Pattaya police station is no joke

[KhunFred]

Frightening story and one more reason why I will never drive in Thailand, whether car or motorbike. I've never known of anyone arrested for DUI while on public transportation. Hope the Thais are proud of running their lockups like a World War 2 Japanese prison camp.

[dennis123]

2 minutes ago, Halfaboy said:

Thanks for sharing. Would be interested to know how many drinks you had (if you can remember).

 

Have fun....

I scored 155 on the breathalyzer, 50 is max. I had 5 beers in Jomtien and a wodka red bull, then 2 more beers in another bar and one more wodka redbull, then one beer at a go-go bar, and after that we went to someone's birthday party at a restaurant where we smoked shisha and shared a liter bottle of 100 Piper with 4-5 people. Didn't feel all that drunk, just didn't feel the need to pay attention while on the back of the motorbike, when I arrived in Jomtien instead of East Pattaya I felt rather sober so decided to take my car. No problems walking/talking or anything.

[Halfaboy]

3 minutes ago, dennis123 said:

I scored 155 on the breathalyzer, 50 is max. I had 5 beers in Jomtien and a wodka red bull, then 2 more beers in another bar and one more wodka redbull, then one beer at a go-go bar, and after that we went to someone's birthday party at a restaurant where we smoked shisha and shared a liter bottle of 100 Piper with 4-5 people. Didn't feel all that drunk, just didn't feel the need to pay attention while on the back of the motorbike, when I arrived in Jomtien instead of East Pattaya I felt rather sober so decided to take my car. No problems walking/talking or anything.

 

Thanks !

[dennis123]

1 minute ago, KhunFred said:

Frightening story and one more reason why I will never drive in Thailand, whether car or motorbike. I've never known of anyone arrested for DUI while on public transportation. Hope the Thais are proud of running their lockups like a World War 2 Japanese prison camp.

Yeah they should at least have the decency to provide drinking water, and perhaps a towel or a mat to sleep on, I mean I know Thai prisons are bad but such lack of basic needs.  When I saw how much everyone got fined in court, it all ranged from 1500-8500 and most in the 6000+ baht range so it's not like they can't afford it.

[dennis123]

Also interesting to note, there were about 20 Thai and only 4 foreigners locked up. You would expect a lot more foreigners in peak-season, right?

 

Edit: Maybe those other foreigners did make a deal at the police station for 20,000 baht, as that's what they asked for in the first place. I know of someone that got arrested and spend a night that paid 5000 in court but I didn't know there's a difference between driving a car or a motorbike so when i heard 20k I was like <deleted> you I will just pay in court.

 

Genuine tourists are a lot easier to intimidate vs someone who's been living here for 6 years ????

[Golden Triangle]

I always let my other half drive, she rarely drinks but might have a glass of red wine while I'm having half a dozen large Leo's, I figure that it's cheaper to get her out of jail than me, plus she can't get deported ???? 

[geriatrickid]

No habeas corpus  demonstrated, nor respect for the judicial procedures supposedly in place.

Also, there was an obligation for the Thais to report the detention of the foreigner to that person's consul. Doesn't matter  why the OP was in trouble, the obligation was to report without delay.

[pagan1]

Excellent report and good information.

Everyone does something stupid at some point or other but it takes a guts to post the experience. 

Once got caught in a similar position in South America. The girl I was with was really worried when they said they were going to search the car. Afraid some illegal substances would mysteriously appear.

Borrowed some money from a local bar and handed over 120 quid. All sorted ???? At which point the police asked if we wanted to buy any drugs !!!

 

[dennis123]

1 minute ago, geriatrickid said:

No habeas corpus  demonstrated, nor respect for the judicial procedures supposedly in place.

Also, there was an obligation for the Thais to report the detention of the foreigner to that person's consul. Doesn't matter  why the OP was in trouble, the obligation was to report without delay.

Who would be my consul? After switching phones I lost the number of my lawyer, and I didn't even have my phone with me, only way to reach her is by visiting her office in Pratamnak.

