Kasem Bundhit Uni needs to be reined in

As a result, he may be evicted from a public hospital where he is being treated for a life-threatening disease. British Ambassador Asif Ahmad said the UK government cannot pay for medical treatment.

If Gareth’s case is true, this is no way to treat foreign visitors whether teachers and other professionals, whose expertise we so urgently need, or tourists who our hotels, restaurants, resorts, airlines, etc, so ardently court.

Is it true that our Social Security Act says that every legally employed staff is covered from the day he starts work, and true that Kasem Bundhit Uni didn’t make the mandatory deductions from Gareth’s salary? If so, it must be held accountable, including paying for all expenses that Social Security would have covered for Gareth – and, to deter future such mistakes, half of the remainder of his medical costs.

Ambassador Asif, I fully agree that the UK government cannot pay medical expenses for every citizen who breaks an arm – but doesn’t the British government, like others, immediately repatriate its citizens caught in life-threatening situations, for example, a civil war? If so, I don’t see how that differs from Gareth’s case, other than what might kill him is a virus rather than a bomb.

The Labour Ministry should go over Kasem Bundhit’s accounts with a fine tooth-comb. If there’s a pattern of “forgetting” to make mandatory deductions, the administration should be charged with fraud, and, if guilty, punished severely enough to deter others who would take unfair advantage of foreigners who seek to help us compete or to keep our tourism industry among the world’s best.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok