no matter where you are in the world if you're australian and things go wrong there's always one place you can turn the embassy tonight on the show the boys from bendigo are out to break all the rules so we thought we'd go with branches at the bucket theory we're told like do not go on the jet skis but now they have to face the music to be honest we're terrified of what might [Music] has all the right moves oh what's going on there it's not so common throughout asia to be so affectionate wow especially in somewhere like an embassy but what does she really want an australian resident stabbed a guard to death and there's aussie blood on the streets of phuket whoever murdering the other person shall be punished with death what i find unusual is what's somebody doing walking around with a knife asia's tourist honeypot paradise for aussies families single people there's so much to do there's bars there's beaches there's everything you could dream of heaven on earth for benny and rhys cheers the 20-something bffs are on their first ever holiday out of australia and having the time of their lives every night fireworks [Applause] pretty much doing everything their mum warned them not to do was becky with a [ __ ] yeah he didn't know it was [ __ ] we were told like do not go on the jet skis it looks so much fun we went straight on dad this one's especially for you this is for your birthday this one yeah we got told drops to drink buckets so we thought we'd go to the barn test out the bucket theory the bucket theory goes like this drink too many and disaster will follow five buckets i was in hospital [Laughter] going in the ambulance spent six hours in hospital on a drip because the buckets here because we've got ethanol in them back home we don't drink ethanol in our drinks but it was when they decided to hire scooters that things really fell apart everyone here wiped right scooters you can get as drunk as you if you're a local so when reese got pulled over and you know a few drinks he crashed he knew nothing about it he paid the car i was sober when i crashed after a big night of partying rhys slammed his scooter into a parked car reese agreed to pay for the damages to the car on the spot and they let him go but they confiscated the damaged scooter when the boys rocked up to the cop station the next morning to retrieve it they discovered they were in serious trouble and we went straight upstairs yeah like all right so you were drunk and i was like no he's like all right we're gonna charge up and you're gonna go to jail for three months and i was just like whoa with rhys facing prison wing man benny rings the embassy for help and gets through to trudy what's happening tell me what's going on i pretty much said it eight weeks jail for what happened i can see people like reese and benny coming from a mile away these are boys who were so infatuated with the idea of a holiday in thailand they had dreams of doing all this fun stuff and now it's turned really bad to be honest we're terrified with what might happen now when cultures collide fear and uncertainty is inevitable in ho chi minh city vietnam aussie mum regan has come into the consulate desperate for help so this is for venice regan and the boys passports are about to expire but that's just the tip of the iceberg so the passports are running out okay we all have to get um new passports to get our visas renewed because if we can't get our visas renewed we're gonna have to go home we means three husband seth's passport is fine and so is his visa the family bust up is a very real prospect if regan and the kids aren't allowed to stay and that would be disastrous for the past five years regan and her family have been living the dream running a mango farm and enjoying the vietnamese way of life i love the food i love the landscape i love that it's a really good place to bring up my children my children love living here if you ask them where they want to be they say they want to live in vietnam we all love it here there's a lot at stake here emotionally and financially [Music] it's mango season they've got to get a lot of things done you know this is the opportunity for them in the year to make the cashola to live for the rest of the year this is just a big hassle and it comes with a big sting if they do have to go back home they may not be allowed back in look what we'll do is we'll let canberra know that this is an important case that you need to get your um passports issued as soon as possible so you've got enough time to get your visas because the last thing that we want is that you all have to go home and get split up yeah the visa laws have recently changed in vietnam regan's all tangled up in red tape there's been a whole lot of changes they're affecting a lot of uh foreigners who are living in vietnam and reagan and family just you know one of the foreigners that have fallen into the unluckiness of the changes of visas reagan and the kids are facing a very uncertain future in phuket the boys from bendigo have struck it lucky i'm trudy treaty trudy's in town for the weekend and has agreed to meet up with reese and benny at their resort we don't see a lot of drink driving cases with foreigners so this is a case that the police are going to take seriously and there's jail time associated benny and reese are looking