[dennis123]

Anyway, I'm not stressing about reporting to a consul or something and the Thai inmates treated me well by providing water and the occasional cigarette so it was a bit frustrating but nothing trauma like lol, I was happy to speak with this foreign volunteer to get some expectations the next morning, and after that the most annoying thing was that the time goes awful slow. At some point I caught some sleep and woke up expecting it was maybe 5 AM because I hadn't really slept the first night, then I asked someone 'any idea what time it is',  and he said 9 PM, and I was like no <deleted> way, he says yeah don't you hear the music from the bars? They just put it louder as Central Festival closes soon, and I was like oh my god, another 12 hours of sitting and waiting.

[giddyup]

35 minutes ago, dennis123 said:

My Thai driver license is expired so I had two confessions to make, which sowed some confusion but a friendly Thai helped me out by explaining that part and then the judge and me both kind of laughed it off. Hence the smiling I mentioned earlier.

Was there a separate fine for driving without a licence?

[giddyup]

43 minutes ago, dennis123 said:

My Thai driver license is expired so I had two confessions to make, which sowed some confusion but a friendly Thai helped me out by explaining that part and then the judge and me both kind of laughed it off. Hence the smiling I mentioned earlier.

double post due to technical difficulties.

[dennis123]

6 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Was there a separate fine for driving without a licence?

I understand numbers very well in Thai and he said pet pan haa only, 8500. I think the guy that helped me a bit said the fine for no license is only about 200 baht, oh and they do deduct 500 baht from the total amount for each day you spend in prison, 2 nights counts as 1 day as I was brought in after midnight.

[dennis123]

8 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Was there a separate fine for driving without a licence?

However, if you get stopped by the police on the street and they want you to pay at the police station the fine for no license is usually 400 baht, and for Thais 200 baht, so in court it's a little more official, eg no dual pricing.

[KittenKong]

36 minutes ago, dennis123 said:

I scored 155 on the breathalyzer, 50 is max. I had 5 beers in Jomtien and a wodka red bull, then 2 more beers in another bar and one more wodka redbull, then one beer at a go-go bar, and after that we went to someone's birthday party at a restaurant where we smoked shisha and shared a liter bottle of 100 Piper with 4-5 people. Didn't feel all that drunk,

Sweet Jesus. And you're still alive?

 

Personally I would feel much safer had you been deported as next time I'm out driving in the evening you could be coming in the opposite direction. I dont need drunken idiots like you on the road: sober Thais are bad enough.

[dennis123]

2 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Sweet Jesus. And you're still alive?

 

Personally I would feel much safer had you been deported as next time I'm out driving in the evening you could be coming in the opposite direction. I dont need drunken idiots like you on the road: sober Thais are bad enough.

Lmao, this was a very mild evening, we didn't even go to the club afterward or it would be 3 or 4 liters of whiskey instead of 1.

 

But don't worry, next time I take a taxi, I don't want to risk getting deported so you can feel fine & cozy ????

 

ps: Usually we also drop some diazepam or clonazepam and a few tramadol for extra side effect, that wasn't even the case this time. Sober as one can be, definitely not drunk, so yeah alive & well!

[NotYourBusiness]

Awesome thread, thanks Dennis for posting this essential info.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

The problem is that one or more of these is likely to be a confession, and in a serious case, perhaps if you're accused of selling drugs or worse, you probably wouldn't want to sign that.

Pleading guilty here normally results in the sentence being automatically halved. (Or is it doubled if you plead innocent and are found guilty? No matter.) For this reason many people do indeed plead guilty here.

[dennis123]

Just a little disappointed in my boy that got followed to Sunee Plaza, he told the cashier about it and I know this guy for five years, semi-expected he might pay me a visit after not responding to his messages because I didn't have my phone with me. Always got to remind myself, bar friends/workers aren't real friends.

