Serpico

Plenty of rigged meters these days.

I was in a taxi the other day and watched the meter clicking up way too fast. When I mention this, it stopped.

Must be some device the driver has in his hand to jump the meter up.

For the most part the เทศกิจ (pronounced; thaed-sa-gid) which is the metropolitan code enforcement agency for cleanliness in Bangkok does target foreigners over thais. The moral of this story is; DON'T FRICKIN' LITTER YOU MORON. They are most definitely NOT police as they neither carry guns nor handcuffs, so they're just what it says on their sleeves; “municipal code enforcers”.

The เทศกิจ have a booth at the mouth of my soi and for the most part are good guys just doing a job. It's certainly not a scam, and neither do they "line their pockets" as a previous poster alluded to. I routinely drink with them after their shift is over and they certainly don’t seem to be rolling in frickin’ baht. They give receipts, track the fines paid, as well as the nationalities of the offenders in their log book at their little booth. I’ve sat with them many times watching them bring in foreigners who’ve they apprehended littering. I don't see anything wrong with them using their walkie-talkies to watch, follow, and fine foreigners who litter. Deal with it.

I hate whiners who break the law and then cry about the injustice of it all. Of course the fine for thais littering is cheaper; few if any thais have 2000 baht on them, while almost all tourists do. The sign a previous poster mentions does say foreigners are subjected to a maximum fine of 2000baht, and the thai sign says that effective next year thais will receive a minimum fine of 100 baht. This is a new and recently passed piece of the “keep Bangkok beautiful” legislation. It is also true that you can expect a bigger fine if you throw your cigarette butt into the sewer or drain, and they have a laminated card at their booth that outlines this in horrendously worded engrish.

Please dear reader; lest you think I am one of the color-coordinated shirt and matching snazzy rubber bracelet wearing "wanna-b-thai" foreign sock-puppets living in this pissant shit-hole country who says if you don’t like it leave, think again.

You would be hard pressed indeed to find someone who is more a card carrying member of the thai bashing faction on this forum than myself. With that being said, if you do actually break the law, however minor an infraction, what gives you the right as a foreigner to get a free pass? Hmmm, the mind wobbles at the injustice of it all.

That Bangkok Scam site does show some of the more prevalent scams that occur to tourists but hey, that happens to tourists the world over in tourist areas, so really no different than any country. It is my experience that stupidity knows no country borders or nationalities, and as Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Go save the pangolins, or something. ..

I live in Phuket and I think it's about time that the Thai government has begun to enforce littering laws. In Phuket, it's more often the locals that openly throw their trash on the beaches, along the streets, vacant lots, etc. whereas foreigners seem to be more aware of the fact that garbage doesn't belong on the beach, etc. Perhaps this is do to better enforcement of anti-littering laws in other countries.

The only problem that I have is that the law should be enforced indiscriminately without prejudice. Foreigners shouldn't be singled out and forced to pay fines far in excess of what a Thai would pay. This type of selective law enforcement does fit my definition of a scam.

These cops are exploiting the littering law and targeting visitors to the land of scams.

Thats what they are up to.

Does anyone here actually believe these people care about the environment or their countries tourism business?

It's all about scamming foreigners.

Read the below info on the Bangkok Pundit Blog.

Now you know.

Never buy sight unseen in Thailand.

You want to walk in, feel it, smell it, listen to it, talk with the neighbors, board of directors, read the balance sheet and meeting minutes, have it inspected etc....

I'd rent in a building for a year then look to purchase if all is well.

Too many scams to trust anybody.

Quotes from the Asian Legal Resource Center:

" Following the 11th session of the Human Rights Council the Government of Thailand objected to the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) over it having characterized the Royal Thai Police as the top violator of human rights in that country. "

"In the most famous human rights case in Thailand of the last decade, the forced abduction, disappearance and presumed murder of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, only one police officer out of five accused was sentenced to a mere three years’ imprisonment. The court found that it was state officers who committed the offence but that there was insufficient evidence to convict the other four. While on bail awaiting appeal, the guilty officer was reportedly killed in an accident; however, his body has not been recovered and the wife of the victim has petitioned the authorities that she believes that he faked his death."

