Abhisit and dodging the draft

If he did so, it would have happened around 1987 when he was in his early 20s, still considered a baby by Thai standards. And for a young man who grew up in England, I’m sure he had no clue of what to do, who to contact, or where to go to make a deal in order to evade the draft.

I’m sure a phuyai in his family, probably Uncle Waldo or Daddy, would have pulled the deal for him without him knowing it. This practice is common, especially among affluent families. But mai bpen rai, no harm done, so they should let him off the hook. The Thai justice system is famous for considering a case not only by the letter of the law, but also by the ripple effect the verdict would bring.

The moral of this story is: never help your boy evade the military draft, for one day he may become prime minister.

Meechai Burapa 

Chiang Mai