at a big problem trudy cut straight to the chase how did they know that you were drunk they don't they don't okay left okay okay so how have you got a drink driving charge um the witness statement yeah that's all i can go off i'm a bit concerned about them trying to tell you you've got a drink driving charge the boys have been told to report back to the police station tomorrow so where's your passport now okay best thing to do go down there but i'll hold the passport they'll also have to pay compensation for the damaged scooter but wingman benny is confused about who pays who and who gets what [Music] we're paying at the police that's what i don't know you won't have to pay out the police you just pay the bike person i'm trying to get these boys to realize how serious their situation is i don't want them to keep making light of the situation and having fun i want them to sleep and i want them to really think about their situation i want them to take it seriously we'll meet you here maybe ten to nine yep that's 15 hours away more than enough time for the boys to retest the bucket theory kangaroo is disaster inevitable two buckets [Music] coming up an aussie killing in phuket what i find unusual is what's somebody doing walking around with a knife was it murder or self-defense and bride-to-be angie just won't stop smooching she seems very aggressive oh wow we love each other i love daryn i love you yeah and we want to be together will it be third time lucky for darren in vietnam aussie mum regan is back at the consulate more stressed out than ever this time she's brought her husband along nice to see you hey i'm richard how are you nice to meet you just as richard feared the residency rules have been overhauled as harsh as it may sound it's buyer beware when it comes to foreign visas our whole situation changed we couldn't get residency visas anymore which we always have been able to but the laws have changed here so the situation here is that dad has a long staying visa in vietnam i can keep the business going but reagan and the kids are under a different visa i've got to go tomorrow to kuala lumpur and try and get a three-month tourist visa on the way back they have to leave the country get the visas renewed and come back in it's crisis after family crisis okay so i've got your new passports here they've come up so what we just need to do is get your old passports we're going to cut those up so you can richard has their new passports but because regan and the boys now have to leave the country and they don't have valid visas because their old passports were cancelled they may not even be permitted to leave it's a bureaucratic nightmare they've got new passports now but one of the laws in vietnam is that you actually need a visa in a valid passport the problem there is is that their current visa is in their old passport we do encounter issues when people try and leave the country with a passport that's cancelled that has the visa in it depends on the immigration officer they actually might not let you out of the country just be aware that they might turn you back and yeah yeah thanks for letting us know okay all right so if they do get turned back that'll trigger automatic deportation and blacklisting ending any chance regan and the boys have of returning to live in vietnam the lifestyle the mango farm the vietnamese dream could all go out the window worst case scenario is that your name goes on the list of do not allow to enter the country the family has every potential of being split up in this situation a bit worried about tomorrow there could be a possibility that we won't be able to get on our flight and if we can't then i don't know what we'll do because our visa runs out very shortly and you really need to leave tomorrow so um i guess if you guys see us again tomorrow then you know it's all gone pear-shaped [Music] it's another velvet morning in phuket but at their luxury resort recent benny's room is a mess and so is their holiday after reece was busted for drink driving oh you know what this could happen to anyone like everyone here goes down you have a few drinks and everyone rides their scooter home everyone here does it but apparently it's illegal to drink right we didn't know that's where in the police station until you're in the police station you don't know that it's beer and pizza for breakfast for the boys trudy will provide consular assistance to the boys at the cop shop we've got this what they've got no one wants party boy reese is in serious trouble after crashing his scooter into a parked car during a big night out that is true trudy's got her work cut out if she's got any chance of keeping reese out of the slammer it is literally 7 30 a.m and they are drunk so not giving me much to work with here so we'll go to the playstation we'll talk to them but when you go in you have you won't have to wear your hats and you probably take shoes off because you can't wear open-toed shoes yep it's either or have the proper shoes so yeah yeah and don't get too close to them so i can smell how drunk you are these boys don't look like they're vulnerable they look very confident but they don't understand how bad this could be oh yeah it's a little bit nerve-wracking at the moment down to the police station still like but i think it's gonna be all good