From ANDREW DRUMMOND, Bangkok,
October 24 2011
A British editor holding together the Pattaya Times newspaper – apparently a partner paper of the Bangkok Post – has quit amid a controversy over the paper’s widespread ‘lifting’ of most of its material from a variety of journalists and news organisations worldwide.
His resignation follows the departure of the paper’s former Chinese-American editor, a New Zealand sub-editor, and two Filipina staff. The latter quit after receiving just 4,000 baht and 7,000 baht for working a month at the newspaper’s offices in Pattaya.
Journalist and photographer Ken Barrett, who is based in Bangkok, however said he had no idea who had been lifting the stories, which comprised most of the written copy in the Pattaya Times. ‘All that stuff was done in Pattaya,’ he insisted.
Plagiarism Central
In fact Mr. Barrett did actually sub some real copy including some from the papers publisher American Drew Noyes, but lately never saw the final product.
He said he was much more concerned about getting involved in any libel action with Mr.Noyes, whose exploits have been detailed on this site, and many years ago in the New York Times owned Wilmington Morning Star in Carolina Beach, N.C.
Contacted at first through Facebook, Ken Barrett, a well known production journalist in Bangkok, was not totally taken by surprise.
Above was his initial reaction, then he said quite frankly: ‘I subbed copy which was sent to me from Pattaya which had been translated from Thai to English, but I have been concerned for some time about the newspaper, having seen stuff on the internet version which had absolutely nothing to do with me. I had also been drawn to your website.’
He also checked for libel, he said, but had not seen Noyes’ latest outlandish reports before they were publish on the net.
The theme of his reports and internet resume is that he is good for Thailand 
and other people are not – as in this rather all encompassing headline – which with a bit of name juxtapositioning could probably be substantiated.
Noyes did not want to submit his more recent reports for libel checking and Ken Barrett did not want to hang around, not after we revealed here that Noyes had totally invented the ‘facts’ that I was being sought by police and that the MCIT had ordered the closure of this site.
‘I’m out of here’
Mr. Barrett had taken over from the American Chinese called Tom, whom Drew Noyes said, had been fired for not being up to scratch. I was interested in talking to Tom:
Anyway I am only referring to Ken and Tom as editors because they seem to have been putting the paper together. The official registered editor is of course Wanrapa Boonsu, Noyes’ wife. She must be at the nerve centre of operations, directing the reporters, photographers, graphics men and sub editors.
The most recent issue of the bi-monthly Pattaya Times, which owner Drew Noyes claims in his American Chamber of Commerce entry has a circulation of 500,000, is 14 broadsheet pages. Four pages of that however are classified advertisements lifted from the ‘Pattaya Trader’. Pattaya Today offers 48 tabloid pages for the same price.
The Pattaya Times splash on October 16 was a protest by Koh Larn residents which actually happened on October 6th and was reported widely elsewhere at the time.
Although no other papers reported this: “It is fun to go to Koh Larn despite the protest which will be resolved in a politically correct manner’.
Most of the stories were again copied from other publications on the internet, including one from the New York Times, under the name Visith Pinpawong, and several again appearing under the name of Drew Noyes’ wife’s name Wanrapa Boonsu.
One classic lift, credited to Wittaya Yensabai, who is a retired MCOT (Eastern Region) director, is a column on beauty tips. Yensabai tells women how to have full luscious lips ‘in about 30 seconds flat’ and advises ‘Give yourself a knife free face-lift too with some deft strokes of the powder brush’ .
‘A luminous face is a short cut to feeling fabulous,’ says Yensabai , whose face might gain another hue if we confronted him with this article as it actually comes from ‘YourBeautySpot’ at ninemsm, Sydney, Australia.
Retired civil servant Wittaya Yensabai? Strange, sounds very similar to a member of the MICT who, a couple of weeks back called my internet provider and ask him to close down my site, but who was later very apologetic when I called up. ‘No! No! I’m retired. We have no interest in your site.”
