Nightclub goers tested positive for drugs in Pattaya entertainment venue crackdown, passport inspections for foreigners to continue

[ezzra]

The ills, crime and mayhem of the the rest of Pattaya are never mind, as there's money to made in them pubs and bars where foreigners smokes a bit and don't carry their passport on them...

[micmichd]

14 minutes ago, topt said:

Not in the UK you don't

In GerMoney where I come from you have to be able to identify yourself. 

[Lemsta69]

10 minutes ago, ezzra said:

The ills, crime and mayhem of the the rest of Pattaya are never mind, as there's money to made in them pubs and bars where foreigners smokes a bit and don't carry their passport on them...

you obviously didn't watch the video.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

great advertisement for potential holidaymakers this high season. "come to Thailand, where you will be treated as a potential criminal the minute you step foot off the plane. oh, and don't forget to leave a big tip before you leave."

 

the morons in charge haven't got a bleedin' clue!!

It's always been the case for at least 20 years that raids could be carried out and pee tests done. Never put tourists off before covid, won't put them off now.

The number of tourists that use such places was tiny in comparison to total tourist numbers and will be again.

[Lemsta69]

15 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

How stupid does a tourist have to be to use illegal drugs in a country that has laws against it?

They deserve whatever penalty they get.

I did it when I was younger. It was fun at the time but I'm not sure how I'd have handled it if I'd gotten caught up in a raid. I was a poor, scruffy bagpacker and I wouldn't have had the readies to be able to wriggle out of it ????

[Olmate]

23 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Odd....no mention of raiding the new "Never Land" pub....

They did. Its in another thread.

[smedly]

it is getting worse, what started all this B S - covid is over

 

go catch some drunk drivers who are actually liable to kill someone 

 

pattaya doesn't need this nonsense

 

come to Thailand enjoy your holiday and get arrested for breathing

[Lemsta69]

25 minutes ago, easydoor said:

Here in Thailand you have to do this, as foreigner, by a legal passport.

A copy will suffice. You can get miniature laminated copies made up at a photo shop. Passport photo page on one side, permission to stay stamp on the other. 

 

Or you could keep a copy on your phone. Worked for me the other night when I got stopped at an APEC checkpoint at the end of my soi.

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, Lemsta69 said:

I did it when I was younger. It was fun at the time but I'm not sure how I'd have handled it if I'd gotten caught up in a raid. I was a poor, scruffy bagpacker and I wouldn't have had the readies to be able to wriggle out of it ????

We are all a bit silly when young, so I plead guilty on that. However, everyone knows ( or should know ) that SEA countries are tough on drugs so shouldn't be daft enough to use in a country one is not familiar with. I had a mate that was always offering me some of the wacky baccy, but I refused because I didn't want to be banged up in LOS for something I smoked weeks before, if caught up in a bar raid.

[thaibeachlovers]

22 minutes ago, ezzra said:

The ills, crime and mayhem of the the rest of Pattaya are never mind, as there's money to made in them pubs and bars where foreigners smokes a bit and don't carry their passport on them...

Yes, that's how it works in LOS. Either accept it and don't do something that will see you banged up, or don't complain if it all goes wrong.

[Lemsta69]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

We are all a bit silly when young, so I plead guilty on that. However, everyone knows ( or should know ) that SEA countries are tough on drugs so shouldn't be daft enough to use in a country one is not familiar with. I had a mate that was always offering me some of the wacky baccy, but I refused because I didn't want to be banged up in LOS for something I smoked weeks before, if caught up in a bar raid.

Have you been reading about the raids in Bangkok on the late-night karaoke joints? It seems taking illicit drugs here is all the rage now with a certain type of tourist. Mainland Chinese I believe, they seem to like a good party just as much as the next man. 

 

Ketamine was one drug that was mentioned recently, they mix it with water and call it Happy Drink or something. I've heard some horror stories about the Special K, wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

[Henryford]

51 minutes ago, cheapcanuck said:

If they are asking for passports in bars/clubs I'll be in trouble.

I am sure a copy would be OK. I always carry a copy passport & visa.

[Dan O]

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

great advertisement for potential holidaymakers this high season. "come to Thailand, where you will be treated as a potential criminal the minute you step foot off the plane. oh, and don't forget to leave a big tip before you leave."

 

the morons in charge haven't got a bleedin' clue!!

They may not be the morons in this case. You're visiting another country and need to follow their laws/rules, even when it might conflict with your idea of what a vacation should be.  People bitch when the authorities do nothing, don't inspect and let night life become a free for all, often with some serious injuries involved. But when they do the inspections and check people complain of over abuse of power. Pick a side but try to remember your a visitor here

[sezze]

I will never take my passport with me , I am not the person to lose things , but carrying a passport with you , possibly drunk or in shorts , is not on my list . I got my ID card with me , passport will be in a safe. If i am ever in a place that will get checked , i guess i will go to the police station. I do firmly believe that by far most people do not carry their passport with them .

[alien365]

Out of interest, do you have to do a pee test if the police ask you to? What are women expected to do? Crouch down with a cop watching? 

[mikeymike100]

2 hours ago, bob smith said:

the following excerpt from the article above would suggest otherwise:

 

" Some of the foreigners were unable to present their passports and they were taken to the Pattaya Police Station for questioning."

"for questioning" So we can extort some money out of you?????

[HuskerDo2]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

We are all a bit silly when young, so I plead guilty on that. However, everyone knows ( or should know ) that SEA countries are tough on drugs so shouldn't be daft enough to use in a country one is not familiar with. I had a mate that was always offering me some of the wacky baccy, but I refused because I didn't want to be banged up in LOS for something I smoked weeks before, if caught up in a bar raid.

