case and came to the conclusion that Van Laarhoven also committed criminal offenses in Thailand. For example, he withdrew money from the view of the Thai government and he also had a firearm at home without a permit.
According to journalist Van den Heuvel, the fact that the Public Prosecution Service in Breda deliberately extradited him to the judiciary in Thailand because the burden of proof was not passed in the Netherlands. Both the preliminary relief judge and the Court of Appeal concluded that there was no wrongful act by the Public Prosecution Service.
Source: De Telegraaf
What I would like to see is how it ends; Mr van Laarhoven will try to serve his sentence in the Netherlands, which means that he will almost certainly be released after a short time, perhaps immediately. What does he do for his wife? As a Thai, he will have to stay in a Thai cell for 12 years. Will Mr van Laarhoven remain his wife (and accomplice if we are to believe Justice) or will he let her suffocate?
As I wrote before; no pity. Let him contemplate his sins in a Thai cell and not easy in the Netherlands with a chance of quick release, while his wife rots in the Thai cell
In Thailand it is only possible to admit guilt until the first hearing of the case starts, after that no more. If you plead guilty, your sentence will be halved. Of course you cannot wait to see how the case goes and then, if that is not the case, confess for a reduced sentence. This applies to the first hearing, appeal and Supreme Court.
It was also regularly indicated in responses that v L. will be extradited to the Netherlands. That won't work either. The case will first have to be fully completed and then, after serving one third of his sentence in Thailand, he can serve the rest of the sentence in the Netherlands through the WOTS procedure until he can be released early after two-thirds of the sentence. .
Van de Heuvel is very short-sighted and turns out to be a public prosecutor. The newspaper of awake Netherlands is often guilty of that. I certainly don't want to exonerate Laarhoven, because I don't know the documents, but in the Netherlands someone is always innocent until he is convicted. And that has still not happened in the Netherlands. Van de Heuvel unquestioningly accepts what Justice in the Netherlands says:
“Laarhoven has systematically skimmed off his profits to evade taxes. This is how he earned millions in black money with which he then lived like a sun king in Thailand. He bought a huge estate there, several boats, etc.
The Thai judiciary has thoroughly investigated the case and came to the conclusion that Van Laarhoven also committed criminal offenses in Thailand. For example, he withdrew money from the view of the Thai government and, moreover, had a firearm at home without a permit.”
The practice of skimming profits has still not been established in the Netherlands. According to Van de Heuvel, Laarhoven bought an estate in the name of his girlfriend with his money. The Telegraaf journalist probably does not know that land may not be registered in the name of a foreigner.
How does Van de Heuvel think that Van Laarhoven entered Thailand with his money? With a suitcase of banknotes? You cannot enter the country with one carton of cigarettes too many. And since when does Thailand have problems with the import of black money?
Van de Heuvel writes about a firearm without a permit. The firearm is known, but there is no mention of the lack of a license in Thai media. Moreover, I know more foreigners in Thailand who have a firearm with a permit because of cash (white) money at home.
Van Laarhoven is probably not a sweetheart. However, Van de Heuvel's story gives the same impression as that of the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands: we cannot close the case here, but the possible perpetrator has been detained to be sure.
As a colleague of De Telegraaf once remarked: the story does not have to be true, as long as it does not get us into trouble.
It was already established that there were hidden spaces in the premises of his coffee shops. Large quantities of drugs were stored there that were kept out of the books (source: file Brabants Dagblad). In addition, it was already clear that Van Laarhoven was channeling money through foreign bank accounts. That doesn't really argue for the suspect, I don't think.
I completely agree with Van den Heuvel's conclusion. Just sit on the blisters when you burn your buttocks.
If the facts do not lie, as the Brabants Dagblad writes, why has the case not come to court after all these years?
And channeling money through foreign bank accounts? Should all Dutch people who have an account in Luxembourg, the Channel Islands, Switzerland and Liechtenstein (to name just a few destinations) spend 20 years in a Thai cell? Didn't we have voluntary disclosure schemes for that in the Netherlands?
Indeed: anyone who burns his ass must sit on the blisters. In this case, 'sitting' bears no relation to the burns of the Dutch government. That's what separates civilized countries from banana republics...
Under no circumstances will a foreigner be given a permit for a firearm, ever. The fact that you know foreigners with a permit for a firearm is just made up.
An excellent conclusion from this John van den Heuvel!
In a report on this case, another “crime journalist”, Hendrik Jan Korterink, defends Van Laarhoven.
