UK builder Lewis Green’s dream Thai holiday turns into a nightmare after being arrested and mistreated in prison. Believing he was drugged, he spent 10 days enduring torment. His family paid £7,000 for his release, and he now seeks psychiatric care back in the UK.
It is yet another shocking story of a British tourist falling afoul of the law in Thailand. In January, a 22-year-old UK builder, Lewis Green, was arrested by police in Hua Hin. At length, he was engaged in a dispute with a cannabis dispensary or cannabis outlet. Afterwards, he was lodged in a prison cell. After that came 10 days of a nightmarish ordeal. However, Lewis insists that while in Thailand on his eight-week tour, he never took any drugs. Not even cannabis, which he knew was legal. Afterwards, when he returned to the United Kingdom, he displayed psychiatric issues which required hospitalisation. The young UK man is convinced he was administered an illegal substance in the holiday town, perhaps with a spiked drink or through a vaping device.
The 51-year-old mother and father of a high-spending British tourist to Thailand have issued a warning about holidaying in Thailand. Peter Green and Colleen Wilding are just recovering from an eight-week ordeal. It came after their son Peter was imprisoned in Hua Hin on January 24th.
Certainly, this is yet another lurid tale from a British tourist of a nightmare holiday in Thailand. Lewis Green, a 22-year-old builder from stafford in the United Kingdom, had previously enjoyed a more typical Thai holiday.
British tourist Lewis Green’s troubled holiday in Thailand ends with arrest, drug use claims, and mistreatment
Indeed, he was visiting the kingdom for eight weeks. Earlier, he had enjoyed Thailand’s fishing attractions for visitors. However, then he decided he would like to experience what life in Thailand was really like.
In brief, this is where his problems started. In particular Hua Hin, often thought of by foreigners as a quieter and more upmarket location.
Nevertheless, there are increasing stories from the small holiday town of both violence and misadventure. In short, Mr. Green claims that he was unwittingly introduced to some illicit substance.
However, his story appears somewhat inconsistent. On one hand, he recalls his initial arrest in Hua Hin. In short, it came after he engaged in an argument with a local cannabis shop owner.
On the other hand, he insists that he specifically did not engage in drug-taking during his holiday.
Thai prison experience described as inhumane by Lewis Green following arrest for alleged theft
Nonetheless, the story, at the same time, rings true in the context of Mr. Green’s altered perception due to drug use. Certainly, his story echoes others. These are perfectly reasonable people who for some reason behave differently in Thailand.
“Drugs are everywhere and I was offered cocaine and ketamine on the streets. You can smoke cannabis legally, but I was on my own so the strongest thing I had was a few beers,” he told the UK’s Daily Mail tabloid.
Nonetheless, he was carted off to Hua Hin Police Station by two police officers. After that, Lewis was shocked when, instead of paying a fine as he expected, he was hurled into a prison cell.
Significantly, he claims he does not know why he was arrested.
Meanwhile, while in detention, he says he was refused water and food. In brief, he says that the cell was flooded with tap water and he was forced to drink that. Indeed, this included his own urine after being forced to use the prison floor as a toilet.
Lewis Green recounts alleged physical abuse and mistreatment during his 10-day Thai prison ordeal
In addition, he claims he was shackled in chains and handcuffed to the prison bars. Undoubtedly, Mr. Green’s full story is difficult to comprehend.
Perhaps not surprisingly, when it was discovered by doctors in the United Kingdom later that he was suffering from a psychiatric disorder. Certainly, before he left for Thailand, he had never been diagnosed with such a condition.
At length, he now recalls that he was offered the use of a car by a Thai owner. Nonetheless, to his horror, he found himself arrested again and incarcerated. In particular, this time for the theft of the car.
Furthermore, police at that point treated him as a known lawbreaker and mischief maker. Inhumanely, he alleges he was accosted in his cell by a group of policemen and violently beaten.
The British man claims he suffered a broken wrist and fractured ribs. “It was terrible, my arms were chained up and I was handcuffed to the prison bars.
In addition, you don’t get fed any food or given any water. I had to start drinking water off the floor. Before, they turned the tap on and flooded the cell and left the water in there for days,” he told the UK press.
Green describes violent police assault in prison and other accounts of mistreatment from fellow prisoners
“I was chained up so every time I needed to use the toilet I had to go on the floor. Afterwards, I had to drink the water I’d peed in,” he recalled. “One day six of them came in the cell. After that, they just started punching me, beating the shit out of me. I just covered myself as best I could.”
