She made the mistake of assuming this is a lawful and law-abiding society where police, probably like where she came from, won't generally tolerate extortion and bribery...

 

Presumably, she was wrong about that!

33 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Kinda makes you wonder, what's gonna be next:

 

Well we already had the Russian lady who got fined 100.000 baht for feeding bread to the fish out of a tourboat.

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

She made the mistake of assuming this is a lawful and law-abiding society where police, probably like where she came from, won't generally tolerate extortion and bribery...

 

Presumably, she was wrong about that!

Tomorrow it will all be a big misunderstanding.

35 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

My last visit to Phuket was over 15 years ago. I said it would be my last visit and I have stuck to that. This story confirms and strengthens my confidence in my decision. What a shower of spiteful, dishonest, terrible people that run the show there.

In all my visits to Thailand since 1993 and the fact that I have lived here since 2001 I have actually never been to Phuket.

 

From the reports that I read here and in the BKK Post I shan't bother to go there either. I am quite happy living in Nakhon Nowhere where the people are friendly and the smiles are genuine.

15 minutes ago, beechbum said:

So you've never been to Bali.

If you hate the place so much why bother following it on TV?

This proves once again: there is (at least) one in every TVForum thread.

5 minutes ago, Snow Leopard said:

Well, they say "Any press is good press". Not in this case. This was the days before trial by social media. Think about what will be going on between her FB and whatever else in France. Phuket police and Thailand will be getting a hammering. 

 

Just stupid, Talk about greedy and overzealous. Why use tact and diplomacy when you can use a sledgehammer. 

Most readers on Facebook won't be as outraged as you, or other responders here.

Some may not consider a holiday in Phuket as a result, but others would make a 

note about the dangers of vaping there.

 

Most folk would be put off by the strong baht, although 1st timers probably don't

know about the times when the currency was weaker and would still think of

Thailand as a good holiday destination.

 

57 minutes ago, fruitman said:

I see thai vaping everywhere, even in front Mega bangna which is the entrance of the mall...they don't seem to be scared for anything and just do it.

 

And this will be big in the French newspapers i think.....costing the Thai many millions year after year...

It was already in the news edition at 1pm yesterday on France 2

if they want to be an acceptable tourist destination

and if they want to be respectable in the developed world

they really have to change a lot

 

I doubt they understand

I doubt they know how and what to change

and I doubt they would even if they could

Breaking the law

 

Thailand provides an option regarding some minor infringements, pay a local fine at the police station to avoid clogging up the court system. Or insist on going to court.

 

This lady it would appear insisted on being processed through the courts and the system

 

2 minutes ago, chercheur888 said:

It was already in the news edition at 1pm yesterday on France 2

Oh on tv?! That makes it a lot worse for the Thai tourism....can easy cost them a billion baht i assume...but hey who cares as long as they're not chinese tourists.

as a reminder to all, if you are at a police station in thailand and are offered the opportunity to pay a fine and leave the station, pay the fine.  no matter how outrageous it might seem.  you may feel you've done nothing wrong but you are in the police station and likely are not leaving unless the fine is paid. 

 

i'm trying to figure why she chose to pay bail (which was supposedly returned to her) and stay for a court date, rather than pay the 40,000thb.  she was going to have to pay for lodging, food, etc... while she waited for the court date plus miss her flight.  so likely pay at least 40,000thb just to make the court date and get a new flight.  in many cases people don't have the money to pay the fine, but it appears she (and/or the family) had the money.  i don't understand the analysis on her part.

 

 

Ah tell you boys and girls-Thailand is such a FUN place.If they don't get you with the cards, the dominoes,the twerking,satanic dartboards and intransigent goldfish..

 

They can just wait out the 30 days and clobber you with road rage,rabies,the yellow jack or dengue fever as well..

