Police again extorting foreigners that dont carry passport

[melvinmelvin]

11 minutes ago, hansnl said:

If you are a tourist, yes, you have broken the law.

 

11 minutes ago, hansnl said:

If you are a tourist, yes, you have broken the law.

 

And which legal stipulation is it that the tourist has broken

Can you be specific?

 

[Thongkorn]

On 9/16/2017 at 7:52 AM, sinbin said:

Not true. Just refuse to pay. They'll back down. You haven't broken a law.

Yes you have, You are required to carry Your passport or a copy of your Passport if not a Thai

[uncleeagle]

4 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

Yes you have, You are required to carry Your passport or a copy of your Passport if not a Thai

Exactly...or a copy...including a digital copy....not the original

[spidermike007]

Nobody I know carries their original passport, unless they are flying out of the country. It is a completely unreasonable request, and one I will NEVER abide by. I carry a color copy of my passport, along with my Thai drivers license in my wallet. And I have a photo of my passport and my visa page in my phone. That has never once in over a decade not been sufficient. If a policeman told me it was not sufficient, I would tell him off, in no uncertain terms. Respect is earned. Not freely given. I have zero respect for these guys. None. And I do not hesitate to let them know what I think of them. They actually seem to back down when they are feeling the heat. They expect easy marks.

 

I was recently pulled over for speeding, on the toll section of highway one, near Don Muang, where they have cameras now. I was doing 100, which is very safe on that elevated road. The current speed limit of 80kph is nothing more than a revenue generator, and has nothing to do with safety. I told the cop that. My wife translated. He asked for 1,000 baht. I looked him in the eyes, and told him that there was a zero percent chance of him getting 1,000 baht out of me. He look puzzled and confused. I offered him 200 baht. He laughed, and said 500 would be ok. I gave him that. He will use it toward the construction of his new villa, or toward the purchase of a Sukhumvit condo. Or his superior officer will. No respect earned. None given. Always and forever.

[kurtmartens]

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

 

I was recently pulled over for speeding, on the toll section of highway one, near Don Muang, where they have cameras now. I was doing 100, which is very safe on that elevated road. The current speed limit of 80kph is nothing more than a revenue generator, and has nothing to do with safety. 

So you willingly broke the law?  

[balo]

On 1/18/2018 at 10:03 AM, spidermike007 said:

He asked for 1,000 baht. I looked him in the eyes, and told him that there was a zero percent chance of him getting 1,000 baht out of me. He look puzzled and confused. I offered him 200 baht. He laughed, and said 500 would be ok

I would never accept that , did you ask for an official receipt ? Corruption today is possible to complain about , there is a number you can call when you meet a corrupted officer.  If you do not speak Thai your wife should have reported him . 

 

 

[bkk6060]

On 1/18/2018 at 11:03 AM, spidermike007 said:

Nobody I know carries their original passport, unless they are flying out of the country. It is a completely unreasonable request, and one I will NEVER abide by. I carry a color copy of my passport, along with my Thai drivers license in my wallet. And I have a photo of my passport and my visa page in my phone. That has never once in over a decade not been sufficient. If a policeman told me it was not sufficient, I would tell him off, in no uncertain terms. Respect is earned. Not freely given. I have zero respect for these guys. None. And I do not hesitate to let them know what I think of them. They actually seem to back down when they are feeling the heat. They expect easy marks.

 

I was recently pulled over for speeding, on the toll section of highway one, near Don Muang, where they have cameras now. I was doing 100, which is very safe on that elevated road. The current speed limit of 80kph is nothing more than a revenue generator, and has nothing to do with safety. I told the cop that. My wife translated. He asked for 1,000 baht. I looked him in the eyes, and told him that there was a zero percent chance of him getting 1,000 baht out of me. He look puzzled and confused. I offered him 200 baht. He laughed, and said 500 would be ok. I gave him that. He will use it toward the construction of his new villa, or toward the purchase of a Sukhumvit condo. Or his superior officer will. No respect earned. None given. Always and forever.

What a hypocritical nonsense post.

You go on and on on how you stand your ground and gain respect, then you pay the cop off when he catches you speeding?

Funny how people will say: I do this and I demand that.  Yet, when they are actually caught breaking the law,  they do what they can to weasel out of it.

[jackdd]

On 18.1.2018 at 10:03 AM, spidermike007 said:

Nobody I know carries their original passport, unless they are flying out of the country. It is a completely unreasonable request, and one I will NEVER abide by. I carry a color copy of my passport, along with my Thai drivers license in my wallet. And I have a photo of my passport and my visa page in my phone. That has never once in over a decade not been sufficient. If a policeman told me it was not sufficient, I would tell him off, in no uncertain terms. Respect is earned. Not freely given. I have zero respect for these guys. None. And I do not hesitate to let them know what I think of them. They actually seem to back down when they are feeling the heat. They expect easy marks.

