E-cigarette users urge quick solution after tourist’s bribery accusation

[RJRS1301]

4 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Be buggered , E smokes, normal smokes banning ,

 

but now we legalise marjiana 

Dope being legalised for medical purposes

[monspencer]

6 hours ago, SweetStickyRice said:

10,000 Baht per head seems to be the magic number on that side of the island. How about a solution to put a law into place like other 1st world and developed countries have that if three or more people commit a crime together, in this instance it would be extortion, they get charged and sentenced as an organised crime syndicate. 1st world countries also have a system where they now psychologically test and partner up cops with one another in which one would tell on the other if one would commit a crime / take a bribe. Accusation? I don't think so. Cover up? Definitely.

I think this post needs rewording. Since when was Thailand a 1st world developed country? It's not even a 2nd world country!!!

[mommysboy]

3 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I had a friend who smoked the E cig. a lot...He died about 9 months ago. Can't help thinking about him when I read these stories ...and how he would have felt about it all 

  Well...my dear friend,...hope you are resting in peace now...these concerns are no longer yours.

Are you suggesting the ecig killed him?- of course it was all the cigs he'd smoked before if anything.  You are very sadly misinformed.  Complete nonsense.

[Tengu]

When will governments realize that "prohibitions" don't work and in places where bribes aren't routine end costing the government (people) in legal and prisons?

[mommysboy]

43 minutes ago, anexpat said:

TiT. Their country, their rules. Don’t like it? Don’t go/stay. That’s easy to do, worked for me.

It's the stark truth- I doubt e-cigs will ever be legal in Thailand.  

[KMartinHandyman]

I think it’s the selective enforcement of many things that are illegal in Thailand that gives people the idea its okay to break the laws until the get confronted with enforcement and find out the cost and that’s also not uniform it seems.
I see a lot of Thais e-cigarette smoking and they don’t look concerned or appear to be hiding. I doubt the police would ask them for ฿40,000 if they were caught as the French woman experienced.
Same with driving a motorbike with no helmet, ghost riding or using the sidewalk rather than a lengthy u-turn. You see enough Thais doing it without a problem and you start thinking it’s okay until the police see you, a foreigner doing these things and grab you.
Example today at Chaeng Wattana Immigration, the new no smoking ban is clearly labeled in the previous smoking area with dozens of signs yet everyone is sitting in the old smoking area smoking.

[DrTuner]

5 minutes ago, KMartinHandyman said:

I think it’s the selective enforcement of many things that are illegal in Thailand that gives people the idea its okay to break the laws until the get confronted with enforcement and find out the cost and that’s also not uniform it seems.

That's also the cause of the "oh Thailand is so free no nanny state rules" comments. If all laws and regulations in Thailand were being enforced it would be the mother of all repressive nanny states. All the sabai sabai maibpenrai is due to lazy and corrupt cops. Silver lining.

[richiejom]

The tobacco industry is dying a slow painful death and doesn't know how to deal with it...irony is great isn't it

 

vapers will keep on vaping

[HerbalEd]

8 hours ago, waynerooney said:

Why ban E Cigarettes and not real ones? Oh yes they collect 60 billion in taxes on cigarettes 90% of the cost

Some say that's the same reason kratom was made illegal -- i.e., it was hurting opium sales.

[Sydebolle]

It's like the alcohol tax; the Thai taxation system is so ridiculously high that it makes it attractive to smuggle tobacco and booze.

Those e-cigarettes cannot be taxed and hence are simply forbidden; Khon Thai thinks that like that the problem is solved. No, it is not - as example proves.

“The news hurts the country’s image as a tourist destination." The news is the corruption of THB 40'000 which hurts the country, not the fact that there is a nicotine delivery device called e-cigarette. Get the facts right, amend your ridiculous excise laws and make (legally) money on the sin tax; everything else is rubbish - pardon my French! 

[RocketDog]

6 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Be buggered , E smokes, normal smokes banning ,

 

but now we legalise marjiana 

In every dark cloud a ray of sunshine. 

[Vacuum]

2 hours ago, KKr said:

I was helped not too long ago, by an audibly American volunteer who happened to be around, to get someone from the lock-up before a long weekend

What laws did you violate?

[sawadee1947]

I really don't understand the whole discussion about e-cigarettes.

It's not allowed in Thailand.

That's it. Live with it! 

[mommysboy]

12 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

I really don't understand the whole discussion about e-cigarettes.

It's not allowed in Thailand.

That's it. Live with it! 

Or move.  Yes, this really is the way it is.  It's their country.  It's a crazy situation but that's the way it is.

