Shaksey

I've been stopped at Asoke junction in taxi's before too, I was in cabs going through there nearly every day for 6 months last year and never had to get out the car. Same questions each time - Where are you from, why are you in Bangkok, where are you staying, and where are you going now? After answering each time I was sent on my way and officer was polite and friendly each time to myself and drivers. This was late afternoon/early evening fwiw, never been stopped in cab late at night, only when on foot.

Going to SE Asia with potential mental health issues sounds like a bad idea, people in weak/poor states of mind get eaten up in SE Asia very often. You need to be on your A-Game for a move like this, especially with limited resources and no firm plans. 

My advice is to try the Oz working/holiday visa thing while you're still young enough for it. 

Oh, and FWIW, Thonglor police at Asoke don't make you take a pee test on the street anymore. They will initially take you to the Asoke junction police box/mini station.

I think one way to avoid a pee test that I have actually tried and it worked is to suggest it and offer to do it before they ask you to. Then if you were to pass it's all a bit of a face loss for them and it puts you on the front foot. Who's going to suggest/ask to do a pee test if they've been taking drugs? I suppose there is a risk they will think you're playing the reverse psychology game and make you do it anyway. I did this when stopped and pocket/bag searched on Soi16 outside Exchange Tower a few months back and they let me go on my way.

40 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

An oldie but a goldie....  of course, you have to be in the market for buying dope to get caught out by this one. 

 

I imagine it has happened to someone at some point... but this is different from saying 'it happens'...  or 'these things happen' which implies a greater frequency and that we are at a far greater risk than we imagine. 

 

Are we really at risk of having drugs planted on us or having our urine samples tampered with on the streets of Bangkok?

 

I for one still believe the police are just not interested in catching honest folk, but they won't blink at extorting someone who has failed a test. 

You are more at risk of peeing a false positive due to other completely legal things you have consumed.

20 minutes ago, timendres said:

The event happened in a well known central Bangkok police station. The person was collected on a sidewalk, and escorted to the station for the testing. That phase of the operation appeared to have been well coordinated. At the station, they were faced by eight police sitting around the table to intimidate them. The rigging could only have been done in one way - the bottle that was used to collect the sample must have been tainted. I say this because the person being tested had never used any form of ice (or it's derivatives) in their life, the test kit was new and sealed (the police made a big show of this fact), and the test showed positive for ice. Simply not possible. The police then suggested that a payment of 30,000 baht could "make it go away". By repeatedly, but politely, insisting on a blood test at the hospital, the police reluctantly let him go, but only after a further 2 hours of pressure to "just pay the fine".

 

From what I witnessed, I would never pee into a sample bottle. I would insist on peeing directly onto the test strip, and I would insist it come from a sealed package from the manufacturer. Even then, I would first request a blood test at a reputable hospital. If this was refused and a pee test required, which then showed positive, I would then demand the blood test.

When I was at the station I refused to do the pee test on their crappy basic kit for a couple of hours. There was no intimidation, no hard pressure. They just kept politely asking me to take the test. Eventually I realised I was not going anywhere until I did this and so agreed. This was all in their air conditioned squad room, it was all very pleasant atmosphere really.

You can't pee directly onto the test strip. A very small amount is transferred onto the strip with a pipette. I was escorted to the head and an officer let me pee about 20-30ml into a test bottle from a sealed package while I was standing at urinal while he observed but at a respectful distance. I carried the bottle back, it could not have been tampered with at any time.

All packages were sealed in my experience and the procedure explained well in English.

Plenty of reasons why you could pee a false positive for ice. Lots of over the counter and everyday products you may consume can make you do this, especially with the very basic test the Thai police use.

If you failed and didn't want to pay up then if you wanted hospital or blood tests then you would be put in the system. You'd get exonerated eventually but you would be spending a few days in the cells before this happened. If you have the time and nothing else to do or have no money then this is an option if you really are clean. For most people paying up and walking away is the better option.

4 minutes ago, buick said:

first and last points, i fully agree with (i've read ibuprofen can give a false read but forget which drug).

 

but the middle commentary, are you sure this info came from people getting caught at this particular checkpoint ?  not all operate the same way.  i've been on the beer drinking circuit around asoke/sukhumvit for quite awhile and during the bar talk, a 50,000thb number is tossed around frequently (for this area/checkpoint).   who knows, maybe all the guys are telling the same story over and over !!!!  not trying to say you are wrong, just wondering if we are talking apples to apples (or checkpoint to checkpoint !!).

Yes, same checkpoint, Thonglor police.

Someone also mentioned the cheapness/poor quality of the tests and I fully agree with this. I have been stopped at Asoke, refused to do pee test there and went back to Thonglor station. Exactly the same cheap piece of crap pee test kit was the only thing on offer. I passed and it was handshakes all round and I left obviously without paying anything. They wouldn't discuss a price until I had taken the test and so as I passed i didn't find out. However, it means i know exactly the procedure for this kind of thing and when i talk to people or read stories about it i can tell which ones are truthful sounding and which are la la. The OP's is leaning more towards the second option btw. Prices i mentioned are from people/stories that sounded truthful with the right details and procedures the same as i experienced.

