ScouseTommy

Syardman I actually agree with you, looking at the current state of affairs in the west and the U.S. in particular the RTP are definitely not all bad. My complaint was solely to do with the actual topic and the targeted stop and search of farang in Taxi's of a night at the exclusion of all others.

Cheers

not diected at you

sysardman

directed at the poster who put BS next to what i'd written

For a start I have been polite I have not sworn at you for having a particular point of view and I dont expect you to do it to me. I think it is crystal clear what I am complaining about I have said it in 3 replies to you, Im not going to take up space by multi-quoting it back to you. TBH if you want to blindly support all RTP activity then feel free I dont really care. I have a point of view gained through experience. My experiences are not unique, not even uncommon. I think I have stated what my issues are and also given a balanced point of view. I am NOT against drug suppression or stop and search. However I am never going to convince someone like you, so I wont try!!

I goto Thai nightclubs and have been forced to p*ss in a cup a bit humiliatingbut could hardly complain as they targeted everyone. This is very different to the 'selective policing' you were championing earlier and completely besides the point mate!

I am used to it, sadly enough

sorry i hate using multi quote so- necronx99

There are desks within SO13 the Police counter terrorist group in the UK who solely concentrate on Islamist extremisim. There are also other desks for other types e.g. domestic etc. However they sift through Intell and conduct investigations. They do not EVER go out on the streets with a remit to stop Muslims and search them. I bet every Pound you are worth, that this is fact. I know because I have worked closely with them in the past! British police have to have 'legal' grounds for suspicion when they stop you. They have to tell you exactly why they stopped you and the grounds they are using. When they are finished they have to give you a written form explaining it all as well. Am sure there have been very bad stops done in the UK, however these would be deemed illegal. It is common place for evidence and even whole cases to be thrown out of court because of bad stop and search.

I dont want to seem like I am against being stopped and searched. I have nothing to hide and I am not. However I am against being stopped time and again simply because I am farang. I am against 'any' police force targeting one ethnicity or group over all the others. I am against Users being targeted over the suppliers. I am against blatantly ignoring your own ethnicities penchance for drug use in order to target another. Anyone who doesnt believe this is happening can observe tonight or tomorrow on Sukhumvit probably somewhere between Ekkamai and Asok.

The stop and search is legal. However the fact they ignore taxi's full of Thai clubbers on their way to Whip and Narz, and all pilled up; In order to focus on farangs, tells its own story. Furthermore when they search and check the minute crevices on the inside of your wallet looking for the merest trace of powder it is again obvious what they are doing.

Conducting the search efficiently and completely?

Selective policing is not racism, it's manpower management. if a particular group of officers is tasked with deterring tourists using drugs that is what they do. There are other larger, less polite groups tasked with deterring drug use amongst nationals and they usually do it in much more invasive way.

I am not sure if this is true or not, however I have been told by a Thai friend a lot of these search points are solely tasked with finding driving offences, drink driving speeding etc? Selective policing is not racist? OK so we know in the U.K. the major terrorist threat is from islamist extremists is it ok if they only stop muslims? In the Borough of Hackney in London over 90% of crime is done by Young black or turkish males, is it ok to just stop and search these ethnicities? I ask because I know for a fact this has been deemed racist in the U.K. (rightly or wrongly). Lastly when I am in a shirt and tie and have been at a friends teaching his GF English then a beer and food, then a taxi home am I in some high risk drug user group? The vast majority of drug users in Thailand are Thai. If they are tasked with drug suppression/detection then they should target all ethnicities particularly the biggest user group. However they do not. They blatantly stop farang and allow anyone else to continue unmolested. Some cynics may say that this is due to the (misconception) that all farang will have money to pay big fine!!

Next efficiently and completely sorry but just stopped laughing at that comment. Sometimes (not all the time) these stops border on intimidation. I was stood by the restaurant next to Ekkamai police station. Two police officers drove past then did a U-Turn and stopped and searched me. They asked what I was doing and where was I going. I explained into the restaurant behind me and waiting for my girlfriend to get off the BTS. They were blunt and rude despite my excessive politeness (in Thai). The first search (unsurprisingly) turned up nothing. The younger officer then (quite roughly and with a certain amount of frustration) began to search me again until his older partner told him in thai to stop. I believe he told him to stop because by now the staff had come to watch. They halted a bit abruptly and said two words "you go" and pointed off up sukhumvit. I politely wai'd them and being disinclined to follow there directions went into the restaurant and safety. This was hugely embarrassing, a huge loss of face and a complete fishing expedition. The staff were excellent asking me if I was ok, and telling me (in thai) the police are bad and to stay away from them. I am all for law and order and the use of stop and search with 'REASONABLE' grounds. This example and many other stops here are more intimidation the reasonable. Do you still think these upstanding officers were simply doing their jobs efficiently, because this example is one of a multitude on here. Certainly not a rare occurence.

I take it they were wearing night vision binoculars to single out approaching taxis with foreigners.

Actually 'no' they slow all traffic and blatantly shine a large Maglite style torch into the taxi to check if your farang.

