Fines of up to 20,000 baht now in place for not wearing a face mask

[webfact]

Picture: 77kaoded

 

Fines for not wearing surgical or cloth masks in public have been made official.

 

77kaoded reported that they had been announced in the Government Gazette on Monday. 

 

There are fines for a first offence and for persistent offenders. The webpage of the gazette said this was in the public interest and mask wearing was important in preventing the spread of Covid-19 and its effects.

 

But it is the leeway that will concern some especially given the propensity of the Thai police to interpret the law and come up with their own level of fines based on what some see as socio-economic or racial factors.

 

The fines are as follows:

 

1st offence: 1,000 baht

 

2nd offence: Anywhere between 1,000 baht and 10,000 baht

 

3rd offence: Anywhere between 10,000 baht and 20,000 baht. 

 

The media reported that the fines were in line with a decree issued in 2015, Article 34 (6) related to following the instructions of state officials. 

 

In addition to the varying fine structure there is also considerable leeway in where the ban is being enforced and where it is either being ignored or where officials themselves don't know the rules.

 

Already the Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was  fined 6,000 baht for a first offence for not wearing a mask at a meeting. 

 

While others in Ayutthaya in the early days of a ban there were fined 500 baht (that was later increased according to reports). 

 

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[ThailandRyan]

So still can be fined while driving my own car with my family inside and not wearing a mask, even though we live under the same roof and the GF and I sleep in the same bed.....interesting times ahead.  Next we will be mandated to have the mask on while inside our own homes.  It is already a Juristic rule to wear them when we go outside the unit, are in the lifts and in the common areas.  Saw a resident swimming yesterday and was about to ask him where his mask was.....lol

[chalawaan]

Can we not do push-ups and star-jumps instead? 

[Rampant Rabbit]

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Saw a resident swimming yesterday and was about to ask him where his mask was.....lol

New  rule, you  only  have to wear it when under the water.

[Rampant Rabbit]

1 minute ago, chalawaan said:

Can we not do push-ups and star-jumps instead? 

Or perhaps  the Can  Can?

[WineOh]

an enforcer would have made a small fortune on my soi this morning.

 

I counted 12 people without masks in the space of 5 minutes.

 

12,000 baht for 5 minutes work

 

Not bad money at all for a local.

[jacko45k]

11 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

So still can be fined while driving my own car with my family inside and not wearing a mask, even though we live under the same roof and the GF and I sleep in the same bed.....interesting times ahead.  Next we will be mandated to have the mask on while inside our own homes.  It is already a Juristic rule to wear them when we go outside the unit, are in the lifts and in the common areas.  Saw a resident swimming yesterday and was about to ask him where his mask was.....lol

People keep coming back with this type of argument, but if the police stop you, is it easy to prove all those in the vehicle are 'family' that you live with?

For me it is just showboating and being argumentative, and putting police in a difficult place. 

Don't worry, no mask will be required in your own home ever.... 

Stop wailing about the rules and work with them. Hopefully then the sooner it will be rescinded. 

[Phuketshrew]

Be careful out there uncle Tu????

[KannikaP]

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

Fines for not wearing surgical or cloth masks

These are two completely different things. A rag around the gob will do then.

How do they know if it is your 1st, 2nd or 3rd offence?

[ChipButty]

19 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

So still can be fined while driving my own car with my family inside and not wearing a mask, even though we live under the same roof and the GF and I sleep in the same bed.....interesting times ahead.  Next we will be mandated to have the mask on while inside our own homes.  It is already a Juristic rule to wear them when we go outside the unit, are in the lifts and in the common areas.  Saw a resident swimming yesterday and was about to ask him where his mask was.....lol

Yesterday I had to go to my condo and in the space of 15 minutes I saw 7 people without mask, 4 farang and 3 Thai staff, even my tenant who had come up in the lift to meet me at the unit was not wearing a mask, I was wearing one 

[ezzra]

Trust the authorities to complicate things with laundry list of fines, just set up one fine for all and be done with it, now the question remain how well they can or be able to enforce the new rule...

[sirineou]

21 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

So still can be fined while driving my own car with my family inside and not wearing a mask, even though we live under the same roof and the GF and I sleep in the same bed.....interesting times ahead.  Next we will be mandated to have the mask on while inside our own homes.  It is already a Juristic rule to wear them when we go outside the unit, are in the lifts and in the common areas.  Saw a resident swimming yesterday and was about to ask him where his mask was.....lol

Is being in your car considered being in public? 

I am a proponent of wearing a facemask, and even though both the wife and me are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, we always wear masks while in public, but not in our car, (we are in Khon Kaen), We drive through the police check point on the ring road  almost every day without wearing a mask, and the police has never stop as or said a word.  

I find it difficult to wear a mask , especially when I am driving, because the breath escaping from the top of my mask makes my eyes water.  

[bkk6060]

Some are so selfish they think it is a joke and don't want to follow the rules and believe they should not be required to wear a mask.