Unfortunately in these circumstances the law and your rights are what the police present with you say they are.

If OP paid 40,000b then for this type of offence he paid about 4x more than he needed to or could likely have got the "fine" down to. 10,000 is the usual "fine" for this type of issue and 20,000 for the harder stuff. They expect you to negotiate. This info is from knowing people who have had the same sort of experience and from anecdotal similar reports from the web over the last couple of years. I've never heard of anyone having to pay anywhere near 40,000 before.

For all those saying don't do this type of thing then have a look at how many other normal things you may consume will give a false positive. If you've had a headache of muscle pains for example and taken Ibuprofen....you will very likely test positive on these basic tests the same as the OP did. Plenty of other over the counter products will make you test positive for meth too btw.

Just got back from Saigon myself after not having been for about two years. The pace of development is indeed astonishing. It's now liveable from a Western Expat perspective imo but has lost most of its charm.

Peter Jaggs was written a couple of good books about this.

I can stay in Thailand for 3-4 months at a time but that's it. There just isn't the wide enough range of social, cultural, sporting and other activities/attractions that I enjoy and can easily find in the UK.

I think the place you put that you're staying helps too. Tourists generally stay in hotels. If you're address on the TM6 is a cheap condo down a sub soi off Sukhumvit soi hundred and whatever then you don't look so much like a tourist.

I extended my SETV at Chaeng Wattana today as usual with no issues. For info - British Passport, SETV issued London, Long history of TH visas/stays. Arrived 08:15, walked out at 09:45 and that was being chilled/not rushing. Did not see anyone doing the same have any issues other than usual inappropriate dress or not having copies, TM7 etc prepared.

Seems no pattern. My usual flight is BA9 which now gets in at about 09:30ish, i'm always in Biz so have Pri Pass but at this time seldom have to use it.

What I do notice when it isn't busy is that with a good history of TH travel the immigration officers take more time to ask questions and be more thorough. BUT at the same time they seem to be more friendly and polite too.

I flew a friend over here to visit me early Feb and put her on EVA Prem Eco but gave her a Pri Lane Pass to use, her flight got in at 4pm-ish and she said the normal immigration channels were super busy but Pri Lane she stepped up with no queue.

I experienced the same when I came in Jan 2nd on Cathay at around 6pm and normal lines were not too busy but Pri Lane was empty.

Bangkok. Stay here 3-4 months a year to get away from the European winter.

So where are the teargas zones? The story on the linked to site does not say.

Is "Oh My Cod!" still open in the KSR area? I was considering heading that way this weekend as i have to fly down S. on Monday

No, had to close.

From their website -

Those of you local to Bangkok know there was a fire in the kitchen and this damaged a large number of our kitchen equipment pieces as well as damanged to the two floors of the hotel directly above us. Due to this and the hotel owners believing that the fire was a cause of negligence they revoked the lease that was currently in place as well as contacting the police in hopes they could somehow squeeze some extra money out of the situation.

So with a heavy heart and more than the usual dose of disgust at the way things seem to go in Thailand for non Thai people we decided the only thing we could do was lock the doors put the equipment in stoage and hope for the best moving forward.

To all the great employees that are affected by this closing we wish you all the best and are sorry we can't continue to operate and help provide you with a living.

Good luck one and all and to the hotel owners we say a hearty <deleted>

I went in there last night -

Chips - Awful. More like fries.

Cornish Pasty - Near inedible. Frozen/Microwaved blob of tasteless gunk.

"Time is money"

No, you can always make more money.

The positive responses here are very heartening and good to see. Hope the OP can turn things around.

Been following this with interest.

30-40 Million THB missing, claimed taken by wife.

Wife claims he attacked her before.

Was valuable amulet dealer.

Went to high ranking police officer to seek protection. Or not. Maybe just a social call! Police officer was amulet dealer too.

Was drug user.

We will never, EVER find out the truth behind this one but I am keen to see what they spin the "truth" as....

People often use 'Issan' synonymously with 'lower class'. There are plenty of upper class in Issan. And if you are earning 200k in Thailand, then in my book, you are upper class.

You don't change class in any hierarchical society. You are what you are, you're born into it and remain that class. If you're lower class and strike it rich then you're still lower class but rich and everyone else of any higher class will see that too.

Disgusted but not surprised.

Aren't the Tiger lot in Phuket still trying to get their case for their fire/deaths thrown out too?

I was in a Gold shop in Yaowarat today and a Thai-Chinese guy was buying a HUGE twisted rope chain. It hung to his stomach when he was trying it on and was at least 10mm thick. 20Baht at least I'd guesstimate. He didn't look short of a few bob but wonder where or when he'd ever wear such a thing. It was certainly a custom piece so must be for a specific purpose.