Drew Noyes devotes his entire Drew Noyes column over to a request from a Thai national calling herself Natallie Yingsabooth. While Natallie appears to write good English she hasn’t go a clue as to how to get a Thai passport to visit her boyfriend in England. So who do you got to? Obviously American Drew Noyes.
And she clearly cannot speak Thai either because she signs off ‘Kap Khun Ka’, just the way Drew does.
Sage
Drew Noyes then tells her where the passport offices are and as a bonus to get a visa, he suggests, she should go and see the (now-ex) British Honorary Consul Howard Miller.
Anyway what happened to Les Edmonds, the Brit pensioner Food and Dining Out correspondent who recently asked on this site for any recommendations for a new job after we revealed how he had stolen someone else’s recipe?
His name, he said, had falsely been put on top of a cookery column not written by him. It was a recipe by Darlene Schmidt. Remember her recipe for Thai Spring Rolls? Who could forget?
Seems like it has happened again. Now Les’ name is again under another of Darlene Schmidt’s recipes – this time for Thai Green Curry.
Its Pattaya – you just can’t make it up! But if its the Pattaya-Times we guess you just have to.
Meanwhile will the Pattaya-Times last until Drew Noyes’ forecast lucrative special issue featuring Thai Polo Club events this December?
Mamma Mia! How many chukkahs will it take before they realise they should call in the flagman?
COMING SOON – NOYES ABATEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
LINKS
READ ALL ABOUT IT – THE GREAT THAI NEWSPAPER FRAUD
PATTAYA PUBLISHER WANTED ME AS MISTRESS
MYRIAD LIES – AN AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN- AND INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
* Headline altered from original story hence new counter
I still can't find a copy of this Pattaya Times anywhere, but I do remember seeing it once.. pages were being used to mask out the Beer Fridge on an election day. There is also a PT branded news stand at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital which is being used as a rubbish bin now… Can someone please tell me where I can find it? It's definitely not in any of my local 7/11 or Family Marts – You'd think with 500'000 copies in a City of just over 100'000 registered inhabitants they'd be in abundance..
Right on Andrew. Check the Carolina Beach area for info. Over there you just do not even think of using influential friends.
INFO ONLY: Noye's historical references to his family lineage is lifted word for word from ""http://wiki.name.com/en/Noyes"".. Everything else is a further search on facts contained within this one page.
Lee: Actually the newsstand might be worth something if Noyes' investors want to get their money back.
So… Will Noyes be back? I mentioned in another thread someone should alert the good citizens of Wilmington as he is already loading up his complimentary blurbs on various networking sites. This is a good lesson in not trusting internet ranking, it isn't necessarily as it should be.
I see Barry Kenyons (who I highly regard)comments on this site and can't understand why he allows the Pattaya Times rubbish rag to be available free at the immigration office in Jomtien. Part of the problem or part of the solution?
Les Edmonds who is in thick with Drew in lifting stories from the net and putting them in the newspaper is married to Judith Edmonds who is Club Treasurer for the Pattaya City Expats who is in thick with Drew allowing him to spin his lies in the club she is one of the leaders of. Very cosy relationsip. Great spring rolls les.
I met Drew Noyes in 2009 and he tried to sell me the Chiang Mai Times that to this day does not exist. I was inrerested as he made it sound like a once in a lifetime oppurtunity and that I should act quickly as there were many interested parties. However nearly everything he told me was a gross exageration or a complete fabrication.He told me that doing the Chiang mai Times would be easy as he would provide most of the content and 2 or 3 pages would be devoted to Chiang Mai. In hindsight I see that he was planning to overcharge me for the set up costs and then charge me for the other news that he lifted straight off the net.