2 minutes ago, chercheur888 said:

It was already in the news edition at 1pm yesterday on France 2

FB too. 

https://www.facebook.com/LaChaineVaroise/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARDKMeeNyrShXsFE7SgqqBwJZrNe7juQe1kCEtdNfYCQ9uKwu2wIzQ4QqpW0vmVw9QE91nbI2h7sXDqh&hc_ref=ARSeRNKEvk7pUdTgbUolf9ZwkQpG4Lb-pCnNtlhPApKHJfd8pLoaspGiWXmuWfbI0Bo

7 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Most readers on Facebook won't be as outraged as you, or other responders here.

Some may not consider a holiday in Phuket as a result, but others would make a 

note about the dangers of vaping there.

 

Most folk would be put off by the strong baht, although 1st timers probably don't

know about the times when the currency was weaker and would still think of

Thailand as a good holiday destination.

 

I wouldn't be quite so confident about that.

Thailand is on the nose big time and there are plenty of other places to go.

 

Just do me a favour-there is no need to quote any totally spurious TAT statistics in reply.

12 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Most readers on Facebook won't be as outraged as you, or other responders here.

Some may not consider a holiday in Phuket as a result, but others would make a 

note about the dangers of vaping there.

 

Most folk would be put off by the strong baht, although 1st timers probably don't

know about the times when the currency was weaker and would still think of

Thailand as a good holiday destination.

 

I hear what you are saying but I have seen this first hand for myself. I work in Dubai. For a few years a fantastic tourist destination from the UK. Then someone gets heavy-handed. Negative press starts. Now the UK press run Dubai down wherever there is a hint of a negative story.

Thailand is not exactly in the good books either in the UK. I know in this case it is France but they have a press to. 

7 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Breaking the law

 

Thailand provides an option regarding some minor infringements, pay a local fine at the police station to avoid clogging up the court system. Or insist on going to court.

 

This lady it would appear insisted on being processed through the courts and the system

 

 

None of that explains the presumably ridiculous decision to process a tourist visitor for detention and deportation--after her court case was entirely resolved--based on an exceedingly minor offense.

 

FB, which the Thai police love to love, is full of Thais vaping to their heart's content before the whole world, and those folks aren't getting tracked down and arrested.

 

Individual vaping, it seems, is one of those offenses here that the police rarely decide to enforce, but when they do, it usually seems it's with the simple intent to extort or punish.

 

11 minutes ago, buick said:

i'm trying to figure why she chose to pay bail (which was supposedly returned to her) and stay for a court date, rather than pay the 40,000thb.

If she was a first time traveller here, she probably thought (as most would) that 40,000b is an outrageous "fine" for such a small infringement? Completely out of whack with any fines given by most courts anywhere in the world. 

 

Presumably she incorrectly thought that everything would be sorted at the Police station when someone more senior saw what her offending was, and what the "fine" being demanded was. 

 

That's quite a logical thought process for anyone not expecting to see alleged corruption in such plain sight, bearing in mind France is the 21st least corrupt country in the world in the transparency international corruption perception index.

11 minutes ago, buick said:

i don't understand the analysis on her part.

Me neither.

 

First the lady didn't do any harm to anybody.....

 

But the financial part is the Thai got some bail money out of her and loose a billion baht because of the rich European tourists who won't come to Thailand coming years.

 

So after all it was a very stupid move from the Police....even more because i see many Thai vaping as well and they don't care for the police...they probably know they can buy them off..

 

If not vaping is so important for the Thai they should warn the tourists at the airport to not do it. I bet the tourists assumed they were being fleeced by the police, which is not a strange thought.

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

None of that explains the presumably ridiculous decision to process a tourist visitor for detention and deportation--after her court case was entirely resolved--based on an exceedingly minor offense.

 

FB, which the Thai police love to love, is full of Thais vaping to their heart's content before the whole world, and those folks aren't getting tracked down and arrested.

 

Individual vaping, it seems, is one of those offenses here that the police rarely decide to enforce, but when they do, it usually seems it's with the simple intent to extort or punish.

