Foreigners arrested for swimming at beach in Pattaya

[Susco]

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

But closing a beach, and ban people from swimming makes no sense to me.

Try the same in most European countries, they have similar bans currently

[Youlike]

None of my neighbours wear a mouthmask when they go walking/running. 

 

And ALL motorcycle taxi's drive against traffic here.

 

But they are all thai and that's the big difference.

[Justgrazing]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

 

The three foreigners were spotted swimming behind the Asia Hotel by municipal officers who told them to get out of the water

as it hadn't been awarded turd free status yet ..

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, Susco said:

Try the same in most European countries, they have similar bans currently

Right, in my country is even worse than that, but none of these bans make sense to me.

Sorry, but those pictures of middle-aged folks, probably hard workers, who have been saving for months for a holiday in Thailand, being forced on a pick up and taken to the police station like criminals, make me very sad.

[Paiman]

42 minutes ago, swerve said:

They are stupid and arrogant.  Take their money.

Some people just follow any law blind. Simple minds that don't have the capacity to more in depth reflection. IT is the law…..f**ck...g idiots. Where is critical thinking?

 

In Victoria / Australia it is illegal to fly a kite.

In England at one stage it was illegal pretending to be a witch, but OK if you were one. There are many more of those laws.

 

Sometimes I encourage Civil disobedience, but this means that you have a more in depth thought process.

 

Yours is a shallow judgement with lots of hate in it.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Yes, I would take the same view to helmets.... it is the law.

5555555555555555

The point is that the Thai police are selective in which laws they enforce. Should be the same for all.

!00,000 fine is insane. They would get less for being actual criminals.

 

All this does is make it more likely that less farangs will return in future. It's not going to save a single life from Corona.

 

Could it be that the plod are so broke from not having bars to collect xmas fund donations from that they are resorting to huge fines to make up the loss?

[cardinalblue]

Helmets prevent brain injuries....3 people swimming in the ocean is not a threat to infect or get infected...

 

fine them for no swimming but not an activity in violation of CV which there is no evidence of transmission 

[bluesofa]

16 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

as it hadn't been awarded turd free status yet ..

You mean you have to pay for them?

[ThailandRyan]

29 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Right, in my country is even worse than that, but none of these bans make sense to me.

Sorry, but those pictures of middle-aged folks, probably hard workers, who have been saving for months for a holiday in Thailand, being forced on a pick up and taken to the police station like criminals, make me very sad.

There has been no tourism in Thailand since the end of March and if they came then, knowing what lay ahead well shame on them. The borders are closed and they should have gone home if indeed they are tourists

Edited May 9, 2020 by ThailandRyan

[Eindhoven]

2 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

No, i am not in favour of breaking the laws, personally i would not risk a heavy fine.

But closing a beach, and ban people from swimming makes no sense to me.

Oh, and pestering the last 10 tourists left in Thailand make even less sense.

 

Why do you imagine that they are tourists?

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Why do you imagine that they are tourists?

Not sure, but i'd guess expats would know better.

 

[Eindhoven]

42 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Right, in my country is even worse than that, but none of these bans make sense to me.

Sorry, but those pictures of middle-aged folks, probably hard workers, who have been saving for months for a holiday in Thailand, being forced on a pick up and taken to the police station like criminals, make me very sad.

 

They had a choice. They have a pool at their apartment. They could have used it.

It sounds as if they were given the option of simply getting out of the water, but choose to not do so.

[Eindhoven]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Not sure, but i'd guess expats would know better.

 

 

The man in question keeps a small boat here. He knew better.

[mauGR1]

4 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

The man in question keeps a small boat here. He knew better.

Ok, you seem to know more than me, in that case, they behaved rather foolishly.

Yet, in a fair world, they should have been told to get out of the beach, and sent on their way.

Swimming in the sea should not be a criminal offense imho.

[OnTheGround]

When we travel to a country, we are expected and required to follow the law of that country. Doesn't matter how much we disagree to that law or current ban. If we can't or don't want do respect the law and any current ban, we shouldn't had travelled to that country. Sounds reasonable, yes?

