Police will face trouble if caught taking bribes - tourists stopped by traffic cops in Phuket creates stir

[bristolgeoff]

License check must be thai license or international one.The other one is a helmet.Have this covered you will be fine

[Black Angus]

In my early days I called it honest corruption. Now it's known as GREED.  I use to tell Tourist if the ask for big sum, say OK, but I pay with you at Police Station. Funny how many times they then waved them on saying they were too busy.

[rosst]

18 hours ago, ChipButty said:

A lot of tourist rent a motorbike using their driving license the police have been onto that for few years, Make sure your license covers you to ride a bike, I think the law also now states you must have an International Driving Permit 

It is not widely known or publicised but all ASEAN countries recognise each others licenses for driving. 

My Philippines license is readily accepted in Thailand but I have to argue with the police in Bali. 

[The Hammer2021]

20 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Finances are clearly tight if they are stopping and fining Thais now. A few years ago I was at this location and watched the cops stopping many bikes. They were only stopping farangs, most who were wearing helmets, for licence checks and fining pretty much all of them. At the same time there were hundreds of Thais riding past helmetless and often 3 or 4 per motorbike who didn't even get a glance from the cops. 

 

The Thais are really poor.

[The Hammer2021]

As most foreigners come from countries that drive on the right the whole idea of motorbike hire should he reviews and actually banned. It's a dangerous form of transportation primarily used by poor locals who can't afford cars but tourists treat them as 'fun' and frequently drive drunk and dangerously.

[Lokie]

20 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Finances are clearly tight if they are stopping and fining Thais now. A few years ago I was at this location and watched the cops stopping many bikes. They were only stopping farangs, most who were wearing helmets, for licence checks and fining pretty much all of them. At the same time there were hundreds of Thais riding past helmetless and often 3 or 4 per motorbike who didn't even get a glance from the cops. 

 

Iv commented on this exact location and the other end of Bangla/Beach rd junction in the mornings over the years - dont forget the Thai riders and passengers do not need helmets like Farang as they all have their 'Klingon Cloaking Devices' activated on approach, thus you can't really blame the poor BIBs for not seeing them can you?

 

One of my morning walk highlights depending which way I came back (either along the beach front or back down 200Pee rd towards Bangla I would stop and just observe at a distance the 'Safety' operations daily... I would look up the rd at oncoming bikes and give them a pass or pull call depending on the rider if farang or Thai, On serious note I only really seen them pull helmet-less farang Numbskulls so fair cop so to speak however they Never pulled any Thais - At all... also Iv never yet when been stopped myself by Phuket Plod been proffered a bribe, odd time I have had the pleasure of a trip to see the Sargent at the Fines desk and paid exact fine, but thats only my experience in riding 14 years around Phuky.

 

Now down at the Immigration office on the other hand... but thats a different story (Free COR anyone???) 555

[Andycoops]

20 hours ago, yogi yogi said:

`i have to carry passport with me.  how about a copy of it

You are required by law to carry your passport under the emergency decree currently in place here.

Nearly all will accept a photocopy or carry a picture of your visa page and facial photo page on your phone.

[soi3eddie]

42 minutes ago, Lokie said:

One of my morning walk highlights depending which way I came back (either along the beach front or back down 200Pee rd towards Bangla I would stop and just observe at a distance the 'Safety' operations daily... I would look up the rd at oncoming bikes and give them a pass or pull call depending on the rider if farang or Thai, On serious note I only really seen them pull helmet-less farang Numbskulls so fair cop so to speak however they Never pulled any Thais - At all... also Iv never yet when been stopped myself by Phuket Plod been proffered a bribe, odd time I have had the pleasure of a trip to see the Sargent at the Fines desk and paid exact fine, but thats only my experience in riding 14 years around Phuky.

 

My experience too here in Thailand similar. In the last 20 years I've been stopped probably a dozen times for licence checks or a legitimate offence. Each time waived on my way or fined and ticketed appropriately with receipts. Only once was it by a "rogue" cop looking for a bribe or backhander and on that occasion my wife was with me and she dealt with it (I paid her back of course ???? ).