[DrTuner]

42 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

I really don't understand the whole discussion about e-cigarettes.

It's not allowed in Thailand.

That's it. Live with it! 

Yes, never discuss anything, all laws are gospel and shall never be doubted nor challenged.

[KMartinHandyman]

We had a young Thai lad that works for me arrested for smoking an e-cig.
 
They tried to get a bribe off him but he didn't have the money. Number quoted was 60,000thb. 
 
They messaged a few of the staff to chip in and help him but eventually they detained him and it went to court anyway. 
 
We had to pay 14,000thb bail to secure his release and he is due in court in the near future.
 
Interesting to see the outcome of the case and whether it was worth paying the initial 'fee'.

Wow, thanks. That blows my idea its only harsh for foreigners theory.

[Trevor Collins]

I wonder how brave the cops would be to stop and attempt to bribe a Russian man accompanied by his friends instead of a lone female French tourist, for smoking an e-cigarette?

[monkfish]

According to The Phuket News:

1. She refused to pay the 40,000B bribe

2. So was arrested and charged
3. Paid 100,000B bail.
4. She was fined by the Court 827B!!
5. Spent 4 days in a Bangkok immigration prison before being deported.

So it seems deportation is on the books if caught, i wonder if she got blacklisted.

827 Baht fine I wonder what that was for because as far as I know only the import and selling of E-cigs is illegal possession and use is not illegal.




 

[Trevor Collins]

I hope this tourist has reported the incident to the authorities in Paris and the Thai ambassador summoned to the French Foreign Ministry to explain the actions of his compatriots. What is the standard fine for smoking an e-cigarette in Thailand and why wasn't it applied in this case? Sorry, my mistake, I was thinking Western standards then.

[sawadee1947]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

Yes, never discuss anything, all laws are gospel and shall never be doubted nor challenged.

I like your jokes. A handful of farangs discuss Thailand's law. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Accidental Tourist]

Sometimes a think Thailand is just a BIG JOKE...

[SweetStickyRice]

Hello "monspencer"

 

My comment does not need rewording. Nowhere in there does it state that Thailand is a 1st world or developed country. If that is what you have understood, then I'm afraid your brain needs rewiring. Regards;

Edited March 4, 2019 by SweetStickyRice

[bristolgeoff]

People still use quietly and a tax will come into play soon enough 

[Ulic]

The only problem the government has with e-cigarets is their inability to tax them. That and the family tobacco monopoly here in Thailand means certain people stand to lose a pile of money. While e-cigarettes are not a perfect solution to tobacco it has been shown to be not nearly as harmful and a gateway to stopping smoking. I don't smoke, and I feel sorry for those addicted. E-cigarettes can be part of the solution/mitigation of smoking.  

[robblok]

10 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Be buggered , E smokes, normal smokes banning ,

 

but now we legalise marjiana 

If only that were true, it is legalised for medical use.. not recreational use.

[DJ54]

Don’t know the reasons why it was banned. Health? Some use for smoking TCH?.....

[BestB]

1 minute ago, DJ54 said:

Don’t know the reasons why it was banned. Health? Some use for smoking TCH?.....

Initially it was shisha only because no tax then expanded to all. I am guessing health reason is only a pretext 

[DrTuner]

I think the shisha crusade started with Samarn. Jolly old fellow: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/868309-dr-samarn-beer-gardens-are-against-the-law/

 

I hope he's enjoying his new position at the VD clinic. Good riddance, but seems these characters just keep on coming. They should ship them to Antarctica.

[IslandLover]

6 hours ago, monkfish said:

According to The Phuket News:

1. She refused to pay the 40,000B bribe

2. So was arrested and charged
3. Paid 100,000B bail.
4. She was fined by the Court 827B!!
5. Spent 4 days in a Bangkok immigration prison before being deported.

So it seems deportation is on the books if caught, i wonder if she got blacklisted.

827 Baht fine I wonder what that was for because as far as I know only the import and selling of E-cigs is illegal possession and use is not illegal.




 

Refusing to pay the bribe?  Resisting arrest?  

 

The whole sorry affair damages Thailand as a tourist destination if the authorities insist on using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

[mommysboy]

20 minutes ago, IslandLover said:

Refusing to pay the bribe?  Resisting arrest?  

 

The whole sorry affair damages Thailand as a tourist destination if the authorities insist on using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Spot on.  The sums of money being talked about are out of all proportion to the 'crime' imo.  We all know it's best to just hand over the money, but what about if a cop demanded 40k for not wearing a helmet?

 

I think recent events with e-cigarettes will rebound badly on Thailand, which has built its reputation on being cheap, cheerful, and easy.