 

Well if you compare her attitude - and my observation above, I would guess one is likely to encourage deportation - and it ain't mine

This, just a few days after a five year old from Finland was mauled by a pack of dogs on a beach in Krabi. Probably overdue for some well deserved shaming in the world media on how badly things can go wrong on a family holiday here. 

Hopefully Thailand will lift the ban on E-cigs after they find a way to tax them properly.

It's not right to ban a tool that helps so many people move from normally cigarettes to a somewhat less dangerous product.

 

As a non smoker i prefer people to use E cigs compared to normal cigarettes.

 

No nasty smell of cigarettes in the clothes after visiting friends that use E cigs.

E-cig users don't throw cigarette buds all over the streets/beaches.

E-Cigs used with no flavour practially smells of nothing when used.

 

Off course it's not healthy to smoke E-cigs but it surely is better than regular cigarettes.

 

If not lifting the ban, why not sell a license that gives tourists an option to bring and use their own e-cigs.

 

 

1 minute ago, Virt said:

Hopefully Thailand will lift the ban on E-cigs after they find a way to tax them properly.

 

I've been patiently waiting for them to lift the ban on shisha/turkish tobacco as well, but all I've ended up with are a bunch of places that are able to serve it in plain sight, presumably because of a favourable arrangement with local authorities. It's not perfect, but I'll take it in the absence of anything better!

What i'd like to hear about next: 

A planeload of frenchies each have a kid with them - complete with  one of those toy lookalike e-cigs that are actually toy whistles. 

 

Gem 1: the look of despair on the officers at the frontline

Gem 2: the whistles sounding like female evil spirits - they are nastier than the male ones I hear! 

Did she pass all other norms for a police check? Namely:-

Helmet? DL? Lights? Sober? Speed/Drive on the left/Not more than 2 on the bike?

Just curious.

 

The court convicted her to pay a 827 baht fine.

The mafia wanted to extort 40.000.

 

I rest my case.

 

 

Frenchwoman deported for vaping
By Tanyaluk Sakoot
 

E-cigarettes have been prohibited in Thailand since 2014. Photo: AFP
 
PHUKET:-- Karon police have responded to complaints made by a French tourist who was apprehended in Karon for possession of an e-cigarette.
 
Cecilia Cornu, 31, was in Phuket for a family holiday in January and was caught by Karon police holding an e-cigarette on Jan 30 whilst on a scooter with her fiancée as her parents and brother followed behind.
 
Cornu claims she was stopped by four police officers who snatched the e-cigarette and demanded B40,000, which she refused to pay.

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/frenchwoman-deported-for-vaping-70535.php#cDxPIODTrd7qEy3C.97
 

-- [emoji2398] Copyright Phuket News 2019-02-27

The one pictured its not vape. U put there real cigarette. Its heat smoking.

So they tried extort 40k and what about that?

14 minutes ago, SammyT said:

I've been patiently waiting for them to lift the ban on shisha/turkish tobacco as well, but all I've ended up with are a bunch of places that are able to serve it in plain sight, presumably because of a favourable arrangement with local authorities. It's not perfect, but I'll take it in the absence of anything better!

I hope for your sake that the places where you smoke keep paying their bribes to the mafia, as it could easily become very expensive for you (40.000 or deportation).

 

1 hour ago, phuketrichard said:

NOTE;  

SHE CLAIMS

 

please tell me when thailand was broke or when ( expect year after Tsunami) the tourists stopped coming here?

1996

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Kinda makes you wonder, what's gonna be next:

 

--Deportation for jaywalking?

 

--Deportation for dropping a ciggie on the sidewalk?

 

Pick your poison in Thailand...

 

Well dropping a cigarette is pollution and littering, so deportation for spoiling such a pristine environment . ???? 

6 minutes ago, Xaos said:

The one pictured its not vape. U put there real cigarette. Its heat smoking.

So they tried extort 40k and what about that?

priceless!!!!!!!!