Net Idol arrested for e-cigarette faces 5 years saying police treatment "over the top"

[webfact]

Net Idol arrested for e-cigarette faces 5 years saying police treatment "over the top"

 

Picture: Siam News

 

A well known internet celebrity who was arrested in Pattaya at a checkpoint when an e-cigarette and vaping liquid were found has said her treatment at the hands of the local cops was over the top.

 

Manutsaya Yaowarat - otherwise known as Fluksri Maneedeng - went on social media after she was filmed being dragged to the cells.

 

It was confirmed that she had just one e-cigarette and one vial of liquid in her possession. No other charges have been mentioned.

 

But a top lawyer said that she could still face 5 years in jail and a fine of four times the value of the vaping equipment and fluid that was found hidden in the console of her car.

 

Thais have been asking about why the penalty for e-cigarettes is so severe and also commenting on Fluksri's treatment by the cops.

 

Pattaya station chief Apichai Krobpetch stood his ground saying that the Manutsaya was welcome to make a complaint that would be investigated to provide justice for all sides.

 

Popular online lawyer Kertphon Kaewket reminded the public that the importation of e-cigarettes and vaping fluid was a serious offence that could land people in jail for ten years and command 500,000 baht fines.

 

But even possession was serious and could generate a 5 year prison term and from half to four times the value of the goods seized.

 

It would be pointless to claim that you did not know the law as a defense. Everyone must know the law and it would be assumed that someone caught with an e-cigarette would know that it was illegal to import them and have them in your possession.

 

The five year term is contained in ordinances related to the concealment, sale, distribution and buying of the merchandise.

 

The penalties are severe because it comes under sections of the law related to avoiding excise duty. Duty cannot be paid on e-cigarettes because they are illegal so having them in your possession is a crime akin to smuggling.

 

So anyone even just possessing them - and certainly using them - can be prosecuted and face the heaviest penalties, reported PPTV News on TV and online.

 

Asked about the treatment of the net idol at the police station he said that the police were entitled to use justifiable force. Whether this was unjustifiable would be a matter for the courts to decide if it came to that.

 

Source: PPTV News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-12-12

 

[guzzi850m2]

They lost the plot.

Hard drugs are not penalised that hard, oh hold on a minute, a good little earner for everyone sooo.

[ezzra]

 

All this hoopla for an E- cigarette? they're treating her worse than a murderer,

have they lost their minds there? I'd shudder to think had she smoked

this thing on the beach, than all hell will break loose i'm sure...

 

[thaifan01]

Here we go again, bring the popcorn     I can't see the case here, really.

The socalled internet celeb broke the law and got caught. Then she refused to follow orders from the police, so she needed some help - no wrongdoing from RTP at all in my opinion.

The poor "celeb" was probably drugged up on meth as well, and that could explain her behaviour

[darksidedog]

You couldn't make this shit up. Crazy sentencing for crazy offenses in a totally crazy country. You can run people over, beat them up or stab them, steal everything you can carry and walk away with lighter sentences than 5 years. I have to confess, I didn't realise how thoroughly evil these vapers actually were.

[Get Real]

The question is how she became a "net idol"? Hillarious! Should be jailed only for that.

[onera1961]

Is e-Cig illegal in Thailand? I have seen vendors openly selling in Sukumvit sidewalk.

[thaifan01]

17 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Is e-Cig illegal in Thailand? I have seen vendors openly selling in Sukumvit sidewalk.

Yup, they are illegal. And so is prostitution as well...  

[mok199]

a celebrity ''MELTDOWN''..

[Bob12345]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

The question is how she became a "net idol"? Hillarious! Should be jailed only for that.

Bit jealous there?

 

Why should people be jailed for becoming famous on the internet?

You are getting famous here on TVF also, only for the wrong reasons. Time to hand yourself over to the police for some time in jail?

[catman20]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

 

All this hoopla for an E- cigarette? they're treating her worse than a murderer,

have they lost their minds there? I'd shudder to think had she smoked

this thing on the beach, than all hell will break loose i'm sure...

 

i think she was properly giving the cops a hard time, she obviously likes the attention when the cameras rolling, u can see shes a drama queen. lock her up just for those tatts she looks like a right whxre.

[clayto58]

Well!!  It is a  bit strange when you can go to just about any market in Pattaya, and purchase these Ecigs, no problem, seen 3 stalls in the Tepprasit market alone. Ridiculous!

[catman20]

1 hour ago, thaifan01 said:

Yup, they are illegal. And so is prostitution as well...  

more money in prostitution.