[dennis123]

Just now, KittenKong said:

Pleading guilty here normally results in the sentence being automatically halved. (Or is it doubled if you plead innocent and are found guilty? No matter.) For this reason many people do indeed plead guilty here.

I mentioned earlier in this thread, the guy that plead non-guilty spend 7 days in prison and got deported last Monday.

[KittenKong]

2 minutes ago, dennis123 said:

I mentioned earlier in this thread, the guy that plead non-guilty spend 7 days in prison and got deported last Monday.

Indeed. I was just explaining why most people here plead guilty.

[dreaming]

18 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Sweet Jesus. And you're still alive?

 

Personally I would feel much safer had you been deported as next time I'm out driving in the evening you could be coming in the opposite direction. I dont need drunken idiots like you on the road: sober Thais are bad enough.

555. You didnt get the do-gooders reaction you wanted with that post.

 

We all know he did something wrong, most of us do at some stage (obviously not you) - but we are all interested to hear what happened

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, Spidey said:

10k baht would have fixed it at the roadside. I've heard of people getting fined 20k in court and ordered to do some sort of course. You got off lightly.

I have no reason to doubt the report in person from a German mate who was locked up at the station at Friday night.

30k(!) was the bail requested. Fortunately he could call friends to bring the cash, no negotiating tried. Released until Monday. Passport withhold.

On Monday at the court he was fined 20k, bail returned.

30k might be exceptional but that was the number he told.

20k is usual/the rule.

[bbi1]

"Lesson learned? Always take a taxi from now on." - Got no sympathy for a dumbass who breaks the law by drink driving putting other people's lives at risk and has bribed the cops many, many times before. Now you only learned your lesson after not being able to bribe your way out?

[Techno Viking]

2 hours ago, dennis123 said:

Got to admit they did search my car for my passport as they showed my car passport later on, my blue registration book

Your car has a passport (common for temp import) and a blue book (Thailand registration) ...

 

How does that work ?

[dennis123]

2 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

"Lesson learned? Always take a taxi from now on." - Got no sympathy for a dumbass who breaks the law by drink driving and has bribed the cops many, many times before. Now you only learned your lesson after not being able to bribe your way out?

Only once, all the rest is just for speeding tickets, no driver license, not wearing the seat belt, no helmet when I used to drive a motorbike rather innocent stuff, with a small 500 baht bribe to prevent having to go to the police station and wait in line, plus the back & forth.

[KittenKong]

10 minutes ago, dreaming said:

You didnt get the do-gooders reaction you wanted with that post.

I think you are mistaking me for someone who cares.

[oldrunner]

As a non-drinker of alcoholic beverages, you may find "Sympathy in a standard English dictionary between "shit and shiftless". Before I cut the booze I owned my own bar and walked to my apartment, otherwise I road the tuk-tuk or walked (I could walk then, now, not so much).

[dennis123]

11 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

I have no reason to doubt the report in person from a German mate who was locked up at the station at Friday night.

30k(!) was the bail requested. Fortunately he could call friends to bring the cash, no negotiating tried. Released until Monday. Passport withhold.

On Monday at the court he was fined 20k, bail returned.

30k might be exceptional but that was the number he told.

20k is usual/the rule.

Perhaps 20k because he got out on bail? I think that might have something to do with it. For me the bail thing was more complicated as I didn't have my passport with me, and now I'm glad I didn't go out on bail.

[dennis123]

8 minutes ago, Techno Viking said:

Your car has a passport (common for temp import) and a blue book (Thailand registration) ...

 

How does that work ?

Every car comes with a blue registration book, assuming you bought the car and it's paid off.

 

You can request a car passport at the Land & Transport office, costs only 30 baht and takes 24-48 hours usually, in some situations they are willing to make an exception, like last time when I realized it last minute that it's only valid for 1 year, and they got it done in a few hours for which I tipped them generously. I think he would've done it without the tip as well though. All the other workers laughed when I tipped him and they gave me a sticker for free ????