 

I was recently pulled over for speeding, on the toll section of highway one, near Don Muang, where they have cameras now. I was doing 100, which is very safe on that elevated road. The current speed limit of 80kph is nothing more than a revenue generator, and has nothing to do with safety. I told the cop that. My wife translated. He asked for 1,000 baht. I looked him in the eyes, and told him that there was a zero percent chance of him getting 1,000 baht out of me. He look puzzled and confused. I offered him 200 baht. He laughed, and said 500 would be ok. I gave him that. He will use it toward the construction of his new villa, or toward the purchase of a Sukhumvit condo. Or his superior officer will. No respect earned. None given. Always and forever.

You talk about how you would tell a policeman off if he wants to fine you for your passport but on the highway you willingly pay? Haha, nice joke

The official fine for speeding is 200-500thb, so if you pay without a receipt you would of course pay less, so 200 would have been ok, and he would have accepted it if you would know how to handle the police in Thailand (but obviously you don't, because your wife has to translate for you)

 

[uncleeagle]

for first time in decades of coming to thailand i got briefly stopped by police this afternoon near Thong Lo. they just asked where i am from, where i am going, i told them my country, i said to my hotel, they said happy new year and that was it,  didnt ask for ID. im male, white, western, middle aged, not smart but dont look like a hippie etc. 

[ericthai]

6 hours ago, uncleeagle said:

for first time in decades of coming to thailand i got briefly stopped by police this afternoon near Thong Lo. they just asked where i am from, where i am going, i told them my country, i said to my hotel, they said happy new year and that was it,  didnt ask for ID. im male, white, western, middle aged, not smart but dont look like a hippie etc. 

this is common. 

[HuaHinExpat]

I could buy a whole police uniform from outside my local police station, and buy an actual police car from the auctions in Bangkok then stand at the side of the road pulling over tuk tuk's with foreigners in it to make some money. Not all police are real, some police are corrupt, but most are genuine, nice and law abiding. If they are official and not trying to do anything underhanded they will always allow you to go to the nearest police station to pay a genuine fine.

[Rhys]

On 1/21/2018 at 3:42 AM, HuaHinExpat said:

I could buy a whole police uniform from outside my local police station, and buy an actual police car from the auctions in Bangkok then stand at the side of the road pulling over tuk tuk's with foreigners in it to make some money. Not all police are real, some police are corrupt, but most are genuine, nice and law abiding. If they are official and not trying to do anything underhanded they will always allow you to go to the nearest police station to pay a genuine fine.

  hmmm..

[tifino]

... more like - "ullo, ulllo, ullo, what have we here then?"

[Redcurry]

On 9/17/2017 at 8:56 AM, amvet said:

I carry a copy and all my immigration records on my smart phone not really a problem for most people in this century to keep copies of everything on your phone.

Me too, I have a copy of my passport with the visa on it, in case of a random check. The police do that sometimes to avoid illegal stay, which happens quite regularly in BKK I think. 

[Jimdandy]

On 9/15/2017 at 11:52 PM, sinbin said:

Not true. Just refuse to pay. They'll back down. You haven't broken a law.

Only speaking for the US, if you read the passport information or go to the website for the US embassy it tells you in plain English you must keep it on you at all times. I have friends who make copies of the face page then laminate it and that is what they carry. It works for some but not all. I just carry mine with me so I do not have to deal with the minutia. 

[1sickpuppy]

On 9/16/2017 at 1:52 PM, sinbin said:

Not true. Just refuse to pay. They'll back down. You haven't broken a law.

i thought by law you have to carry your passport. maybe i am wrong

[agudbuk]

i thought by law you have to carry your passport. maybe i am wrong

Correct, but Thai police are lenient and are usually happy with a photo cooy

[agudbuk]

So you willingly broke the law?  

50mph adequate on busy urban road.

[agudbuk]

I was on Sukhumvit between Nana and Asoke a couple weekends ago while sober and was very surprised to see all the businesses lined with African and Arab men.  I mean, if I want to buy a 'dildo for her pleasure,' I'm going to buy it from an old fat Thai woman. These foreign male hawkers made no attempt to speak English or Thai to me as I passed.  And over half of the prostitutes lining the sidewalk and under bridges were from Africa.  What's a tourist straight off the plane with yellow fever to do?  It's not that I wouldn't fancy a bit of brown cinnamon or even a bit of dark chocolate; that's not it at all.  I just wonder what all the p. Lek's and p. Som's and their sick moms and buffalo are doing?  Where have they migrated because from what I can see, they are getting kicked off every corner.  I made it down by that dump Thermae, (just street level, mind you) and again was surprised.  African pimps everywhere!  I mean...a little self-respect, ladies.  No one is going to shake down an African hooker working freelance, except perhaps the Thai police, so what were all these dicks loitering around about?  Was there a two for one deal on Big Mac's I didn't know about?   It's a dog eat dog world out there, I guess.  Call me nostalgic for the 'old days' (like a couple years ago) when a man could slide down Sukhumvit get pigeon English cooed at him from ally ways.  Hell, I'd even take the ladyboy's returning over what is out there now. :)

Police operation black eagle is s start

[agudbuk]

Er.....It's person of colour I believe nowadays. Do try and keep up with the latest liberal vernacular.

The Thai are more direct black or n****r are the terms usually used.

