English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Help

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 4:49 am

Gary James Beattie, a British national working in the border town of Poipet as an English teacher has been requesting financial help from people via Facebook, claiming he doesn't have enough money to pay the police the fees they're requesting of him so that he can leave and go back to England for medical treatment, as he is now illegally overstaying in Cambodia, after losing his old passport with his valid visa in it.

To make matters even worse, he is suffering from a gruesome disease called "vericose leg ulcers" (venous leg ulcer?) which has left him unable to work.

He says he's spoken to the British Embassy, but they are very unhelpful and have no way to help him escape Cambodia and go back to England to receive proper medical treatment.

If you haven't seen pictures of vericose leg ulcers or if you plan on eating within the next 48 hours I strongly suggest you DO NOT let curiosity get the best of you and open the images. Brutal stuff.

He claims to need about $2,000 to pay of the coppers so he can exit the country.

In November 2015 he says he had yet to raise a single cent in donations from anyone.

He claims the British Embassy are saying that all they can do is make an official report to Cambodian authorities for him, but that it will likely involve him being arrested for living in Cambodia illegally.

If his story is true, he is in a very bad position. I do wonder how the staff at the embassy will feel if this turns fatal for him.

I probably should have gone to bed, but instead I stumbled across this horrific story, and of course, had to share it with you all.

Here is his Facebook page that he's set up to ask for donations called "Please Help Sick British Teacher in Cambodia":

https://facebook.com/helpgarycambodia/

And if you are curious to see his ailments, you have been warned of their graphic nature:

Spoiler:

Here are some quotes from Gary Beattie on Facebook regarding his current predicament:

"Just a recap for anybody new to my page and my story.

I am an English teacher living and working in Poipet, Cambodia. I have spent much of the last 15 years teaching here and in Thailand. I love teaching, I love the Cambodian people, and hope that I have made my own small contribution towards the development of this wonderful country, by sharing my knowledge.

I have been sick with varicose leg ulcers for a few years now. It's in my family. My parents (who passed away) had them too. The tropical climate here is bad for my blood circulation, and my job involves a lot of standing up, which is also bad for the ulcers. When the ulcers are very bad it really is impossible for me to work.

I should have sought medical advice from a western doctor years ago. Maybe they could have fitted me with elasticated stockings which would have prevented ulcers developing from varicose veins. However, I foolishly ignored the decline of my circulatory health.

There have been long periods when I've not been able to work - or only work very part-time. That has made it hard to save money. The schools I have worked at were not rich, and were obviously unable to provide health benefits.

What is more, I have no property, money, or family back in England. So, there is nobody who can finance my return to the UK.

In late 2014 my bag containing my passport was snatched (stolen). I immediately sent to England for a new passport, which I received in December 2014. Of course it was empty, with no Cambodian visa inside. Since I received my new passport I have been trying to get the Cambodian authorities to transfer my old visa into it. However, every time I have hit a brick wall. They are still trying to find my computer immigration record in order to calculate a fine. I will have to pay a fine because I have had a new passport with no visa in it since December 2014. Without a visa I am not free to leave Cambodia or return to the UK for medical treatment.

I am in a highly vulnerable and dangerous situation. It may soon be impossible for me to work because of the state of my leg.
It scares me so much that I might not have money for medical treatment, for a room, for food and drink, and to put towards the eventual cost of an exit visa fine, which would allow me to return to England. I am hoping that my police contact at the immigration office will soon be allowed to tell me the sum I must pay for an exit visa. He has hinted this could be in excess of $1,500. However, since they cannot find my computer record they are delaying confirming this.

Perhaps if other people, such as the Cambodian Hope Organization, who are trying to help me, were able to speak to the police, they could persuade them regarding the urgency of my situation, resulting from my declining health.

Once we know the price of the fine the police wish to be paid we can set about trying to raise that sum. Time is of the essence, since if I am unable to work, paying for my living expenses will become an impossible financial burden. It is hard to see how that burden could be carried at the same time as raising money for the fine/exit visa. And getting that exit visa is the only way I can return to the UK for the medical treatment required.