 

[AussieinThaiJim]

15 hours ago, PEE TEE said:

I bet not one policeman took a bribe they are all too honest.... aren't they?

Caught pay 500 Baht! Pay now, no you write a ticket and I’ll pay at police station!

No way!!!

[thesetat2013]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Phuket police deny ‘robbing’ foreigners, defend traffic checks

 

The photo that accompanied the post that accused police of ‘destroying tourism’ and ‘robbing’ foreigners. Photo: via Phuket Provincial Police

 

PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police have defended their officers standing in front of a restaurant in Patong after a post online accused police of “destroying tourism” and quoting foreign tourists as being “robbed”.

 

The response by Phuket Provincial Police, saying that the police officers were only doing their duty as traffic police, was posted online late yesterday (Nov 24).

 

The response came after a post on the “Phuket Sandbox – SHA Plus” Facebook page on Sunday (Nov 21) showed a photo of police officers in front of the “Kitchen” restaurant, located next door to the well known TaiPan nightclub on Rath-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, at the intersection with Bangla Rd.

 

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-police-deny-robbing-foreigners-defend-traffic-checks-82156.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-11-25

 

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The police use these checkpoints as a collection booth. They could not possibly find traffic violators driving poorly at a checkpoint.  They could not prevent any accidents as well sitting there in one place demanding fines paid on the spot. This is not police enforcement or traffic laws. When will they begin to do real police work? I thought these checkpoints were supposed to be stopped by the government. I guess loss of income to the upper brass made them forget this quickly

[IvorBiggun2]

32 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

I thought these checkpoints were supposed to be stopped by the government.

Reintroduced on 1st April.

 

Quote

Thailand’s deputy police chief says drink-driving checkpoints will return from tomorrow, following a 6-month hiatus to weed out corrupt practices. Last October, national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk put a stop to all police checkpoints, including those checking for drink driving offences, after several complaints of corruption among officers. Following an overhaul, his deputy, Damrongsak Kittiprapas, says the checks will return in some locations, including Bangkok, from tomorrow.

 

[ifmu]

On 11/25/2021 at 9:55 AM, mancub said:

Often hard to follow the "rules" when they're sometimes made up or at best selectively implemented. 

helmets and drivers license are not "made up rules" 

 

i would need a lot more info to give an opinion on how the rules are enforced  or to whom .. 

[ArcticFox]

Well it seems that New Normal Thailand isn't much different than Old Normal Thailand.
Everyone from taxi drivers to hotels to police are all right back to shaking-down tourists for money.

How wonderful that some things don't change 'eh?

[ChipButty]

3 hours ago, AussieinThaiJim said:

Caught pay 500 Baht! Pay now, no you write a ticket and I’ll pay at police station!

No way!!!

I got a ticket once for parking illegally I had to leave my truck and get a taxi to the police station which was about 6 or 7 km come back with the receipt and he then let me go, It was on a Sunday and I wasnt blocking anybody in, to close to a junction I never did it again

[LudwigK]

But some Farangs believe they can do here everything for Fun!!!!  OR do they drive in Europe without license or helmet? 

Edited November 26, 2021 by LudwigK

[frankie machine]

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The RTP at it's inception seems to have been created with a status quo from the government. We will NOT pay you a living wage, but you have a franchise, and the limit of your income is based solely on your own creativity and initiative, and you will always be protected. Is that not the case? 