[kurtmartens]

4 hours ago, agudbuk said:

On 1/18/2018 at 10:16 AM, kurtmartens said:

So you willingly broke the law?  

50mph adequate on busy urban road.

Yes.  50mph/80kph is what the posted speed was.  If the driver was doing 100 and not 80 then he happily broke the law and really doesn't have much to moan about when he is pulled over by the Highway Patrol or local BiB.  Breaking the law, no matter what we think of it, is still breaking the law.

[rwdrwdrwd]

13 hours ago, agudbuk said:

On 10/20/2017 at 2:13 PM, The manic said:

Er.....It's person of colour I believe nowadays. Do try and keep up with the latest liberal vernacular.

The Thai are more direct black or n****r are the terms usually used.

 

For the latter, I'm sure they are, if they are scutters. Pretty much the same as in the west. Once saw a bargirl on a motorbike shout "chocolate man" at a black guy, who was very put out. Ironically she was trying to flirt.

"black" is not an offensive term imo. Never had complaints using it in earshot of my black friends, unlike "coloured" which I once used as a teenager whilst chatting to some friends of Nigerian ancestry and caused some very raised eyebrows and expressions of disbelief.

[The manic]

On 07/02/2018 at 10:55 AM, agudbuk said:

On 20/10/2017 at 2:13 PM, The manic said:

Er.....It's person of colour I believe nowadays. Do try and keep up with the latest liberal vernacular.

The Thai are more direct black or n****r are the terms usually used.

Kak or Kek is the term used here. Never heard the the word bigger used in Thailand except by black rap musician.

[jackdd]

50 minutes ago, The manic said:

Kak or Kek is the term used here. Never heard the the word bigger used in Thailand except by black rap musician.

You mean แขก which is used for Arab or Indian people, not for black people (just search for it on Google image search)

 

My GF is calling black people black or negro, both are meant in a neutral way

[lamyai3]

8 hours ago, Novae said:

What type of police?  Immigration police or normal police?

 

Depends. On a random stop check or roadblock, normal police, more likely to ask a couple of questions and perhaps check your pockets - most of these guys won't know how to even read a passport. 

 

If caught up in one of the Operation Ethnic Eagle swoops, passports (or copies) are the order of the day. Shouldn't worry too much though, not a great chance of getting caught up in one of these. 

[The manic]

On 08/02/2018 at 1:05 PM, jackdd said:

You mean แขก which is used for Arab or Indian people, not for black people (just search for it on Google image search)

 

My GF is calling black people black or negro, both are meant in a neutral way

Well yes but Arabs Kai kao= white <Worker On Government service an old British colonial term.>. Actually used on official broadcasts by the police to describe POI in Erawan bombing. Aroind Surawong a war used by Indian Buddhists is known locally as Wat Kek. But anyway I've never heard a Thai use the word Nigger. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The last time the police here popped up publicly on the subject of foreigners and their passport, they confirmed in news reports that it was acceptable for foreigners to carry a COPY of their passports on their person, and not have to carry the original on their person, for all the obvious security and safety reasons.

 

(If memory serves, that public pronouncement came after some police unit or location somewhere started demanding that foreigners carry their original passports, which drew a lot of complaints and protests).

 

But also obviously, be able to retrieve/provide the original if requested to do so.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

Quote

 

BANGKOK:-- [thaivisa.com] After the confusion surrounding the news that all foreigners in Thailand are required to carry their passport with them at all times, Thaivisa.com has today obtained official clarification on this matter.

Earlier this afternoon, Thaivisa.com spoke to Deputy Commander and Police Colonel Voravat Amornvivat, a senior official at Immigration headquarters in Bangkok.

 

Deputy Commander Voravat wanted to reassure the expat community in Thailand about the current situation.

 

He told Thaivsia.com that information in an article published by The Nation on 31 July 2014, was incorrect.

 

Deputy Commander Voravat confirmed that foreign tourists and expats do not need to carry their passports with them at all times.

 

He said that tourists can of course leave their passports locked in their hotel safe and enjoy their holiday in Thailand without worrying about the need to carry their original passport.

 

Deputy Commander Voravat also said that for expats living here, a Thai driving license or photocopy of your passport can be used as a form of identification.

 

 

[Seanbhoy]

lol I don't even stop anymore for the police.

that cu*ting road rangsit-vibhavadi theirs about 50 police officers in the morning all along it - when they blow there whistle i always used to stop and they always find something or just keep you there wasting your time.

soon as it get to don muang i just go on the far right lane for cars only, loads of other motorcycles do it, just stay around minimum 60km - 100km and make sure you take exit before you arrive to victory monument, if you miss that you get stuck on the toll way bit where you definitely will get fined.

so much easier just never stopping

[samsensam]

 

in all my time here i've never carried my passport or been asked to show my passport. on two or three occasions when walking home late at night, sober as i dont drink, i've been stopped by police and asked to turn out my pockets but as there was nothing to find there i've gone on my way. never any attempt to fine, bribe, threaten or plant anything.

 

BTW in my youth i used to smoke a bit of weed but even at that age i was smart enough to not carry it in my pocket...