They are. Wish I could get out of Cambodia and get some proper treatment. But none of the ways I've tried to raise the necessary funds have worked. If everybody who had liked this thread had sent me just $10 I would have been able to pay the visa fine and leave. But nobody has sent a cent. Up to them. I have no sense of entitlement to help. It's a cruel life if you mess up.

I'm sorry to hear about your condition Katie. I've tried the British Embassy. Because of my leg I haven't been able to keep my visa up to date. The embassy says that if they report my case to the authorities officially, which they say is all they can do for me, I would be arrested for visa overstay, and have to spend time in a Cambodian prison until somebody paid a substantial fine - much more than the $2000 the border police want. Since I can't even raise that, the prison stay would probably be long, and likely fatal. Cambodian jails are dangerous places even for healthy people. I don't think I'd survive it. A friend of mine in the UK is trying to help, including involving journalists, but no interest. Seems pretty hopeless.

I think your condition is a lot worse than mine Katie. The problem for me is that stuck in Cambodia I must continue working in order to survive, and I worry about the future. Without the freedom to leave the country to get proper treatment it's only going to get worse, and that future looks bleak. My email address is [email protected]. I think Michael is the best person to contact as he is also in the UK and searching for a solution. You could copy me in. As I said, he's [email protected]. Thanks."

Rutiger · Post by **Rutiger** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 5:01 am

F*ck me. If what he says is true, this is the kind of citizen the UK Embassy should be helping. I would think there would be some established procedures to deal properly with lost or stolen passport and visas situations. That kind of thing happens with some regularity. sounds like he may be leaving out some facts in his narrative.

How anyone allows themselves to get that down and out always surprises me. I imagine it would take a drug, alcohol and/or gambling problem to cause that much of a downward spiral. 14 years teaching in Poi Pet, the sh*thole of SE Asia? He must have some interesting stories to tell.

TheGrinchSR · Post by **TheGrinchSR** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 7:18 am

Rutiger wrote:F*ck me. If what he says is true, this is the kind of citizen the UK Embassy should be helping. I would think there would be some established procedures to deal properly with lost or stolen passport and visas situations. That kind of thing happens with some regularity. sounds like he may be leaving out some facts in his narrative.

How anyone allows themselves to get that down and out always surprises me. I imagine it would take a drug, alcohol and/or gambling problem to cause that much of a downward spiral. 14 years teaching in Poi Pet, the sh*thole of SE Asia? He must have some interesting stories to tell.

I agree that they should help but sadly for him - their mandate is not to help. The embassy is 100% clear in all of its documentation, etc. They don't lend money to expatriates. They don't help with financial issues - end of story.

The issue here is money. He needs to pay to get out and he hasn't got the cash. Then he needs to pay to get home and he hasn't got the cash for that either. So, he's fucked. Once the British state was a caring and compassionate place; now it's not. The good news is that he hasn't yet discovered - he's not entitled to NHS treatment. After 14 years in Poi Pet; he will be required to pay for treatment for the first 6 months of being back in Blighty.

Rutiger · Post by **Rutiger** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 7:22 am

I don't think those knife-wielding, playful serial killer photos with teenage girl victims are doing much to help his cause.

phuketrichard · Post by **phuketrichard** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 7:58 am

i just have to ask
1. why didn't he get the visa /extension transferred into the new passport? Dec 2014 and still has not dealt with it??
2, why did he wait so long? all he had to do was hop over the border to get treatment before it got so bad which he states started before he lost his passport.
3. He knew the climate was bad for him, so why stay?
4.. as stated , what will getting back to the UK do as he is not entitled to health care there an has no place to stay and no $$
5. 15 years, no friends at all? sad

Yea a run of bad luck but at some point u need take control of your life

TheGrinchSR · Post by **TheGrinchSR** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:05 am

phuketrichard wrote:i just have to ask
1. why didn't he get the visa /extension transferred into the new passport? Dec 2014 and still has not dealt with it??
2, why did he wait so long? all he had to do was hop over the border to get treatment before it got so bad which he states started before he lost his passport.
3. He knew the climate was bad for him, so why stay?
4.. as stated , what will getting back to the UK do as he is not entitled to health care there an has no place to stay and no $$
5. 15 years, no friends at all? sad

Yea a run of bad luck but at some point u need take control of your life

1. No Money
2. No Money
3. No Money
4. Fuctifino
5. 15 years in Poi Pet - where would you make friends there? It's a place that anyone sane leaves as soon as they set foot in it.