Interesting was a reaction from one Frank to that report, especially about the defense: :
“We will consider an appeal or a transfer of criminal enforcement in close consultation with the Thai lawyers,” Vis continues. “We look forward to the Dutch criminal case with confidence, the Public Prosecution Service will have to answer to the Dutch court for this Thai development.”
Three different lawyers!! And just keep faith….and keep sending high bills!
You'll sit there and your lawyers will be your last straw!
What nonsense, getting 20 years for black money? And as we all know in Thailand almost everyone owns a gun without a license. But that's not worth 20 years in prison. No, this is a dirty game that the Dutch government is playing.
Everyone has a gun without a license, apparently that is not the case in the area of Udon thani
the foreigners have been visited by the police who were suspected (by gossip) of this
possession of weapons, there are many weapons and even a crossbow was confiscated?
That guy has thousands of victims on his conscience, especially young people who didn't think they were any smarter
drugs are not dangerous ? If you know limits not a big problem but healthy it is certainly not for me
can he rest here in the cell deserved no more.
Does John van den Heuvel also know how corrupt the gang is here, if Mr van Laarhoven had pushed the local police chief enough, he would not have been arrested. Nice and easy to say that the Thai police have done their job well, what does that best man in Hilversum know about that?
A firearm is not smart, but if you lap a little more, that's no problem at all.
That's right, I have heard from a source close to Van Laarhoven that if he had taken that route immediately, he could have bought off the whole thing quickly.
I don't quite understand the swearing at the Dutch judiciary.
Mr. Van Laarhoven earns a lot of money from the trade in soft drugs, and withdraws this as much as possible from the Dutch tax authorities. The Dutch soil gets a bit hot under his feet.
He then moves with the loot to Thailand, where soft drugs are just drugs, and plays nice again. He is now sentenced, as far as I read here, on correct grounds according to Thai law. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of the story.
The article by J. van den Heuvel confirms my suspicions about this matter. I can only conclude that Van Laarhoven had very bad advisors (or none) with him before he made the move to Thailand. He took a huge risk, and it ended badly for him and his wife. When I read the comments here and there, I think that unfortunately too many people still think that Thailand is a kind of 'outside region' of the Netherlands where people run less risk. However, everything that has to do with drugs - directly or indirectly - is very risky. In addition, if Van Laarhoven appeals, which according to Spong is certainly the case, he will in any case extend his detention. A so-called WOTS request can only be submitted if there is no longer an appeal and you have therefore been irrevocably convicted. You must also first have served a certain minimum portion of the imposed sentence. In this case, I think Van Laarhoven must serve at least 4 more years before a request can be submitted. Such a request is by no means a guarantee that you will be transferred to the Netherlands quickly. In Thailand, an independent committee reviews each request, the length of time such requests are processed varies widely. In short, this is far from a finished race. For more information: http://www.reclassering.nl/documents/Buitenland/GearresteerdThailand.pdf
Two weeks ago, the ambulance loaded my grandchild with an overdose.
If she had been alone at that moment she would have died for sure, she was unconscious for 4 hours.
They can't punish those drug traffickers enough, they only see what they can make out of it
and whether the users die from it really doesn't matter to them.
Entire families are destroyed, so lock them up as long as possible.
That's how I feel about it.
That is of course not correct, because then you would also have to arrest a liquor store that sells liquor. Alcohol always causes more deaths than drugs. And alcohol is a hard drug.
Peter, Although you are correct in characterizing alcohol as a hard drug and also destroying many people, your reasoning does not hold, as alcohol is not prohibited by law and (soft) drugs are.
I think the discussion here is very pointless. No one knows the ins & outs, but everyone has an opinion. The fact that the actions of the Dutch Public Prosecution Service are being questioned is echoed by van Laarhoven's expensive lawyer, namely Mr Spong. Of course we all know of lawyers of this caliber that they straighten out everything that is crooked for the ordinary righteous Dutchman for their criminal clientele. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of coffee shops in the Netherlands, and it is of course no coincidence that the Public Prosecution Service is starting an investigation against precisely van Laarhoven, although Spong would like us to believe otherwise. Furthermore, somewhere on this blog I read the completely nonsensical comment of an “experience expert” that the conviction of van Laarhoven is due to the efforts of top lawyers from the Netherlands, as this would have led to a loss of face among Thai judges. How stupid are we going to continue this discussion?