I first smelled a rat at his paapa office that to describe as a dump would be being kind. He offered me a coffee that was terrible. Then we went in his dirty car to the Pattaya Times headquarters a short drive away. This dump made the paapa office look good, it was a pigsty.It smelled terrible and the curtains looked like they had been used for cleaning the toilets. He told me that he had a buyer for the Hua Hin Times and the Phuket Times had already been sold.Looks like these 2 went broke as i searched them on the net and they are not to be found.
Rapidly losing interest I sent him an email asking him about the differences in what he told me and what I had actually found out myself. He never replied.
Just spent 3 hours reading all the lies and deceit highlighted on this site and on noyeswatch which sums him up perfectly. Keep it up Mr. Drummond, you are doing a finejob to protect innocent vulnerable people from this leech.
EX-Pat: Do you think Les was being less than honest here?
Another ask Drew column in which Drew makes up a name and a question for Drew to answer. as if anybody with a problem would actually go to Drew for advice. Just another illusion to trick people into thinking he has credability.
I don't have the authority to remove Pattaya Times from immigration in Jomtien – no local newspapers are banned in fact – but the situation is just fine. One can see that nobody much picks it up or, if they do, they quickly replace it on the huge pile. This is known as market research, I think, which is one of my strengths according to my diploma with the Open University. Next we are in the rainy season in Jomtien and the office floor gets very wet indeed. The cleaners are grateful for all the help they can get at this traumatic time.
Mark: Had you been the boss of an actual Drew Noyes Chiang Mai Times you could have been the first newspaper to put a positive spin on the fact that students up there were having a nazi parade.
Lee – I forgot to mention most of page three is devoted to all the locations where you can buy the Pattaya Times. But I guess this is putting the cart before the horse. Why don't I just give you the internet links for the stories and save you the trip.
Andrew: You don't quite understand, but due to the flooding situation and supply chain issues, all the supermarkets are out of Toilet Paper.. I was just considering my options.
Speaking of horses- please someone, strip him of that Thai Polo shirt. He does it a dis-honer.
Should have a ""number 2"" on it, anyway.
Come on anybody can buy a polo shirt can't they?
No, I do not ""lift"" stories from the net and I have sent Drew an email asking him politely to stop putting my name on articles I have not written.
""Ex pat"" if you have any balls identify yourself and find out the truth.
I believe, in International Law, that I only have the inalienable right to the use of my name on anything written or published.
Am I right Andrew? Anyway, Jason called me to tell me what had happened and I told him that the article was not mine yet again. His comment was that Drew does this all the time….so now we know where the ""fault"" lies. I have in fact not submitted anything at all for a while now, especially as several items I had written were either misused or held back. Should my name be put on any further articles I will go to the trouble of putting a disclaimer in all the other newspapers here. All work that I have actually submitted was my own and I researched very carefully anything medical or scientific so as not to give false information.
I'm sure Mr Noyes' 'mad Internet skillz' are really nothing for anyone to worry about. He can flood the web with his giant circle-jerk of self fellating profiles, but his pathology will always get in the way. Every profile links to the Pattaya Times. The Pattaya Times has however many separate, not quite coherent rants regarding Andrew Drummond and this website. This in turn leads anyone interested straight here, as has already been noted. So, Noyse<>Pattaya Times<>Drummond in internet perpetuity. He can't even remember exactly where he's still brazenly claiming to be an Attorney, so he won't be escaping that lot anytime soon.
Ex Pat, Although Drew's claims of connections with high Thai officials are flights of fancy, I do believe your claim that he is ""in deep"" with Judith Edmonds, the treasurer of the Pattaya City Expat Club. By the way, Les, I've gone to the trouble to google your next column off of Darlene Schmidt's website. Easy Garlicky Eggplant. http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/thaieggplant.htm. Can you get ME a job at the Pattaya Times?
Ref: Les Edmonds. I have checked now with all foreigners on the Pattaya Times. Nobody has indicated Les has been lifting stories. No stories were lifted by foreign 'casuals' for the current edition. This now means that Noyes is doing it all himself.