 

Reverse the scenario: tourists from another country visit your country. Your country has beach & swimming ban. You observe these tourists ignore the ban - what do you think about these tourist who ignore the law in your own country? Be honest.

 

Posters about beach & swimming ban are almost every where now, in 5,6,7 languages. The beach are clearly taped of. Media and FB are full of articles about this ban. The Frenchman case has got so much attention this week. 

How can anyone at this point, defend their action?

 

We can agree or disagree with the current beach ban, just remember that other countries also has beach ban. Not only Thailand. 

 

[Eindhoven]

3 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Ok, you seem to know more than me, in that case, they behaved rather foolishly.

Yet, in a fair world, they should have been told to get out of the beach, and sent on their way.

Swimming in the sea should not be a criminal offense imho.

Did you read the article? According to what is written, they were given the opportunity to get out, but ignored it.

[yuyiinthesky]

9 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Yet, in a fair world, they should have been told to get out of the beach, and sent on their way.

Swimming in the sea should not be a criminal offense imho.

In a fair world there would not even be such a useless nonsense beach ban, and no problem to go swimming in the sea.

Edited May 9, 2020 by yuyiinthesky

[yuyiinthesky]

 

56 minutes ago, Paiman said:

Some people just follow any law blind. Simple minds that don't have the capacity to more in depth reflection. IT is the law…..f**ck...g idiots. Where is critical thinking?

 

In Victoria / Australia it is illegal to fly a kite.

In England at one stage it was illegal pretending to be a witch, but OK if you were one. There are many more of those laws.

 

Sometimes I encourage Civil disobedience, but this means that you have a more in depth thought process.

 

Yours is a shallow judgement with lots of hate in it.

Exactly. Be a good citizen, don't question your orders, don't think about the laws, the ones above know better anyway and you little worm shall not dare to question them or think for yourself.  Your duty is to obey, obey, obey, and snitch on your neighbor, make sure they obey too.

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, Eindhoven said:

Did you read the article? According to what is written, they were given the opportunity to get out, but ignored it.

Yes, i read the article, but with all these fake news, we have the right to doubt everything.

If the article says the truth, well they were silly to defy the law twice.

Meanwhile, i'm just wondering what would happen if the same law would be enforced on the thousands of poor Thais who break the rules on daily basis, out of necessity or just for fun.

[Eindhoven]

10 minutes ago, yuyiinthesky said:

In a fair world there would not even be such a useless nonsense beach ban, and no problem to go swimming in the sea.

 

What if everyone decided to do the same? Everyone likes to think they are special...

[Eindhoven]

4 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Yes, i read the article, but with all these fake news, we have the right to doubt everything.

If the article says the truth, well they were silly to defy the law twice.

Meanwhile, i'm just wondering what would happen if the same law would be enforced on the thousands of poor Thais who break the rules on daily basis, out of necessity or just for fun.

 

I haven't seen any Thais or citizens from the surrounding countries swimming. Collecting shellfish from the beach, yes.

I do see a high number of foreigners deliberately flouting the mask wearing rule. Selfish imbeciles. Often wearing it on their chins with their noses exposed. Utter morons.

Just low lives, really...with an inherent sense of entitlement. They should really be given the bum's rush.

 

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

I haven't seen any Thais or citizens from the surrounding countries swimming. Collecting shellfish from the beach, yes.

I do see a high number of foreigners deliberately flouting the mask wearing rule. Selfish imbeciles. Often wearing it on their chins with their noses exposed. Utter morons.

Just low lives, really...with an inherent sense of entitlement. They should really be given the bum's rush.

 

I think i have never seen a Thai swimming, in the some 20 years i've spent on Koh Chang.

What i see in this story, is another selective enforcement of the law.

I can agree though, there are many arrogant foreigners, who behave badly and make me ashamed, at times, to be a foreigner, so, in a way, i can understand your point.

