petercool

It is not unique to Pattaya.

You will find many expats in many places around the country who came here because it was different to home but then complain because it is not the same as home.

I personally do not go out of my way to defend my decision to live here just as I see no reason to defend my choice of car, my choice of clothes, my job, or anything else.

I have long accepted that others have their own choices which they made in an informed manner or otherwise and it does not bother me that their opinions differ from mine.

I like a phrase of a friend - he calls these knockers "energy thieves", and I know exactly what he means.

[For 33 years I have never carried any ID unless I am driving or going to the bank. Never been asked or if I was there was no consequence.

That's good. I also have lived comfortably here - for even longer - with few requests for any passport copy.

I am simply relating what the law requires and if challenged by Police to produce one it solves issues about your visa status.

Peace.

Rintein, I beg to differ.

I have seen a situation where a farang pedestrian was hit by a Thai motorbike rider and the rider was fined (500 baht) with the farang just warned about being careful of Thai traffic.

It is practice in Thailand, if not exactly the law, that any vehicle must take care to avoid pedestrians and in an accident the vehicle would be blamed regardless of any negligence by the pedestrian. In turn, pedestrians are supposed to use pedestrian crossings but enforcement would take all the policemen in Thailand doing little else.

It is a fact of life here that visitor pedestrians act as they might at home where licenced drivers are generally better at stopping for them. Plus it is also a fact that Thai drivers are not so alert or willing to give way to pedestrians and pass less stringent driving tests.

Moral is for both pedestrians and drivers to be particularly careful in Thailand and even more so on Beach Road, Pattaya.

I remember a time when a half-kilo bag could be had for a single pack of Malboros back in the late 1960's.

But irregardless of the value, 100 kgs is a big haul and a good catch.

At least it proves that foreigners are not always always targets of Thai police - as many here are quick say.

He could have faced a very stiff penalty for drunk driving if he was in fact using the bike and, if so, probably without a helmet.

I like the last part of the article: "Khun Moragort, who was offered a financial compensation package by the two suspects, decided instead to pursue the case in the Courts as he claimed that both men needed to be taught a lesson to respect the Laws of Thailand."

Laws, what laws?

The laws protect non-Thais too. If the tables were turned in this incident, a Thai thief of a foreigners bike would be prosecuted too.

Not sure why you would think laws are non-existent or for Thais only.

My understanding is that it was a land ownership sectioning system that simply means the area was designated as a "Moo" regardless of whether there were houses on it or not and the first number of an address is the sub-section and the second number is the house land plot within that section.

Bangkok does not use that system for postal addresses however and street numbers or names are used along with house number.

All have a zip code that spans an area rather than a street.

Frankly, the "pig house" suggestion is fanciful. That would have been BaanMoo rather than MooBaan - assuming the whole idea is relevant.

PattayaParent is correct.

The Thai spelling for Moo as in MooBahn is used as a collective such as a group, as in a group of houses.

My experience is different.

While at both Pattaya and Banglamung stations I have seen great attention by Thai police officers to foreigners hurt in fights etc. up to and including ringing Sawang Boriboon personnel to administer first aid on the spot as well as instantly on the radio to get an alert out for those who may be involved - if these are not already at the station. It did not have to be gun or knife related at all. And I have witnessed very impartial and fair treatment of foreign victims of Thai offenders in a wide variety of different incidents.

Whether or not you want to believe that all Thai police are corrupt is entirely your choice.

Whatever your views are on foreign volunteers who work with Thai police is also entirely your choice.

Whether or not you want to hear what libel and other laws are in Thailand, they do exist.

Whether you read it as such, no threats were intended at all.

And when working with and under Thai officers, I am considered a "real" policeman by them.

That all of us are perfect in doing this job has never been implied.

But many are ex-police and many bring real benefits to the community.

I will now resist replying any more.

Need more info here

Where was the road block?

When date did the incident take place?

Did you make any "busts" at the checkpoint?

What was the purpose of the checkpoint?

Were motorists unduly inconvenienced?

The road block was between 2am and 4am Sunday morning at the top of Pattaya Klang.

The purpose is primarily to search for drugs and/or weapons rather than a licence or other check.

Motorists might get delayed by minutes only if not stopped for searching.

Even searching is over in minutes if nothing is found.

While nothing was found this time, many guns or very large machetes are often found and many drug users are often caught.

PS. it was posted to remind folks that offensive behaviour towards police has its dangers

To answer two questions ...

1) no other European uses the word and it was very obvious what he said, who he said it to and that it wasn't a pleasantry

2) when on duty alongside Thai police officers following their orders, all volunteers (Thai and others) are considered as policemen and "officials"

To the overweight Englishman who mouthed "wanke_r" at the volunteer police officers at a late night road check even though he was driving his car through unstopped, I refer him to the following section of the Thai Penal Code ...

"Section 136 Whoever, insulting the official doing the act according to the function or having done the act according to the function, shall be imprisoned not out of one year or fined not out of two thousand Baht, or both."(sic)

It is not an offence to think what you like about police, but it pays to be careful what you say. Or write for that matter.

Robbed or robed ? The latter is more newsworthy.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist .....

The point being, that once registered, any further crimes like drugging, mugging etc, could have background for police and mug shots for victims to look at.

One of the reasons is that their names will be registered for any future issues.

Repeat fines may be higher.

There are at least 4 CCTV cameras on Beach Road that I know of.

Sukhumvit Road has an 80km speed limit coming into town both ways but then should have signs for built up city areas where speed limit is, I think, 60 khm.

Within the Pattaya forum threads there is one that is 22 pages long, at last count. dealing with jet ski issues.

Why does every topic need a a reference to the jet-skis problem ?

There is a very long thread on that if you want to add something useful.

And you know this, how ?

You need to get the Thai news and not just the local English news.

There are two foreign volunteer police groups - the Foreign Tourist Police Assistants and the Foreign Police Volunteers. Those are often seen as the same but are not. The latter operates out of the Police stations and the former concentrate on patrolling Walking Street. The only time they overlap is when the US Navy is in town and both can be seen in Walking Street.

And your evidence for that is ? .... Beware of Thai libel laws.

In Thailand, even if something is true it can be considered as libelous.

After 45 years in Thailand I have no where else to go and so I will die here.

LIving in Pattaya for the last 3+ years might have hastened that end ....