they're two young boys in a foreign country on their first overseas holiday and one of them is facing jail time so i think they realize how serious it is but they don't know how to act in the face of that seriousness you can't wear your hat inside you need to show respect to the police officers race rest that's better all right according to tai custom reese needs to show remorse for the trouble he's caused yesterday he came to me okay okay um so um what the officer is asking is if you confess to all of that stuff if you admit that you hit the car you paid the money all that stuff yes you went first yes so that's the accident sorted but reece is adamant he's not guilty of drink driving okay but however i have to send him to the car that crime carries a prison sentence in thailand stay in the jail demon you understand you need to go to the court and the maximum sentence for this is three months in jail the boys are really scared right now they're scared because the police officer has told them that they're probably going to go to jail and they're scared because they haven't slept and they've been on a bender for days and days and days reece must be wishing he was back in bendigo right now ho chi minh airport vietnam aussie mango farmers regan and seth are hoping to fly out to malaysia with their two sons regan's vietnamese residency is about to expire and her only option is to leave the country and return as a tourist it's a risky strategy but all the family's hard work and dreams are riding on it if i can't get my visas and i do get deported and they don't let me back into the country um it would mean the end of us having the mango farm i don't know what we do i don't know where we'd end up i don't know what jobs we'd have i don't i've never actually had to think about this before so i don't really know what i would do i would be lost i guess a family on the verge of collapse the problem for reagan and the family is that if you overstay the visa you sort of get a bad name on the with the vietnamese authorities if your whole intention is to want to live in the country that goes against you now comes the scary bit regan's new aussie passport doesn't have her current vietnamese visa in it and trying to leave the country without a valid visa could see her deported and blacklisted just as they feared the airline official has spotted the problem yeah what we have is we already have a visa on arrival approval following the embassy's advice husband seth plays their last card a letter from the vietnamese immigration department but will it be enough it's 2 am on phuket's party strip [Music] here a night out can turn deadly in a split second in the local hospital a shocking scene is unfolding [Music] an alleged murderer and his victim side by side the man in kharki covered in blood is australian sea captain mark pendlebury and he's just stabbed the man on the left a thai security guard to death with this skull and flames knife it's a chilling moment a family grieving for their loved one [Music] and a bloodied sea captain being taken into police custody to be charged with murder [Music] coming up reece is upstairs getting his fingerprints taken the notorious thai bucket strikes again will reece wind up in jail i love you baby i know you too and darren has been bowled over by love [Music] will it be sweet dreams in oz for the lovebirds as a new day breaks in bangkok diplomat kirsten fletcher is straight on to the case of captain mark news of the killing is splashed across the local newspapers an australian resident stabbed a guard to death um after the guard asked him to stop taking photos outside a disco so we've got to be i guess ahead of the game it's a case that can really attract you know a heavy sentence and a lot of media kirsten and b need to get on top of the facts and fast he's being detained at the graco police station okay since last night captain mark is an aussie citizen and a man is innocent until proven guilty but basically i want to be able to push the button as soon as we can so that the information gets to camera in cases like this as soon as we hear word we will phone through to our colleagues in canberra just to let them know what's going on once we've got factual information in that's where we'll start to work out how we're going to approach the case you can't afford to put a foot wrong there's a lot of pressure this is the first time really in four years that an aussie guy went up and had a fight in the club and end up stabbing a thai person is dead so um this is pretty serious 59 year old captain mark is an unlikely killer he's been living in phuket for over 10 years running a successful business with wife cha-cha he even heads the local rotary club but suddenly that respectable facade has been torn apart he was going to go out on a boat trip tomorrow with a mate who's just come out of hospital you know he's going to take him out make him feel better and everything's gone pear-shaped if found guilty of murder captain mark faces a grim future in this place phuket prison it's where they send killers whoever murdering the other person shall be punished with death imprisonment for life or imprisonment from 15 years to 20 years what i find unusual is what's somebody doing walking around with a knife the alleged murder weapon rears its ugly head again in