I'm Henri. I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I'm dying to see my family in Melbourne and live the Australian dream by pursuing my new fishing career. My parents have cancer, and I don't have a lot of time left to see them and spend time with them.

I currently find myself in the most inhumane, unfair, stressful, incredible, and un-Australian situation of my life and career.

The Summary:

I have been detained in Thailand for the past 3 months under a "civil defamation" lawsuit charged by the 2 Australian owners of Entelech for whom I previously worked. It's a civil defamation case, but defamation in Thailand is a criminal offence that includes jail time as a penalty.

I was originally charged in 2024 / 2025 by the Australian owners of Entelech through their Thai lawyers and the Thai legal system. They requested the maximum penalties (including jail time) for making the following statements:

All conversations and comments I made were to a few other Australians only. I was working for Australians, as an Australian, doing work for Australian clients who pay Entelech in Australia, in Australian dollars.

After 3 months of silence from the Thai lawyers whilst being detained in Thailand, the Thai lawyers have demanded 1.5 million baht in damages to set me free and return to Australia. They will not let me leave Thailand and return to Australia unless I pay them this amount.

I'm also unable to work properly and earn a proper income whilst being detained in Thailand, so it is a stressful and unbelievable Catch-22.

My Career Before Entelech:

Before retiring from the Australian corporate world to live the Australian dream as a fisherman, I had 25+ years of experience in digital and e-commerce. I led and transformed a few Australian Digital agencies by leading and managing support offices in Southeast Asia to deliver work for Australian clients.

I had an impeccable 25+ year track record, which can be viewed and verified: https://www.digiliterate.org/

(I have retired from this business to fish)

The Opportunity & Job:

In 2024, I applied for an Australian expat job working for the Australian agency www.Entelech.com.au . This expat job was based in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok is where Entelech's office is located. Entelech's office is in Bangkok, Thailand.

This seemed like a FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY.

I understood the main reason for having the office in Bangkok was to keep Australian business costs low. I had previously been hired by Australian companies for this exact reason.

It was immediate to both parties the value my experience could add and the opportunities presented by working together.

The expat job ad was originally in Australian Dollars and offered the expected expat job benefits as per previous expat job roles. However, during the contract negotiation stage with the Australian business owners, the only option on offer was Thai terms in Thai baht.

Since I previously only had good experiences working for Australian companies as an expat, I took a personal risk signing on Thai terms. I accepted this risk since previously, I had only had great experiences working for other Australians

I took on the job as Digital Director at Entelech. My responsibility was to be accountable and responsible for the delivery, quality, and performance of all the work done in Bangkok for Entelech's Australian clients (All clients were Australian, hence why I was hired). It was a good opportunity, but it turned into a personal disaster.

4-5 months after I started the job, as Digital Director, I resigned on the spot and walked out. It had turned into a painful, hurtful, and stressful nightmare.

I had never left any previous expat job in that manner.

So I tried to manage this stressful expat situation and started transitioning my life back to Australia, where I pursued my dream of being a fisherman.

I'm also 44 years old and 6"6/2m tall. I have ongoing health issues and medical treatments for my health conditions. I live with constant pain or tingling in my hands due to a damaged ulnar nerve that requires regular treatment. So I had to manage this too.

The Warrant & Arrest:

I returned to Bangkok to tie up some loose ends. I still had things in storage and my own international health insurance.

Whilst in Thailand, a warrant seems to have been triggered, and I found myself arrested and had to bail myself out of a Thai jail.

After 3 months of silence whilst being detained, yesterday, their Thai lawyers finally responded, and they have demanded 1.5 million baht to set me free and allow me to return to Australia.

I am also unable to work properly and a proper income in Thailand. I have no working rights in Thailand.

The Defamation Charges:

I have been charged with 2 counts of the Thai criminal code with "defamation" under Thailand's defamation laws. In Thailand, defamation is a criminal offence with jail time as penalties. Defamation is also notoriously easy to process and hard to fight in Thailand's legal system.

The defamation charges are very silly and small and would never escalate into a 2-year ordeal with warrants, arrests, jail, bail, and detention in Thailand. In Australia, this would have been resolved quickly and without stress.

I have already listed (at the top) the content and topics that are deemed defamatory in Thailand.

Bail Documents as evidence for avoiding jail

I'm now stuck in Thailand until I raise 1.5 million baht (about $65k AUD) to settle this case with the Australian plaintiffs through their Thai lawyers.

Any help is appreciated!

I never wanted to do this; I wanted to keep this as quiet as possible. However, I have no other options now.