The stop and search is legal. However the fact they ignore taxi's full of Thai clubbers on their way to Whip and Narz, and all pilled up; In order to focus on farangs, tells its own story. Furthermore when they search and check the minute crevices on the inside of your wallet looking for the merest trace of powder it is again obvious what they are doing. My advice to you in future is do as I do. as soon as you get out, empty all your pockets and put your things on the back of the taxi. Give a smile and a sawatdi Khrap. Keep your eyes on what they are searching at all times, do not get distracted. Answer there questions politely and dont lie. If your going to soi cowboy dont be tempted to say somewhere else, they ask the taxi driver!. The combination of this behaviour lets them know 1. your not a tourist, 2. you have been stopped before and you know the score, 3. You are not gonna let anything get 'accidently dropped' in to your wallet, 4. You are a polite honest farang.

It winds me up the amount of times my taxi gets stopped for no other reason than I am a farang. The best way to deal with it is as above. TBH I am usually, out searched and back in the taxi and away inside 2-3 minutes maximum. Being confrontational with the Thai police is not to be recommended!!

or jobsdb.com lots of teaching positions on there!!

Easily on a par with the British fish and chip place in soi Rambuttri by Kao san. Only ever had one bad meal here and that was around songkran, so i dont judge to harshly!

My take on all these bans wherever in the world they may be is simply that I think it is OK to say that on this or that day, people of a particular religion should not do particular things, but what the hell does it have to do with the rest of us?

If one has a belief that drinking alcohol is the devils work (or for whatever other reason), thats great...you are welcome to have that belief, but it is wrong to then force that belief on others...

........but of course the PC brigade would be horrified that we did not respect others beliefs by following what they demand....

Although I agree I dont like having others beliefs shoved down my throat, really, what is the big deal!! We live in a Buddhist country and these are the laws. We are all aware of them and the dates these holidays fall on. There is no excuse to flout the laws. Just stock up in advance and have a bar b cue or something along those lines. Even better give your liver a break for a couple of days! Is it REALLY that hard or that big of a deal? If it really is such a problem for some people then those people really should be looking at alcoholics anonymous Personally my liver is again fully functional after a few days off and I will be out celebrating tonight. As I said....... no big deal!

Out of curiosity where would you say the best sunday brunch is? I have done a few but havent been for a while (due to hangovers). Would be looking at the 500-900 baht range with more traditional sunday dinners and a quality carvery.

Thanks

Over 25 confirmed cases at my school in BKK and we are still open!!

I am working at an International school, but as usual The Nation gets it only half right. The main Issue is Thai is the third language in many International schools. There is an emphasis on English, but then quite often you have Chinese, with Thai a poor third.

Sorry guys stop name calling,to early for shit like that.Back to the what happend.What is the problem with drug check in a area that the police suspect there are drugs? I would piss in a cup with i smile. If people doing drugs then good the get arrested, put them in jail and then out of the country.I realy dont se this as a rasist act.If its a area have is a lot of foreigner and the suspect drugs, its logic that they are the one that get checked.And 16 of them was tested positive?wow i would say for once the police did a great job to get some shit head drug users.

Sorry mate I disagree with you. I dont take drugs at all. I have been sat in a bar with mixed Thai and Farang who were all quite clearly off their nuts on one thing or another and the police chose to test me and one other guy. Probably due to the fact I have shaved hair and Tattoo's and so did he. They were (stupidly) upset when I came back negative, and were extremely abrupt and rude. Expecting some mmmm..... trouble I left and went home. I am fed up with double standards. As for shit head drug users.... 1 they are stupid for hanging around soi 3, where the Police are known to jump on farang, 2 True they cant complain IF they are guilty - however the sheer amount of alleged fit up's and people being driven off to car parks to pay hefty on the spot 'fines' must surely scare you. Who's to say you wont be next??

Thats not the case at all. I do this regularly without any problem. However My .co.uk paypal account was useless and I had to set up another abd go through all the verification stuff first!

Mulligans (the new Irish pub) in Sukhumvit soi 11 by bed supper club. I know the manager and it is open 24hrs with specials on for the footie!

If you want a good deal try the adidas factory outlet store in Piyarom close to udomsuk BTS!

I have a friend who is Thai, but educated in the U.K. and speaks perfect English. He may be able to help you. IM me for details.

Slightly expensive but i highly recommend the Londoner, their roast was really good. Bullys do a good one as well. Jools in soi 4 do a top roast dinner and so do the black swan in asok!

Ooops post removed! O.K. without intentionally mis-spelling his name I agree with what you said H90, however it would be a nice start, and a move away from corruption and general apathy if they enforced the laws of the land. This would make it harder for people who dont like PTP (myself included), to criticise them. This has to start with Thaksin.

Who knows what happened! democrats say this, PTP say that.....blah blah blah. However Ignoring terrorists never gets you anywhere. Take the IRA. When we ignored them they bombed us, we shot them. We sat down and talked and now they are a political party. No one is getting blown up. (yes I know a very simplified statement). Someone needs to talk, mediate. For the sake of the people in the south i dont really care who it is, even Toxsin. As long as some sort of peace can be brokered.