"The ALRC has documented cases of 28 persons whom police at a single police station in Kalasin Province are alleged to have abducted and killed. It has reason to believe that the number is far higher and that the police killers in the region are not confined to this station."

I hired them and was satisfied with the service.

This Mercedes driving Policeman owns a 12 million bt condo in our building.

He refuses to pay the maintenance fees. His overdue bill is 300,000 bt.

He refused to respond to registered mail and a legal notice so we shut off his water supply.

Now he is attempting to extort a another resident to pay off his unpaid balance.

He being abusive and threatening to the building staff too.

We checked him out and discovered he owes another acquaintance 8 million bt.

A Thai Policeman (drives a new Mercedes) is extorting my neighbor for 300,000 bt.

Who can we call?

Since half the tourists abandoned Thailand, the tourist mafia is ramping up their efforts.

Shoot first, ask later.

CSBC Law.

Sathorn Rd. at Nawatiwat Rd.

In fact, if you have a mobile cart and push it around, you aren't breaking any laws and the Thesakij cannot exort money from you. You have to pay Thesakij for a pitch on the sidewalk. A record is kept of who is entitled to use which site, which are often even marked out with painted lines. A guy in plain clothes comes to collect the tea money, usually at night. How much is paid depends on the location, but typically a reasonable site on Sukhumvit 1.2m (one table width) wide is 500 baht a month. There are usually two shifts. The daytime vendors who pack up around 9 p.m. and another bunch after that, doubling the take. No receipts are given or asked for. Other places in Bangkok vary - a pitch at the bottom of a skytrain steps outside a large store may be several thousand baht a month. If you aren't selling anything illegal, no hassle from the police.

Pitches on the shop side of the sidewalk are deemed to belong to the shop owner. Anyone wishing to have one of those places usually has to rent the whole frontage and the price is several thousand baht upwards. As the shops open in the daytime, the pitch is usually not available until after 10 pm. You also need to buy electricity from the shop owners, typically 500 baht a month per lamp. The street beer bars have to pay so many people they don't make much money and most of them don't survive long. In fact in recent years, very few street traders are making real money. There are so few customers these days, and it gets worse every year. The only people who can still make a good living are those selling DVD's and fake watches etc.

Average markup of garments on the street is around 50-70%. Most sales are to Thais, not foreigners.

If they sell porn or copyright material, they pay extra.

I know a lady that sells fake Rolexes and pays them 3,000 a month.

I also notice these guys help themselves to the vendors food and goods.

This guy has been at the Erawan Shrine for years scamming tourists.

Saw him on a Police Motorbike recently.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21533131@N06/3655794935/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21533131@N06/...57616786296908/

The "litter" cops are all over Bangkok now, lurking in the shadows and stalking every foreigner that smokes.

Nice money maker.

These same cops are running all the disfigured beggars and renting the footpaths to the porn & copyright violator vendors.

Yep, an old story resuscitated. I live near MBK and go there on average once a week, and have never been accosted in that vicinity by police or by fake police, nor do I know anyone who has.

I thought it was the same old angry litterer story. But then I came upon their fishing expedition.

These clowns are camped below the SIAM BTS. They even have a little table set up, with posters about littering. Kind of an "informational picket", so to speak.

Wander around the Siam Square side of the BTS, at the bottom of the stairs. You'll see them. They act like the typical traffic trap, except these guys go after pedestrians.

Yes, I noticed they hang out with the gem scammers when not fleecing a tourists.

Just go to the Siam BTS Station and look over the railing.

There they are, Thailand finest, scamming tourists and talking with the professional tourist scammers.

picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57618075380996/

Police scamming tourists are getting more aggressive since arrivals are down.

"For the last 15 years I have been a very regular visitor to Thailand. My hobby is wildlife photography and the Kingdom has so much to offer.