[Sujo]

30 minutes ago, OnTheGround said:

When we travel to a country, we are expected and required to follow the law of that country. Doesn't matter how much we disagree to that law or current ban. If we can't or don't want do respect the law and any current ban, we shouldn't had travelled to that country. Sounds reasonable, yes?

 

Reverse the scenario: tourists from another country visit your country. Your country has beach & swimming ban. You observe these tourists ignore the ban - what do you think about these tourist who ignore the law in your own country? Be honest.

 

Posters about beach & swimming ban are almost every where now, in 5,6,7 languages. The beach are clearly taped of. Media and FB are full of articles about this ban. The Frenchman case has got so much attention this week. 

How can anyone at this point, defend their action?

 

We can agree or disagree with the current beach ban, just remember that other countries also has beach ban. Not only Thailand. 

 

These people dont seem to be tourists and should know better, but a couple of your points...

 

in australia beaches were closed but people generally were only warned, if they returned they were then fined.

 

when i am on holiday i do not watch tv and rarely social media. If it werent for this forum i would not know there was a ban. Though i am lucky the warning on the beach are in english so i can understand it. News of bans in thailand isnt high on the agenda in other countries.

 

i certainly was not aware it was illegal to go commando in thailand until i read it here, some laws you would just never consider thinking about researching.

 

But as another poster said the guy owns boat there then yes fine them.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Sujo

[OnTheGround]

Quote from another news sourse:

'they had given several soft warnings to those foreigners while they were in the water but they refused to stop swimming and shrugged off the warnings.'

 

[geriatrickid]

3 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Today i saw a line of people waiting for free food. Mostly having no masks, no social distancing too, but surely i can understand that they have no money to pay fines.

Perhaps it's all ok for you and some other, but this double standard is not doing much for this country's reputation.

Somewhat sad that someone has to explain this to you but here goes;

In one case we have people who have made a decision to  violate the safety guidelines for personal satisfaction. In the other case, we have people trying to get enough to eat, to survive. If the people  do not go for food, they will become ill, or starve or there will be social unrest. If the beach rules are not enforced the few become the many and then we have hundreds then thousands  spending an entire day packed together without much clothing to shield themselves.  The police and organizers do try to  space out the food line crowds, but in times like this, people panic and rush forward.  We have some plump Russians at the beach out for a selfish romp being compared to  thais desperate for food. 

 

 

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Its the sanctimonious outrage directed at foreigners which seems to be, well, for want of a better word, outrageous !

 

I wonder how many motorcyclists riding without a helmet passed the Police officers while they arrested this couple.

Isn't it supposed to be illegal for passengers to travel in the back of a pickup? (but often ignored).

 

Ok, so the foreigners are breaking a regulation, quite probably along with a multitude of Thai folk congregating along beach road (as many other threads have shown). However, surely the BiB can simply send them on their way rather than carrying on as these visitors have just committed bank robbery.

 

The disproportionate response highlights the lack of balance and forethought going on at this time, especially when we see the 'food bank' lines etc where people are congregating.

 

At a time like this the Police need be out, Policing in more of a supportive and guiding role rather than taking these draconian and somewhat targeted (at foreigners) response.

The refusal to wear a helmet is a personal choice. When the person falls off and splatters his/her brains, it's finished. No one else is infected. The slow creep of infection in the population risks everyone. If you think those elderly people have health  insurance or the financial means of taking care of an expensive  medical bill you are dreaming. Those are the low end Russians, since the quality Russian does not go to a public Pattaya beach, and certainly does not dress like that. 

 

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

They will never go back here again...and back home their case will get media attention and discouraging others from visiting.. 

LOL. Seriously? Exactly where in the world can Russians go for a beach holiday with  few hassles and where can they obtain Russian language services? Thailand is one of the few countries that welcomes Russians. Due to sanctions and other issues (airfares, connections etc.) the Russian holiday options are limited.

BTW, you know all those jet ski scams that plagued Phuket, Patong especially? It didn't put a dent in its visitors did it? The type of  tourist who goes to Pattaya isn't one to be scared off by this event.

