Tsunami helper fined for staying too long

A New Zealander who gave up his holiday to search for missing people after the Boxing Day tsunami was fined by Thai authorities for overstaying when he left the country.

Sam Beaver, 66, from Nelson, was in his hotel at Patong, near Phuket, when the tsunami swamped the coast.

He slept in after celebrating Christmas the night before, and the waves stopped about 200m from the hotel's doorstep.

Instead of heading home, Mr Beaver and a Norwegian friend spent the first week after the disaster going around hospitals and morgues helping the authorities to locate missing people.

"Every morning we were given a call and a list of names."

At the end of each day they contacted the authorities and told them which names they had managed to match.

Mr Beaver stayed in Thailand until January 26, as originally planned, so was surprised when immigration officials pulled him aside as he prepared to board his flight home and told him he was an overstayer.

They told him he owed 200 baht (about $8) for each of the eight days he exceeded his visa.

Mr Beaver said he was shocked, but realised the officials were correct. He had a 30-day visa when he entered Thailand on December 20, and was unaware he needed to renew it.

He told the officials it was an honest mistake, and hoped they would back down when he explained he had spent a lot of time helping the tsunami relief effort. They did not budge.

Despite being initially indignant, Mr Beaver kept his sense of humour and plans to return to Thailand in June.

"I don't blame them. I thought it was quite funny. I helped them out and they charged me $64. It's just bureaucracy."

* Six hundred New Zealand families have committed $300,000 since January 1 to sponsor children affected by the tsunami.

The families signed with the Christian Children's Fund. The money will help pay for books, clothes, shelter and critical community infrastructure.

CCF national director Paul Brown said: "These kind and generous Kiwis have given 664 children a future."

- NZPA