Rutiger · Post by **Rutiger** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:13 am

phuketrichard wrote:i just have to ask
4.. as stated , what will getting back to the UK do as he is not entitled to health care there an has no place to stay and no $$

I thought a UK citizen could continue contribute into the UK NHS for just a couple hundred pounds per year and maintain full eligibility. Do you really need to be living there full time to maintain continuous health benefits? I hadn't heard that part.

As for the rest...very irresponsible behavior and poor decision making on his part, the past two years anyway. Like I said, i'm guessing there is something more to his tale of woe, but if he has really been holding down a teaching job for 14 years in the crudhole of Poi Pet, I would cut him some slack. Not many teachers would work there for very long. Maybe the leg problems got much worse than he thought they would very quickly and it stopped him from working for a few months, leaving him in a bad way unexpectedly. He realizes he made some awful choices in that respect.

I have no sense of entitlement to help. It's a cruel life if you mess up.

True words. I hope he gets the help he needs.

TheGrinchSR · Post by **TheGrinchSR** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:01 am

Rutiger wrote:
phuketrichard wrote:i just have to ask
4.. as stated , what will getting back to the UK do as he is not entitled to health care there an has no place to stay and no $$
I thought a UK citizen could continue contribute into the UK NHS for just a couple hundred pounds per year and maintain full eligibility. Do you really need to be living there full time to maintain continuous health benefits? I hadn't heard that part.

As for the rest...very irresponsible behavior and poor decision making on his part, the past two years anyway. Like I said, i'm guessing there is something more to his tale of woe, but if he has really been holding down a teaching job for 14 years in the crudhole of Poi Pet, I would cut him some slack. Not many teachers would work there for very long. Maybe the leg problems got much worse than he thought they would very quickly and it stopped him from working for a few months, leaving him in a bad way unexpectedly. He realizes he made some awful choices in that respect.

I have no sense of entitlement to help. It's a cruel life if you mess up.
True words. I hope he gets the help he needs.

No, a UK citizen can contribute to National Insurance for a couple of hundred quid a year (or indeed less - I think it works out at about 120 quid a year over the last 10 years) but that's not for the NHS - it's for your government pension scheme. (Many people believe NI and the NHS are linked when that simply isn't the case - this includes large numbers of Brits too).

If you stop paying taxes and are gone for a period of two years or more... you haven't paid for the NHS, so you don't get it. However, if he could prove that he had moved back to the UK for good; he would be eligible for the NHS but he wouldn't be able to do more than take a short holiday for the next 3 years unless he wanted to pay up for his treatment.

vladimir · Post by **vladimir** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:37 pm

He has not been in Poipet for 14 years.

He worked in Phnom Penh for at least 2 years that I know of, around 2008 iirc, and I think a short stretch in Battambang as well.

Donate money by all means, just get someone reliable that you know to pay the bills and verify any claims.

Be careful.

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:01 pm

vladimir wrote:He has not been in Poipet for 14 years.

He worked in Phnom Penh for at least 2 years that I know of, around 2008 iirc, and I think a short stretch in Battambang as well.

Donate money by all means, just get someone reliable that you know to pay the bills and verify any claims.

Be careful.

I think he stated he's been in Thailand AND Cambodia over the past 15 years, not Poipet exclusivity.

English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Help

English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Help

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

Re: English Teacher Gary Beattie from the UK with HORRIFIC Leg Infection and Expired Visa Says British Embassy Won't Hel

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