phuket bendigo boy rhys is getting id'd uh reese is upstairs getting his fingerprints taken uh he's already been fined for hitting the car and for having no licence so he's paid that fine now he's going to go to court but i caught trucks already left with all the serious crimes and reese i think he's going into police castle he'll be right famous last words trudy was right rhys got let off with a 6 000 baht fine that's 230 aussie dollars reese has to pay for the damages to the bike and to the car but he doesn't get jail time which is a really good outcome all he needs to do now is collect his passport and it seems some of the embassy's cultural considerations have rubbed off hats off to trudy the officer returns reese's precious ticket to freedom thank you all right thank you hopefully we don't see you again yup my message to reese and benny would be learn from this situation don't let this drama be in vain we've learned a lesson pretty much when you're here you follow australian laws just to buy a bond abide by them and you'll be safe too right boys it was a close call but it's now case closed the boys have got some time left in phuket so i want them to see the nice touristy things you know the temples the islands make some nice memories days later back at the embassy in bangkok kirsten's tracking the case of captain mark who's been arrested for stabbing entire security guard to death in phuket b he doesn't like us in a good way captain mark respected member of the phuket community has been reduced to this mark needs to get his injuries attended too whilst a poor thai security guard is dead mark didn't come off scot-free either and he's had a bit of a pummeling can you speak with the police station and see if he can get medical attention there can you get them to just check that he's okay and arrange b calls the police to check on mark's welfare and finds out the latest news on his case it's not looking good so uh the formal charge will be murder charge which is you know imprisoned to life rush uh in prison from 15 to 20 years the police cares officer also told me that he's going to be at the court we'll get caught tomorrow tomorrow okay tomorrow morning we need to get down there yeah as quickly as possible thank god it's not the death penalty we know that it's a serious charge but on top of that we want to make sure that mark has access to legal representation we need to get consent to speak with his family and friends in australia there's nothing worse when a story is being plastered all over the news and that's where the parents or brothers sisters you know friends are hearing it from as kirsten and b head to the airport news of captain mark's arrest is sending shock waves right across thailand and australia the story's been in the sydney morning herald you could steamroll from here really kirsten and bee have just been sent the cctv security footage from the crime scene it's revelatory background information it is very hard to make out though on the right under the neon lights a fight breaks out between two tourists and some locals captain mark is across the road just behind the red van he's on his way home from a rotary meeting he crosses the road wearing a white shirt and khaki pants and starts taking photos of the brawl [Music] a security guard in a white shirt moves him out of the way towards the red car there is some pushing and shoving more people start coming after him who knows why but captain mark is carrying a knife he's followed behind a parked car with its headlights on and it's here that he fatally stabs the tie bouncer the question is this was it murder or self-defense coming up ask his ex to send it off amorous angie wants it all it'll take longer to get here than in my time here has darren been blinded by love it's better than nothing to me [Music] in phuket consular officers kirsten and b arrived to visit alleged aussie murderer captain mark it's the day of his all-important bail hearing we don't know what happened so i'm not going to assume that he actually killed a guy intentionally so and we're not there to judge him anyway we're there to support him regardless of what he did this is the thai version of a mugshot the accused man surrounded by local cops the alleged murder weapon the knife he was carrying on the table [Music] as they head to the courthouse b and kirsten find out captain mark has been released on bail what time is it he's been released on bail it's just great for him to be able to get home he's got a business that he's got to look after and it's a lot easier for him to sort things out outside of prison it's astonishing just 48 hours after his arrest for murder captain mark has been allowed to go home look it's not a surprise because you know he's a foreigner he killed a thai man but because he hired the president of law association of phuket to be his lawyer so there's a lot of good momentum there that the judge will look at and because he's a long-term residence of phuket he's got a thai wife he got a business here so i think when you take all that into the equation didn't come as a surprise anyway hopefully he's here and hasn't been moved somewhere else the bail fee for murder half a million baht or 20 000 aussie dollars but he's still up on a murder wrap and the embassy needs to report on his welfare everything okay and