I like it.  Would like to see even higher fines.  

They should put undercover cops at the malls, Foodland and Makro make a fortune. 

 

 

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Yesterday I had to go to my condo and in the space of 15 minutes I saw 7 people without mask, 4 farang and 3 Thai staff, even my tenant who had come up in the lift to meet me at the unit was not wearing a mask, I was wearing one 

Do what you can yourself.... you can't police the world. Too many times people will go through a door forgetting the damned thing, and can't be bothered going back. I have them in the truck, under the seat of my bike and one in my shorts pocket.... 

Too many people want to say...'well he hasn't got one on'.....

 

[darksidedog]

I can understand this in the hot spots, though for provinces with zero cases it seems a bit extreme. Are they doing this in relation to the colour coded provinces, or are the cops able to fleece people everywhere?

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I find it difficult to wear a mask , especially when I am driving, because the breath escaping from the top of my mask makes my eyes water.  

You are probably safe, most vehicles have well tinted glass. Get masks with the metal strip which should be at the top to prevent breath bypassing the mask... escaping breath defeats the object somewhat.  Needs to be pressed down each time you don the damned thing. 

[smedly]

20 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

People keep coming back with this type of argument, but if the police stop you, is it easy to prove all those in the vehicle are 'family' that you live with?

the space inside a car is so compact wearing a mask will make little to no difference no matter who they are - the whole concept is a failure out of the box.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

Do what you can yourself.... you can't police the world. Too many times people will go through a door forgetting the damned thing, and can't be bothered going back. I have them in the truck, under the seat of my bike and one in my shorts pocket.... 

Too many people want to say...'well he hasn't got one on'.....

 

If I had a dollar for every time I walked out of the car without my mask, only to have to walk back .

I have a lot more dollars LOL.

[trainman34014]

Just Bull+++t really as most Thai's don't have a pot to p++s in and will do push up's; only Farang will suffer with heavy cash fines to boost the Cops Tea Money !

[jacko45k]

4 minutes ago, smedly said:

the space inside a car is so compact wearing a mask will make little to no difference no matter who they are - the whole concept is a failure out of the box.

The requirement is like that of minimizing numbers at restaurant tables, hard to police and makes little sense if it is a family. But the rule is written to make policing easier..... I haven't come across police being difficult over this yet.  If you do get stopped you will need to wind the window down and should have a mask in place. 

[sirineou]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

You are probably safe, most vehicles have well tinted glass. Get masks with the metal strip which should be at the top to prevent breath bypassing the mask... escaping breath defeats the object somewhat.  Needs to be pressed down each time you don the damned thing. 

I have tried several types of masks including the ones with the metal strip. Always have the same problem.

Perhaps it has something to do with my very efficient Grecian breathing apparatus (big nose) LOL  

[mtls2005]

Fully vaccinated tourists?

 

I think they will expect to go mask-free.

 

 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

I have tried several types of masks including the ones with the metal strip. Always have the same problem.

Perhaps it has something to do with my very efficient Grecian breathing apparatus (big nose) LOL  

Yes, and if you wear glasses they will steam up too....perhaps you need to put large plugs into your nostrils?

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

Fully vaccinated tourists?

 

I think they will expect to go mask-free.

 

 

Perhaps they should follow whatever rules and requirements are in place...

[uli65]

senseless, useless and harmful decree made by  pathethic peoples.

there is no contagion in public places

 

[smedly]

5 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

The requirement is like that of minimizing numbers at restaurant tables, hard to police and makes little sense if it is a family. But the rule is written to make policing easier..... I haven't come across police being difficult over this yet.  If you do get stopped you will need to wind the window down and should have a mask in place. 

yes I agree and also outdoors in open space there is little to no risk unless you are in a compact crowd of people but as you say - rules are rules 

 

I often say if rules make sense then people would tend to follow them - this one doesn't and those masks that most people wear are a joke and offer little protection 

[scubascuba3]

Did the Prime minister ever pay the 6k? i doubt it

[jacko45k]

4 minutes ago, uli65 said:

senseless, useless and harmful decree made by  pathethic peoples.

there is no contagion in public places

 

A few Bangkok Nightclubs and boxing stadia seem to have defied your statement.

[LennyW]

Not a problem in Ban Chang , Rayong, everybody wears masks already.......so much road works going on the whole town is a dust bowl, water trucks or tidying up seems to have been left out of the contracts!!!

 

[petedk]

38 minutes ago, WineOh said:

an enforcer would have made a small fortune on my soi this morning.

 

I counted 12 people without masks in the space of 5 minutes.

 

12,000 baht for 5 minutes work

 

Not bad money at all for a local.

You must live on the same soi as I do haha

 

There is a little community half way down the soi where the residents NEVER wear masks. I used to buy food from them (and beers 24 hours) just to support them, but I have stopped 100% now. That place could easily end up being a new cluster.