 

Many years ago, my sister in law, was involved with a rather dodgy Brit, while living on Samui. When she finally ditched him, he was livid, and just could not handle it. He ended up coming one night, at 3:30am, and burning down her bungalow, which was made of wood and thatch. It went up like a bomb. Fortunately, neither she, nor her roommate were there at the time, or they would have either died, or ended up with major 3rd degree burns all over their bodies, which I believe was his intention. In most countries, this would be treated as attempted murder, correct? The police were able to find a video of him racing away from the scene, at around 3:35am, as there was a CCTV camera in front of the police station, only a few hundred meters away from her bungalow. They took him in, and told him he would have to leave Thailand, and could never return. Not sure what exchanged hands, for him to not have been arrested. He was also told he would have to pay my sister in law 120,000 baht for the destruction of her gold, cash, and possessions. Same for her friend. He did pay. We know that for a fact, as we were friendly with a couple of his friends. When she went to the police station to collect, she was told that he never paid, and he was already back in Thailand. But, that they had advocated for her, and made sure he could never come back to Thailand! When she pushed, and told them that she knew for a fact that he had paid them, she was told that her life was now in danger, and that she needed to back down, and go away, or her safety could not be guaranteed.

 

i believe it 

[frankie machine]

3 minutes ago, LudwigK said:

But some Farangs believe they can do here everything for Fun!!!!

and some farangs, like myself, painstakingly follow ALL laws,  because they don't want to be at the mercy of a "justice" system they don't understand and are not familiar with.  Yet, they still get harassed / extorted by the thai cops.  i don't drink or use drugs, or even smoke, and have a very conventional appearance.  Yet, i have had unpleasantness w/ thai cops. 

[IvorBiggun2]

14 minutes ago, frankie machine said:

Yet, i have had unpleasantness w/ thai cops. 

All down to farangs that don't know Thai laws and pay the police monies without asking for a receipt first. No receipt no pay. Simple innit? Similar goes on at Imm offices. 

[metisdead]

Some posts using trolling images have been removed.

[yogi yogi]

On 11/25/2021 at 1:18 PM, yogi yogi said:

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by yogi yogi
spelling

[ChrisY1]

22 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

The difference is, if you are fined at a roadside check, an RTP Officer collects the money and issues a signed/stamped receipt. Useful because, if you are stopped again for the same offence within 24 hours, you can show the receipt and, usually, are let off!

Oh ok....that makes it alright then ...eh??

[ChipButty]

What always makes me laugh is the police stop you and fine for no helmet and whatever else, then let you drive off

[PETERTHEEATER]

33 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Oh ok....that makes it alright then ...eh??

If the person fined has committed the traffic offence, yes.

[tomacht8]

It's all a farce. No helmet? The yoghurt cups here protect almost nothing in the event of a crash.
No drivers license? The driver's license test here is 2 hours of watching videos, ticking a few questions and driving around the block. It would be nice if the police officers would also check in the evening whether the vehicles even have working taillights and front lights. The policemen are welcome to collect 200 baht and should give the drivers a new lightbulb as a small thank you. Then the whole thing would at least make a bit of sense.

[djayz]

On 11/25/2021 at 8:59 AM, webfact said:

They were checking both Thais and foreigners

Pull the other one, it's got bells on it. 

Witnessed the exact same <deleted> in Hua Hin years ago. 

[ross163103]

It's not a not bribe, it's an "on the spot fine"............that's what I was always told anyway. 55555

[frankie machine]

16 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

All down to farangs that don't know Thai laws and pay the police monies without asking for a receipt first. No receipt no pay. Simple innit? Similar goes on at Imm offices. 

i am guessing that  you did not actually comprehend. the full content of my post.  

[frankie machine]

16 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

All down to farangs that don't know Thai laws and pay the police monies without asking for a receipt first. No receipt no pay. Simple innit? Similar goes on at Imm offices. 

sure, you can simply refuse to pay.   this may involve some unpleasantness.  

[ross163103]

I'm not saying having to carry your passport on your person is right or wrong but I've been told the reasoning is; since Thais have to carry ID with them, foreigners need to carry passports. Saying that, I don't carry mine, just a copy. 

[drgoon]

On 11/25/2021 at 4:04 PM, yogi yogi said:

i would have to carry my passport with me on my moto in addition to carrying my dl.  and international drivers license.  ? in addition to carry ing moto rental docs.????? that is at least 4 docs i need to produce?  isnt a copy of passport page enuf

Passport alone isn't enough. 

Your IDL and drivers licence very likely won't be understood or recognised as relevant by the RTP.