You can tell me a lot, but even in Thailand you don't just end up innocent behind bars. Where there's smoke, there is fire. The fire may have been fueled by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, but Thailand has in any case started to smoke well, because Van Laarhoven has been convicted of several, I believe I have read 43, offences, which together have led to 103 years in prison that may be served simultaneously. served, which resulted in an effective prison sentence of 20 years. There is no question of a mistake, a failure to understand the Dutch tolerance policy or a found gun. Here is, popularly said, a lot of shit to the criminal marble!
Horrible for that child, of course, but this emotional stuff has nothing to do with this one at all
case.
I find the comments of both vd Heuvel and fellow standers on Thailand Blog striking, that people talk about country houses, expensive cars and boats, is irrelevant in my opinion, maybe jealousy is around the corner with these people.
A few years ago, Mr van der Valk (owner of many eating barns in the Netherlands) confessed to laundering black money
Mr. vd Valk was sentenced to 3 months community service. Van Laarhoven 20 years old, someone from the Netherlands had to go on the sacrifice block, and is that perhaps van Laarhoven?
Van Laarhoven was probably convicted here for violating Thai law.
If he had been wise, he would have obeyed the law here (in a country where he probably wanted to live for the rest of his life).
He had millions enough at his disposal.
Apparently he has not complied with the law and will have to bear the consequences.
But if he admits guilt, it will be 10 years and if he behaves well, possibly less and he can return to the Netherlands after a few years.
I don't know what will happen to his marriage after that.
Van Laarhoven will no longer be allowed to enter Thailand and his wife may no longer be allowed to enter the Netherlands.
Van Laarhoven has not been convicted of money laundering. Van Laarhoven has been convicted of dealing drugs in NLD and THEN suddenly a completely different light shines on this case. The Public Prosecution Service in NLD has played a major, if not despicable, role in this. Attorney Spong has explained the details about those details. The fact is that a letter from the Public Prosecution Service about prosecution for money laundering has been translated as 'prosecution for drug trafficking', which the Thai government has started to do. Well, then you pull a very short line in Thailand, we all know that. A shame that he now has to suffer this as a result. I wish him all the best!
He has indeed been convicted in Thailand for committing criminal offenses in Thailand. It is clear that letters from the Dutch judiciary have led to a Thai investigation, and that is not illogical.
Subsequently, the Thai judiciary established that criminal offenses had also been committed there and instituted proceedings. Apparently, the Thai court considers the charge proven and has followed a judgment with the known content. Seems pretty clear to me. I don't understand that 'justification' of what the man probably has on his ((Thai) tally stick, and of the swearing at the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.
If he believes that he has not committed the offenses charged, he can of course appeal, but for the time being he will not see the prison from the outside. Whether his expensive - but not impressive in Thailand - Dutch lawyers can exert much influence on this, I very much doubt.
The Netherlands, which is so vehemently against the death penalty, is taking actions that will mean that the sentence that this man has to undergo here will be a death penalty in the long term.
The Netherlands also knows how corrupt the legal system is here. A Thai with the necessary financial means is released on bail and acquitted after years. A foreigner, on the other hand, undergoes a disproportionate punishment.
Replying to Guillaume: Do you have any idea what it's like to be in a prison here for a long time. Would you be a guy in those circumstances?
I have too little knowledge of this case and I am not a judge, but it is clear to me that this is inhumane.
What do you think is the alternative, H. Nusser, to let the case run because he has left the Netherlands and has settled - voluntarily - in a country where heavier sentences are handed out than in the Netherlands?
It is also my opinion that an extremely severe punishment has been imposed here. But placing the blame for this on the Dutch government – I absolutely do not agree with that. Everyone is primarily responsible for his actions and for the choices he makes.
Stja, to say the least, very annoying if you get 20 years somewhere (for whatever) and given his age can immediately see it as his end. I will not talk about the question of guilt for a moment.
It's quite punishment and it solves some! No, man just goes through the money is too tempting.
Yes personally, I still find it sad when people lose parts of their lives in a cell.
I just wouldn't know “What then!” We also want a reasonably safe society.
On the other hand, until at least thousands of people have also come into misery due to the trade, in this case by this man. Yes, it may be their own fault, Black White everything is easy, right!
Judges? Whoever is without sin cast the first stone. The right of the strongest remains regardless of which side one is on.
It should be more equal Internationally, or at least the viability in the cells more humane!
One thing is certain none of us want to trade with them and we are happy until we can visit Thailandblog
write and not be “Barbertje must hang”.
It always reminds me of the chorus of an old Dutch song "Don't laugh when you see that car"
grsj
Given the high yes/no content, we close the discussion.