You are right but you are bringing your western point of view and we were raised with those dogmas in our head. There are many grey areas in those systems. But best not discuss it here.
You may be right but you may be wrong. You are making an interpretation, his message is not clear and until he confirms that he applied from Thailand you are just farting in the air like a good pot head.
The Thai government stamps the passport and collect your fingerprints when you leave the country. How can a guy cheat the system....You will also understand that this country is not run like our western country. What seems illegal to you does not seem illegal to them.
I understand your frustration. This is however typical immigration process.
When I applied for my permanent residency in Canada, I made one tiny mistake in spelling and my entire application got rejected after being in the system for months. It took me another 1.5 years to be successful as the program changed after I got rejected.
you can not do freelance work with a soft power DTV. Only a few visas allow you to work as remote worker in Thailand such as LTR. But this is not enforced.