um i'm resting for the next few days good idea but i want to acknowledge the support that i've got a huge amount of support from the embassy obviously we'll also um act as a i guess a conduit between here and australia so you know if if we need to get things back to your family and friends in australia we can do that for you thank you very much we did get a message from your sister who said that she loved you very much or your family well are thinking of you thank you very much mark actually looks quite calm for somebody who has been through such an ordeal and very calm for somebody um who knows that they've been responsible for the death of someone is it because he knows he's innocent or is this the calm before the storm [Music] romantic convenient for sale in bangkok love is whatever you want it to be [Music] there for darren and angie [Music] it means heartbreak unless they can find a way to be together forever i just wish there was more i could do for you and that's why they're here at the embassy because they've found a way it's called marriage big hearted darren is from country new south wales and he's fallen for unemployed thai woman angie after a three-month online relationship they met in bangkok just a week ago one thing led to another and darren now wants to marry his thai love bird hi there here you go come on callum takes the case and then it's straight into the most tumultuous thai love story you've ever heard she had a very explosive ex-partner he conjure out of where i took a million baht yeah i mean a million bars left her poor left her broke she had no way of supporting herself that's okay she didn't have any money to eat so yeah she borrowed a thousand bard off some guy and he pretty much wanted a favor in return and she said no he told the people at the hostel and she's now being blacklisted from the hostel i can't stay there i'm put in another hostel yeah and pretty much similar status male and female living in the same area in the same bunks showering together yeah and you know the men looking over yeah well the ladies are in there and i find that you know i can't deal with that i can't i can't have that love can blossom in thailand pretty quickly i guess you know in an evening i had no intentions of getting married but i can't see any other way to get angie out of thailand could you live over here for the time being no i've got no money so darren's light on and his lovebird is broke but angie thinks she's found the answer immigrate to australia what we can do i think is this marriage process is going but if i have to fly and stay with him i can go with a visiting visa it takes about 21 days and if we don't marry i have to be stuck back here for the rest of my life it's not it doesn't it doesn't marriage isn't the first step the first step is relationship so you have to start there our role is to sign documents for people now we're not there to judge why they need the document but callum's pretty perceptive in this case he's picked up what he thinks might be a bit of an imbalance of power so it doesn't hurt to have a conversation and make sure everybody's happy with the document they're signing if you're looking at you know getting married you know we can assist in part of that process but in terms of going to australia that's immigration that will look after that because you've been married previously no she hasn't oh you weren't married oh okay just a partner have you been oh you have okay right how long ago was it since you my divorce was last year forget immigration for a moment even the concept of marriage is a hot potato well i'm a bit worried because my family have pretty much said if i come back with a thai bride i'm gonna be disowned and i live in my family's home i've got no other money if i say anything and people are starting to ask questions yeah i might find myself in a bit of difficulty myself coming up yes i can see you mark is trying to come to some sort of settlement arrangement with the victim's family you want to be friendly how do you put a price on a man's life they're at the embassy love birds darren and angie are stuck between a rock and a hard place take a step back and take a few deep breaths and look at what you can do for now they want to get married and live together in australia but angie is a thai citizen we came here and we stick into our plans are you sure yes okay they're really trying to rush this through and she's pushing so much if you want something hard enough you'll find a way you know it was a little bit more natural and if it was mutual but she seems very aggressive we love each other i love darren i love you yeah and you want to be together so they're going to get hitched yeah just thinking hold back you know think it through go back to australia and think about it despite callum's words of warning the lovebirds push on [Music] and hit their first major roadblock can i see your divorce certificate yeah i don't have that at the moment so i can't witness your signature darren has been married before not once but twice will it be third time lucky i'll talk to new south wales birthdays and marriages and they might be able to send the email through time will tell yep no worries that's okay thank you for that first he needs to prove he's as free as a bird but with angie on his side wedding bills seem