I like to think that I am fairly streetwise, but even for a seasoned traveller it is still easy to get taken in.

On my last visit ,a few weeks ago, I was doing some last minute shopping in MBK (Bangkok). After spending quite some time walking around the centre, I decided to make my way back to my apartment, stopping to collect a take out ice coffee from one of the well known franchise on the ground floor.

Knowing that I would not be allowed to take the drink onto the BTS, I decided to sit on the steps outside the centre, sip my drink and watch the world go by for 10 minutes or so.

Having almost finished my drink, I got up and had just started to walk in the direction of the BTS, looking for a rubbish bin, when a voice from behind me said “Excuse me sir”. I turned around to see a man in paramilitary type uniform. Not a uniform that I immediately recognised.

He informed me in broken English that he was a policemen, and that he had seen me stub out my cigarette and drop it on the floor. He told me that I had committed a serious offence and that I would have to pay a fine.

I politely informed him that he must be mistaken. He asked why. I told him that I’ve never smoked in my life. He said that he had seen me and that he was not blind. He then produced a cigarette stub from his pocket and told me this was the evidence. He then demanded I hand over 2000 Baht.

I tried to reason with him, I even offered to turn out my pockets to prove that I neither had any cigarettes on me or matches/lighter. He was having none of it. “You break the law, you have to pay. You not pay, you go to prison for long time”.

By now he had taken a pad from his back pocket and began writing on it. He then gave me a piece of paper from the pad and again demanded that I hand over 2000 baht. The document he gave me was in Thai, part was pre-printed with gaps that he had written something in Thai – I confess, I am not able to read Thai.

I realised that this was some sort of scam. The guy was clearly after ‘tea’ money. But as I did not know if he was a real policeman or not, I had no idea how I was going to get out of this situation without creating a scene, and possibly being arrested if he was a real policeman .

I protested that I just been shopping in the centre and that I did not have that sort of money on me. Like a previous contributor to this blog, I always have two wallets on me. I took out my dummy one and showed him that I only had about 200 Baht, enough money to get a taxis and a meal that evening.

He said you have card, you go to ATM get money. He then pointed in the direction of one of the nearby banks. What he had actually seen in the dummy wallet was an expired frequent flyer card. I have to give this guy 10 out of 10 for being persistent.

I agreed to go to the bank and get some money, and started to walk in the direction of the nearest bank accompanied closely by this uniformed guy. My thought was that I would fake a transaction, and tell him that I had no money left in my account and take it from there.

When we got to the doorof the bank, he said I wait here you get money and bring back to me. As I entered the bank I noticed that he had turned around and was facing the opposite direction – not looking inside the bank.

I was in luck. I had been to this bank before to change currency, and I knew that there were two entrances, one from the road where I had just entered, and a second from inside MBK. So what did I do, I just kept walking out of the second entrance into MBK and up the nearby escalator to the first floor.

I have to admit, my heart was in overdrive. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was following. As I walked across that road bridge to the Siam Centre I could see him still outside the bank, pacing up and down.

It took some time (about 5 minutes or more) before he realised that something was wrong. He opened the bank door, peered in. He obviously realised then that there was a second entrance and that I had dissapeared. I would love to have been a fly on the wall to hear what he said. I can only imagine the flood of Thai expletives. But his body language said it all.

As he walked back up the road he took out the pad again from his back pocket and tore a sheet of paper from it. He screwed the sheet of paper up, and guess what. He throw it on the floor.

I’m now a bit older, I have a few more grey hairs, but I am certainly a bit wiser."

Photo evidence of littering scam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57617714418287/

.

Belguardo(Italian) is an upscale restaurant on the ground floor of Siam Paragon. Open 11:00am-11:pm. You can take a look at their website: www.belguardo.com

Yes.

This place is superb.

Chesa on Sukhumvit Soi 20. Located in an old house. Nice atmosphere. Very good service.

Run by 2 Swiss guys.

Casual European place frequented by local food lovers.

The cops want to rent the footpaths to the vendor/bars so they close down legit businesses at 2am.