Notably, this is a point that has been made by other survivors. Many other Western visitors are being held in such conditions.
“I was just lucky I was able to pay my way out. However, there were a lot of British and American lads out there getting caught up in stuff like this.”
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the Royal Thai Police deny any reports concerning the ill treatment of prisoners. Furthermore, the force is updating its procedures and practices to meet international standards of care.
Certainly, it appears the UK man genuinely struggles to remember why he was initially arrested. Certainly, he makes it clear he was aware that cannabis is legal in Thailand and has been since 2022. Nonetheless, he insists that he did not imbibe the substance.
This comes despite his arrest being linked to a dispensary for the drug.
“I really have no idea why I was locked up. Later, I was chained up and nobody would give me any answers. Every time anybody walked past I tried speaking to them but they just ignored me,” he explained. “I was lucky I was in a cell on my own as some cells had 10 people in them.”
Green believes drug use played a role in his arrest and confused behaviour during his time in Thailand
Undoubtedly, the British man is convinced that he was administered a drug. In turn, this triggered his problems. Subsequently, his behaviour was out of order.
“I was definitely under the influence of this drug then, I don’t know if they even injected me when I was in the cell because I was trying to fall asleep,” he says. “When they let me out of jail the first time, the car owner told me I could drive this car. After that, the police arrested me for stealing it and took me back. I’m struggling to remember because I was under the influence of this drug.”
Presently, Lewis believes that he was administered a drug, either in his drinks at the bars or from using vapes. In particular, he believes it was something like Dimethyltryptamine or DMT, often used by criminal gangs.
This drug acts as a powerful hallucinogenic. In the last week, the Thai government has similarly announced a crackdown on e-cigarettes or vapes. Particularly because they are increasingly being used to imbibe dangerous drug cocktails.
The practice is growing within Thailand’s wild nightlife scene.
Lewis’s mother, Colleen Wilding, describes the emotional toll of her son’s ordeal and her difficulty coping with it all
Lewis’s mother, 51-year-old Colleen Wilding, explains the nightmare her family suffered. Firstly, she explained that the eight-week trip to Thailand was a dream for her son.
She said that despite holidaying in Europe, he wanted to visit Thailand and particularly to be alone. “It was awful to go through this as a mum,” she remembers. She told the Daily Mail that the holiday had been going smoothly until the end.
After not hearing from Lewis for a few days, they were becoming worried. He had previously told them that he was going to explore the ‘real Thailand’.
After that, they received an enigmatic message from their son: “Where does it begin and where does it end” it read. Afterwards, there was nothing. In turn, a friend in Hua Hin rang the family to ask where he was. Lewis had gone missing.
Family learns of Lewis Green’s arrest and works with embassy to secure his release after his disappearance
Subsequently, they only discovered he had been arrested by police on January 27, three days after Lewis was locked up. Luckily for Lewis, his father Peter Green flew out to Thailand. Colleen managed the phones and liaised with the UK Embassy in Bangkok who were helpful.
“We heard from him the night he was drugged. Of course, it was the last message we received before we knew he was in the police station. It was sent to his dad and said ‘Where does it begin and where does it end’.
“Certainly, which is never anything he would send before,” his mother recalled. “We’d had eight weeks of perfectly normal messages about the holiday. We kept messaging asking if he’s alright but we never heard anything,” she explained. “After 48 hours I had it in my head that he was gone and that message was goodbye.”
£7,000 was paid to secure Lewis Green’s release, family seeks treatment for his psychiatric care post-return
In summary, £7,000 was paid to secure his release. For instance, this included £4,500 in fines. In addition, £1,700 was paid to the car owner which Lewis allegedly stole.
However, the nightmare was not over yet for the family. When he returned home, his behaviour was immediately disturbing.
The family took him to St George’s Hospital in Salford. Firstly, medics confirmed no brain abnormalities or damage. Secondly, it was advised that Lewis receive psychiatric care.
Lewis Green’s ordeal in Thailand
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Certainly, that meant the 22-year-old being sectioned into care. It was not until last week that the young man recovered and was himself again.
The family are presently raising money in a fundraiser for Lewis in an effort to help him rebuild his life.
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Further reading:
UK Tik Toker tells fans from her Bangkok prison hell hole her videos were all a pack of lies, a joke
Immigration boss warns that a new crackdown on foreigners flouting Thai laws has begun