[catman20]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

The question is how she became a "net idol"? Hillarious! Should be jailed only for that.

and the tatts

[irwinfc]

last i checked, attempting to kill someone on thailand was also illegal. but it almost always costs a mere 500 baht fine with a "no harm no foul" send off by the police. 10 years and 500k for e-cigs? if memory serves from the DLT seminar to renew a license,  the penalty for a drunk driver who kills someone on the road  is 10 years imprisonment and 200k. life can be really cheap sometimes.

[Colabamumbai]

The govt. should apply taxes if that makes them happy. The tobacco monopoly seems to have the last word. Lot of moto chais vaping in Pattaya, indescreetly.

[yellowboat]

Just more profound stupidity.  Was smoking a cigar at a bar and this young Japanese guy asks my why I am smoking E .  He and others are sucking on the devices out in the open.  My reply was regarding the legality, after which everyone started to laugh.  More crazy selective enforcement of dumb laws by a dumb government. 

[Sadanava]

Why are you complaining, when a "celebrity" gets away because of their so-called status it's not ok, if they use their so-called status to duck the law it's ok. And you complain that the police is actually doing their work. She seemed to have used the sentence "do you know who I am!) , Sorry but that doesn't excuse someone from breaking the law, regardless if you do not agree with it.

[bangkokheat]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

It would be pointless to claim that you did not know the law as a defense. Everyone must know the law and it would be assumed that someone caught with an e-cigarette would know that it was illegal to import them and have them in your possession.

would be interesting to ask any politician to recite all the laws. cant imagine how many foreigners are going to get busted for vaping and what their reaction is going to be, this is going to turn ugly

[crazykopite]

Am I right that E cigarettes are illegal in the Kingdom but the rest of the World recognises that these cigarettes are widely available in the high street to help people quit smoking if this is correct they need to ensure that all airlines bound for Thailand make passengers aware that it is a very serious offence to bring these inhalers into the country .

[Blackheart1916]

"Justice for all sides" How does that work exactly? So looking at 5 years for an E cig, would have been better off running over a few innocent bystanders and throwing the offending article in with the dead bodies. Much cheaper, a few wais and on yer way luv!

[owl sees all]

18 minutes ago, Sadanava said:

Why are you complaining, when a "celebrity" gets away because of their so-called status it's not ok, if they use their so-called status to duck the law it's ok. And you complain that the police is actually doing their work. She seemed to have used the sentence "do you know who I am!) , Sorry but that doesn't excuse someone from breaking the law, regardless if you do not agree with it.

And the peeler replied "do you know who we are?"

[Blackheart1916]

2 hours ago, Get Real said:

The question is how she became a "net idol"? Hillarious! Should be jailed only for that.

Well, there's this thing called "the internet", you see....

[nikmar]

Same kind of crazy as the drink driving cop killing actress....Anna wotsername..Reese??

 

[b2bme]

They need stories like this. Helps everyone forget about the likes of the Red Bull heir, cops arrested for raping underage children, and others that committed real crimes and still not bought to justice. 

[outsider]

Quote: "... pointless to claim that you did not know the law as a defense. Everyone must know the law..." Unquote.

 

What they forgot to mention is, this place also practices 'selective enforcement', and this depends on who you know, or who's watching over you.

[anon467367354]

"Duty cannot be paid on e-cigarettes because they are illegal so having them in your possession is a crime akin to smuggling"

 

How about making them legal like cigarettes, alcohol, monosodium glutamate, aspartame and just tax it like the other frequently used, common everyday poisons?

 

[Phaser]

Absurd - I have lived in Thailand 20 years, speak Thai, live with Thais and this type of absurdity never ceases to amaze me. 

 

I don’t smoke but E cig are cleaner and safer to others (second hand smoke) the only possible justification is to protect the cigarettes companies and tocacco monopoly 

[generealty]

I think most people are missing the point here. Most people (and correct me if I'm wrong) went over to E-cigs in an attempt to stop smoking, which I believe is a good thing. Seems to me that this General has made it more of an attempt to avoid paying cigarette tax. Talk about losing direction. Little by little human rights are being eroded. God knows if you will have any by the time the next election is actually held. Up to 10 years in prison and 500,000 baht fine for trying to quit smoking is scandulous ! Murderers walk and given bail and this charade is allowed to continue-bloody pathetic !

Edited December 12, 2017 by generealty
typo

[DrTuner]

Would somebody point the part of law where electronic devices running on batteries are illegal imports? Nicotine makes sense, garden variety electronics I doubt.