more likely than not they'll be back tomorrow in phuket aussie captain mark is out on bail and at home waiting to be tried for murder he was arrested by thai police for stabbing a nightclub security guard to death with this knife [Music] at the embassy kirsten's been keeping tabs on the case mark vicki hi mark it's kirsten from the embassy how are you oh fine thanks person still a bit strong on the roof but i'm okay other than that thanks i've got a meeting with the lawyers on thursday we've got to settle with the family and that means giving the family a lot of money but they're asking for five million both five million baht that's the longest which is just ridiculous over the top that's 190 000 aussie dollars in payment for the life he took are they put a value on these things but i have to pay something it seems strange to talk about just how much money a life is worth but in some countries that's how justice is done mark is trying to come to some sort of settlement arrangement with the the victim's family it happens quite often in thailand we're instead of 100 000 baht for funeral costs just so you know that i'm trying to do the right thing yeah at least the thai way but it could mean that the courts will look more favorably on him with a murder rap hanging over him mark could soon be behind bars for life you want to be friendly at the embassy love birds darren and angie are back be in australia in no time and all their kissing and canoodling is causing quite a stir oh what's going [Music] it's not so common throughout asia to be so affectionate in public especially in somewhere like an embassy darren has filled out his statutory declaration confirming he's not married and is free to marry jump down over here whatever his private concerns might be callum has agreed to certify darren's divorce certificate but he's got to get it first he's on the phone to australia trying to get hold of a copy do we keep waiting or do we try to call a game or under number well is it possible that you can just talk to his ex-wife no no you need documentary proof ask his ex to send it off she wouldn't i don't know yeah it'll take longer to get here than in my time here anyway it's better than nothing darren to me i'm just thinking without that there's no there's nothing we can do here [Music] you just gotta you just gotta take a deep breath and say and she's going to be with me all right angie's big on motivation but no divorce certificate no marriage have courage be kind okay don't worry [Music] coming up the shocking verdict on captain mark but having my habit for very long time to carry a knife for a variety of reasons uh yeah i was just hoping i'm speaking to the right at the embassy angie's push push canoodling has done the trick darren's on the phone to the office of births deaths and marriages in australia trying to get hold of these divorce papers how do i get onto the internet here come out to this computer if you like they've directed him to the internet twice divorced darren's on the brink of proving he's free to marry his thai tyre lovebird he just needs the embassy to witness his divorce records on a secure government website so darren logs into the website we see him go in we see the original and we know for sure that that's actually being finalised callum's efforts have not gone unnoticed you might did this you go guys it's good news we'll be able to uh accept this as the certificate i love playing cupid i love making people happy when they're not happy they come to see us and we turn it around for them i'm happy for them just email that and i'll print it out angie's even happier a blushing bride to be divorced papers are through and authorized that's it out of our hands for better or worse nothing will stop them now i'm just so happy it's oh god [Music] you got me yeah i got you finally yep now for the news on captain mark justice has been served thai style captain mark arrived at a private settlement with the family of the man he killed the police did not submit the case to the public prosecutor and so all murder charges have been dropped as to why he was carrying a knife in the first place this is what he had to say those are things we don't want to talk about um i think it's better not to but having my habit for a very long time to carry a knife for a variety of reasons angie got her wedding but not her happy ever after she's still in bangkok hoping for an aussie spouse visa darren is living back with his mum and dad in country new south wales as for regan and her boys oh my god they were allowed back into the country mango yeah everybody come and try some good aussie mango grown in vietnam the vietnamese dream lives on [Music] next week on the embassy alex came to train i need to get fit lose weight not quite but then he did something really crazy [Music] and they caught on [Music] you think the place is very silly stupid i don't think so how'd you manage that my beautiful girlfriend does washing the twin top loader from hell [Music] puts love on the rocks i don't think you'll be going through the airport with it and it's code red for team embassy chris put your hand up as a deadly earthquake strikes another one get out get out get out there's another one to know that your daughter has been through something like that would be pretty emotional [Music] you