British couple Des and Mary Byrne said the “champagne corks are not popping yet” until they are on a flight back to the UK, after a 15-month nightmare ordeal in Thailand
A British couple who feared they could be sent to prison in Thailand after they were battered by their neighbours are “elated” to have been fined instead.
But Des and Mary Byrne say the “champagne corks are not popping yet” until they are on a flight back to the UK. The elderly couple who retired to Thailand were found guilty of causing “superficial injuries and mental anguish” – even though they were the victims of the attack which was captured on CCTV.
They were warned they were likely to face jail – but now Mary’s brother, Tim Maley, has revealed they will be getting their passports back so they can return to the UK. He said they were relieved to have only been fined about £200 each.
He added: “The judge did find them guilty to a minor degree and fined them, but not to any great consequence and they are incredibly elated. They’ve told me they are going to get their passports back in a day and, fingers crossed, there won’t be any comeback from the court.
“They are very nervous and won’t be popping any champagne corks yet in Thailand with family and friends. We have to wait until they are up in the air and on their way to the white cliffs of Dover.”
The couple pursued their dream to retire to a tropical paradise in 2020 and saved enough money to build a villa on the “Thai Riviera”. However it became a nightmare when they became involved in a dispute over land access.
In December 2023, the Byrnes, from Middlesbrough, went out to investigate when they heard a commotion in their garden. They say they found a couple, both in their 40s, super-fit and trained in Thai boxing, ripping up plants in their garden.
The Byrnes confronted them and ordered them to leave and were then set upon in a vicious assault by the man, believed to be from the UK, and his Thai partner. Mr Byrne says he was knocked out cold, and his assailant continued to rain blows down on him while he was on the floor. He was struck a total of 22 times.
Meanwhile, the Thai woman reportedly battered Mrs Byrne, punching and kicking her until she fell into a flower bed where she appears to have been stamped on. The Byrnes suffered horrifying injuries and the attack left Mrs Byrne with reduced heart function, the couple said.
Their attackers were arrested and initially denied the charges in May last year, later reportedly changing their plea to guilty in August and ordered to pay compensation, say the Byrnes. However, in a shocking turn of events, the pair say 15 police officers raided their home and they were arrested on counter charges of causing “superficial injuries and mental anguish”.
Retired chemical engineer Mr Byrne, 77, and retired nurse Mrs Byrne, 69, who retired only after working on the front line of the Covid pandemic, faced court today. They had been warned that the likely outcome was that they will be sent to prison.
They have ploughed every penny they own into trying to clear their names and have now sold their villa in the resort city of Hua Before the hearing Mrs Byrne said: “All we want is to come home but we are trapped here, we are prisoners and no one seems able to help us. It’s like a living hell because it is clear to anyone we are the victims in this and somehow we’re going to be brought in front of a court. It’s a very frightening situation.”
Mr Byrne said: “The police were not interested after we were attacked. We tried to file a report but at first they didn’t accept our complaint.”
In July, last year, the Byrnes were summoned to court and told they were being prosecuted over the attack. Family at home have been campaigning ever since for intervention from the British Government, first appealing to David Cameron and then his Labour successor in the Foreign Office, David Lammy.