 

3 hours ago, Andrew23 said:

Arrest them, jail them and let the whole world know how fairly Thailand enforces their laws . That should bring more tourists in the future for sure. Paradise under the gun.

They were not "arrested". Do you see handcuffs? They were gently taken into custody to be identified, and to receive a civil infraction because they had refused to be law abiding people and had ignored the lawful order closing the beach and the request to leave the beach. What part of closures of large social gathering venues do you not comprehend?

 

3 hours ago, Andrew23 said:

Quite easy actually. The only thing you need is just don't speak english at all. 

The sign had a Russian language message.

 

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

Right, in my country is even worse than that, but none of these bans make sense to me.

Sorry, but those pictures of middle-aged folks, probably hard workers, who have been saving for months for a holiday in Thailand, being forced on a pick up and taken to the police station like criminals, make me very sad.

The Russian life expectancy is 72 years. A middle aged Russian would therefore  be 72/2 = 36 years old. These were older people, most likely over the age of 70. (Amended to  acknowledge one female may be around 50ish, but the cellulite legs suggest old people)

Highly unlikely they were saving for a holiday since there have been no "holiday" flights from Russia for a month or so. In case you missed it, there are no Russian holiday makers  going to Russia at this time. One cannot go on holiday if there are regulations that prevent entry and more importantly, no flights.

How do you know they are "hard workers"? They are people who arogantly believed that the regulations do not apply to them.

 

51 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Yes, i read the article, but with all these fake news, we have the right to doubt everything.

If the article says the truth, well they were silly to defy the law twice.

Meanwhile, i'm just wondering what would happen if the same law would be enforced on the thousands of poor Thais who break the rules on daily basis, out of necessity or just for fun.

Why not make a proper comparison. The beach is closed because of the   restriction on large social gatherings. The same regulation that closed the beach closed boxing stadiums, soccer stadiums, and shopping malls. How many Thais are gathering in stadiums and malls? If they were, you would have a point. In this case, they were the only people at the beach. When Thais do it and are warned off, they typically obey. How many Thais were cavorting on the beach while these people were there?  

Edited May 9, 2020 by geriatrickid
added female age comment.

[tlandtday]

Not allowing swimming in the sea is ridiculous and just plain stupid.  What could be a safer form of exercise?  What this law is about is either a power play by the authorities or a possible cash cow for the BIB or both.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, tlandtday said:

Not allowing swimming in the sea is ridiculous and just plain stupid.  What could be a safer form of exercise?  What this law is about is either a power play by the authorities or a possible cash cow for the BIB or both.

 

The regulation makes sense and is mirrored by most other nations where there is lock-down and people are asked not to leave their homes for all but essential purposes.

 

Visiting a beach seems harmless, but when everyone visits there is then an issue.

 

That said, there is also a bigger picture - When have the beaches in Thailand ever been so crowded that social distancing cannot be practiced?

 

Just like the alcohol bans it seems there are some knee-jerk reactions, not just in Thailand but globally.

 

 

 

[mauGR1]

6 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

How many Thais were cavorting on the beach while these people were there?  

Sorry to quote just a little part of your long post.

Why on earth the Thais should be cavorting on the beach, don't let your fingers run faster than your thoughts !

Just kidding.

Of course i respect your point of view, it's obvious that you are ok being locked at home, how dare some people go to swim in the sea, how dare some people enjoy their life.

I just wonder who'll pay your pension when nobody will give a s**t anymore.

[worgeordie]

100,000 Baht and 1 year in prison is a lot over the top,

especially with the exchange rates the way they are,

Thais would never be made to pay fines like that ,or

go to jail, is it a deterrent or a way to extract money

from farangs,just imagine if you were caught on the beach

and smoking !

regards worgeordie 

[Davo369]

3 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

100,000 Baht and 1 year in prison is a lot over the top,

especially with the exchange rates the way they are,

Thais would never be made to pay fines like that ,or

go to jail, is it a deterrent or a way to extract money

from farangs,just imagine if you were caught on the beach

and smoking !

regards worgeordie 

My calculations that's 2 and half large £