Typical.

It's all about cops and money.

Scumbags.

Landlords don't need to put up with this nonsense.

Try being responsible and things will be better.

Thailand Jumped The Shark, New Mandala and the excellent Bangkok Pundit are way more informative than The Nation when it comes to anything political in Thailand. The Nation has been caught out many times rewriting history to suit it's master's views.

Exactly.

If you rely on The Nation or Bangkok Post, you are getting bad info put out by the Junta.

2 Thai sisters selling the same house to the same guy 2 times. That's a good one.

Make sure you can escape a fire before padlocking those bars.

Yes I love it!

He is innocent!

It just all happen to happen, the rest is a huge conspiracy against him!

Yes, because people do not like his style, his wealth his incredible honest mistakes..

The land in the very CENTER of Bangkok, Radjadapisek,

fell in his wifes lap, accidentally, it is worth much more then being paid for purely by accident,

and it's position too, there simply was only 3 other bidders, understandable, he as the PM did not know

that it was his wife who purchased the land, and that it was her name on the documents HE signed!

The victims of Tak Bai, they choked themselves to death,

the nearly 3000 dead people ran into the bullets of other"crime syndicates",

the law about NOT paying taxes on big share sales out of the

country needed to be amended for the good of all!

Just accidentally he made some giant profits, not paying taxes on the Temasek deal -

all accidentally - the opposition, the "dictators" simply envy his wealth,

which his "little daughter" accumulated in a rather short time frame, er with the speed of light,

just finished college, well she is ab blessed one, because everything she touches

turnes to gold... simple magic touch !

That's all, and for that the "bad, dark and evil forces" envy him, nay his whole family - they are all innocent,

he had to flee because he still has to do so much good for the country and these forces won't let him do it!

Yes, it's so sad, the entire country could by now be suvannabhum indeed, not only the airport's name,

where also evil forces caused the scan, parking house scandal and the broken, poor quality runways....

Nope, he is a truly honest and good man, but people are biased against his "golden touch"...

all plain envy...and a giant conspiracy by the elite of this country - yep... it's all against his "magic golden touch"

they won't let him do more good, make poverty disappear and make every poor soul a shareholder of his amassed

fortunes, from projectionist to telecommunications magnate with the speed of light.... he is simply a "lucky man"!

Wow. You really gobble up the propaganda served up in The Nation eh?

TJTS (thailandjumpedtheshark ) Blog on Thaksins involvement on the land deal.

The Nation's Dishonest Editorial on the Ratchadapisek Case

The Nation

excerpt:

The Supreme Court has ruled that Thaksin broke the law by giving his wife official consent to buy state-owned land in Ratchadaphisek.

While the ruling and other incidents involving Thaksin have divided Thailand more than anything in history, one thing is clear: Law was violated in the acquisition of the land and finding Thaksin guilty for it is purely legal, not political.

Chalerm was mixing things up to try and reinforce the blurred picture that Thaksin is trying to present to the world that what happened to him was "political", not legal. Of course, the coup was a big setback for democracy. But irrespective of the coup that deposed him, Thaksin violated the law and needs to be imprisoned. Everything is there in the letter of the law.

I don't know why The Nation insists on lying and distorting this case all the time.

Here are the facts:

The court never found Thaksin guilty of any collusion on the bidding.

There was no injury to the state.

There was no criminal conspiracy to defraud the public.

MR Pridiyathorn Devakula signed off on the deal and testified in Thaksin's favor.

Potjaman was never found guilty of any crime and didn't have the land confiscated.

In fact, Thaksin was compelled under Thai law to sign the land transfer documents because Thailand is a community property country.

Now, I guess one could make an ethical argument that the prime minister's wife shouldn't be buying land during his tenure just to keep appearances up.

But an ethical lapse doesn't mean one should get 2 years in the gaol.

The Nation refuses to tell the truth about the case because it might interfere with its "Get Thaksin" propaganda and might have to stop referring to Thaksin as that corrupt prime minister fugitive from justice.