If the Pattaya City Ex Pat Club is actually not going to do warn anybody about Noyes perhaps Les could bring out in PCEC open forum that he is not Darlene Schmidt, to avoid confusion of course.
You state elsewhere that the Pattaya City Expat Clubs can in no way be held responsible for the veracity of its guest speakers, or something like that.
That is not good enough. It does not cover the fact that more than a few times you and the other club have have invited shysters there selling dodgy products. The PCEC is akin to raw meat to these bloodsuckers. You have a certain moral commitment to act on your members behalf.
Andrew
Thank you for the vindication of myself with regard to articles in the Pattaya Times. You now have my telephone number if you wish to call me. I think with regard to PCEC members being caught out by speakers offering products or services in the Open Forum, most members have the sense to ask the opinions of other members off the record if they have had any experience with what is on offer. The Latin ""caveat emptor"" is very applicable here.
I fear Google is not his friend anymore….
You can not invite speakers to your group meetings, implicitly endorsing them by inviting them and then say ""buyer beware"". By inviting them you have told your membership that they are credible. It's really very black and white and shirking responsibility by saying it is you own fault for trusting us is shabby to say the least. I guess if this has to be explained that says it all. I would also guess that if someone was using my name on things I didn't write and that were stolen and attributed to me I would be at the police station and hiring a lawyer rather than sending the criminal ""please stop"" love notes. Morally and ethically this isn't ambiguous it is also slanderous. Again if it has to be explained then you probably have bigger issues than moral turpitude. I can't think of a time when my fear of someone kept me from doing what I knew to be right, I guess that is part of being able to sleep at night, it doesn't make me a hero just human. Read Stephen Crane's the Blue Hotel if you need a reminder. By not acting you are complicit in the crime and that includes bilking these poor people out of their hard earned.
Does this club have any objective or purpose? Does it have a mission? It would seem its sole existence is to dupe those who trust and believe they are among friends? Despicable.
Martin's comment is excellently stated but there is nothing implicit about the Pattaya City Expats Club's ongoing support for Drew Noyes. Go to http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com and search his name. That website contains article after article comes up that he has obviously written about himself, all in the vein of his self-mythologizing web posts. Les's advice of ""caveat emptor"" after the club praising this jerk to high heaven has about as much merit as one of his articles in the Pattaya Times. Expat clubs in Pattaya are a target-rich environment for con men. They exist to offer a sense of community and support for people who are otherwise rootless in this strange, intoxicating place. New arrivals and even many old hands never realize that Pattaya is the land of illusion and are easy prey. Let's not forget the elderly who are in declining physical and mental health — there are plenty of them in the expat clubs and they are eagerly sought out by con men. Les, you and your wife have known the true measure of Drew Noyes for a long time and you have made a conscious decision to be his enabler.
Sounds like Les is really angry with Drew Noyes now. I have received a message in which he
complains that Noyes has put his name on two articles he did not write in the current issue of the Pattaya Times including Darlene's recipe. Now he has emailed Noyes with the following American expression. 'Three strikes and you're out'. Now that's really laying down the law. 🙂
Nedflug: Pattaya Times are advertising for staff now. Get in their quick….and get a bonus from this site too! 🙂
Ned obviously I agree with your points but would change one word in your comment. From enabler to accomplice. If you knowingly allow someone to commit fraud while in a position to stop it you are working hand in hand with the perpetrator. If you participate in promotion of the fraudster and actually promote him and work with him you are not only an accomplice but a partner in the crime. A simple analogy – if you drive your friend to the bank knowing he will rob it, introduce him to the teller and then drive him away you are party to the crime. Writing for his paper as well as allowing him to promote himself to your club members is the same as driving the getaway car.
Prominently announcing that your club and you do not support this criminal is a start but nothing wipes away the stain of participation in the activities that have taken place. The lack of remorse by those who know what this guy is up to is shocking and disappointing. Let's put it this way I would not want to rely on any of these people to watch my back in a difficult situation and I find it hard to trust their recent conversion to the good and true.
Martin,
You're right, ACCOMPLICE is more accurate. And Les's disavowals of his long-time complicity with Drew Noyes are the result of being called out by Andrew Drummond, not any genuine regret.
Les, your talents are being wasted on journalism. Go into politics!
Dear Andrew,
I have not visited your website for a long time. However, today I have been mightily impressed by your feisty coverage of these Drew Noyes, Niels Colov and Dirty Dog characters. You are clearly in a different league to these desperate Pattaya charlatans who will not doubt shrink away chastened from challenging you on the internet in the future. I am just amazed that any sensible right-thinking human being could go to a person like Noyes for important legal or property advice. As to why amabassadors, police and mayors want to be dragged into a photograph with him defies logic. Keep up the good work and do not be intimidated in any shape or form by these Walter Mitty characters. Just make sure you keep getting the QBP invites. Hope to see you in the FCCT some time.
Just noticed the highly unlikely deeply jet black hair of the Polo-inclined Mr Noyes. Is it fake like his CV?
Andrew, thank you for being an ""investigative journalism reporter"" and as the title suggests and you have proven you investigate before you report and this adds credibility to your web site but it also implies that there is a modem of truth to what is written there by the comments of your readers.
An example on one of your report sites you published negative financial information about Les E. and people take that to be a fact rather than a rumor or outright vicious lie. Another item that bothers me is the attack on Pattaya City Expat Club. We almost always (ok sometimes we forget) as part of our format issue a verbal disclaimer that the information presented by our speakers is not an endorsement by PCEC for the company. My Noyes is a highly visible member of the Pattaya community, a founding member of the PCEC and past president of the club and often speaks to the club on local issues but does not use the platform directly to generate business. We on the board of PCEC cannot police the script of our speakers not do we endorse them but I can honestly say no speaker can pay a fee to come speak to our club. During the open forum (last 1/2 hour of the meeting) members and guest are encouraged to express their thoughts, ideas and experiences in Pattaya and dealing with any business in Thailand either as a warning to the other members or as a suggestion as a good place to do business. I am not hiding behind my forum name Hawaii Bob as that is what I am known as happy to provide my real name if anyone wants to investigate me.
Mahalo
Hawaii Bob: The posts here made by other people are not my own and may indeed often be and are totally contradictory to my own views.
Your explanation of how the City Expats Club works is somewhat wishy washy. The club clearly does not in any way control membership, I guess for financial reasons and out of wanting to be bigger than the other one.
You have a committee that should make decisions. People who speak out about Noyes individually have had nasty things happening to them, as he readily boasts.
As Noyes is so fond of saying: 'Govern yourselves accordingly'.
Shall I send the people who have been ripped off after meeting Noyes to talk to the committee? Sounds like they would be wasting their time!
I see that expat and ned pflug are still peddling their nasty, vicious lies concerning myself and my wife in relation to Drew Noyes: surely you check the veracity of their comments?
Cool it chaps. Les I think the point being made is that some people suspect your promixity to Noyes, particularly at the Pattaya Times and city expats club means you must really have known the cut of his jib but chose to ignore it and instead formed part of his circle of support at the club. We all make mistakes!!
Les, I said that you and your wife were aware of Noyes's fraudulent activities and you supported him both through the Expat's club and by lending your name (and delicious spring roll recipes) to his newspapaper. And that you only had ""regrets"" and tried to distance yourself once Drummond exposed you. Had you not been exposed, you would have continued to be one of Drew's cronies. And as to ""Hawaii Bob"", your post is just the long-winded excuse of a coward. You knew what Noyes was up to way before Andrew Drummond exposed him, and if your esteemed club's stated goal of ""Expats helping Expats"" meant anything to you, you would have tossed him out with yesterday's trash. ""Evil flourishes when good men do nothing."",0,1,,,0,0
"1346