They make everyone pee right there and then to test them for drugs in their system?  This must be the only country in the world that allows such a thing. Well, other than a certain country that starts with a "C" and ends in "hina". 

[mikeymike100]

51 minutes ago, Dan O said:

They may not be the morons in this case. You're visiting another country and need to follow their laws/rules, even when it might conflict with your idea of what a vacation should be.  People bitch when the authorities do nothing, don't inspect and let night life become a free for all, often with some serious injuries involved. But when they do the inspections and check people complain of over abuse of power. Pick a side but try to remember your a visitor here

Whilst I agree when going to a foreign country you should follow their laws etc, however the problem in Thailand is the laws that the police follow are inconsistent. Some say you need  your original document, some say a photo copy is OK, some say a picture on your phone is fine?

If the police were serious about this they would have portable fingerprint scanners, like other counties,  instead of taking people to the police station to extort money?

[Mickeymaus]

Regarding these drug tests. What if you have a small bottle with "clean" urine with you? Does the police search for this?

[madisongy]

Ha!   I'm not wearing a bunch of expensive jewelry, or carrying around a passport....both can get you robbed. 

I see some references to testing for weed......I'm guessing with weed legal, they're testing for all the other drugs....no?   Can you still get busted for a positive weed test in Thailand?

[Lemsta69]

7 minutes ago, madisongy said:

Ha!   I'm not wearing a bunch of expensive jewelry, or carrying around a passport....both can get you robbed. 

I see some references to testing for weed......I'm guessing with weed legal, they're testing for all the other drugs....no?   Can you still get busted for a positive weed test in Thailand?

you don't have to carry your original passport with you, a copy will suffice. 

[herfiehandbag]

You should carry your passport in a ziplock bag, that way it doesn't get damp and soggy from perspiration as you trip the light fantastic!

 

If you keep your stache in the same bag; it simplifies the administration and form filling for the police.

 

A further streamlining of the process would be to keep a few thousand Baht in your passport!

 

After all, it will be late at night, and who wants to put anyone to unnecessary trouble...

[foreverlomsak]

2 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

If they are asking for passports in bars/clubs I'll be in trouble.

I was stopped on the street by armed 3 Immigration Officers, mid-morning, who demanded to see my passport, which I didn't have on me, only had a copy of the relevant pages, was forcefully informed that it was a requirement for all foreigners to carry their passports at all times. Photocopies are not acceptable as proof that you are here legally, provision of Thai ID (Driving License and Pink Card) for proof of local address was waved away with "they mean nothing to us".

They had just come out from a hotel as I was walking by, presumably failed to find anybody there without a TM30, so decided to have ago at me.

[Lucky Bones]

3 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

You should carry your passport in a ziplock bag, that way it doesn't get damp and soggy from perspiration as you trip the light fantastic!

 

If you keep your stache in the same bag; it simplifies the administration and form filling for the police.

 

A further streamlining of the process would be to keep a few thousand Baht in your passport!

 

After all, it will be late at night, and who wants to put anyone to unnecessary trouble...

Nope.

Passport stays at home.

Colour copies do the deed.

If Plod is looking for a fight, you won't win and you don't want to give up your most important document to  some bumblehead.????????

[Lemsta69]

2 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

Photocopies are not acceptable as proof that you are here legally

except that in this situation, ie. Region 2 boss flexing in Pattaya, he is reported as saying that a copy is acceptable.

[Lucky Bones]

5 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

I was stopped on the street by armed 3 Immigration Officers, mid-morning, who demanded to see my passport, which I didn't have on me, only had a copy of the relevant pages, was forcefully informed that it was a requirement for all foreigners to carry their passports at all times. Photocopies are not acceptable as proof that you are here legally, provision of Thai ID (Driving License and Pink Card) for proof of local address was waved away with "they mean nothing to us".

They had just come out from a hotel as I was walking by, presumably failed to find anybody there without a TM30, so decided to have ago at me.

Call Tourist Police.

Immigration Plod (or whoever they were) will slink away looking to scam someone else.????????

[mikeymike100]

8 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

I was stopped on the street by armed 3 Immigration Officers, mid-morning, who demanded to see my passport, which I didn't have on me, only had a copy of the relevant pages, was forcefully informed that it was a requirement for all foreigners to carry their passports at all times. Photocopies are not acceptable as proof that you are here legally, provision of Thai ID (Driving License and Pink Card) for proof of local address was waved away with "they mean nothing to us".

They had just come out from a hotel as I was walking by, presumably failed to find anybody there without a TM30, so decided to have ago at me.

What happened ? Were you detained? Were you just walking along the street?

[mikeymike100]

2 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Call Tourist Police.

Immigration Plod (or whoever they were) will slink away looking to scam someone else.????????

Good luck with that?????

[Lucky Bones]

6 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Good luck with that?????

Plod will soon get tired of waiting to get a small gratuity.

They will generally move on.????????

[Gottfrid]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

It's going to be a fun high season.

What is going to be fun? Printing a copy of your passport and bring it with you all the time? Easily amused, aren´t we?
 

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I would never carry my passport. Except when going to immigration, leaving the country, or the rare visit to the bank when it is required. 

 

Here is a color copy of my passport. Please go away now. You are making a nuisance of yourself, officer. 

Why do you feel the need to be that ruse? Are you out of the opinion they don´t have the right to check you? Why not show them your copy with a smile, and say thank you officer, have a nice day?
 

3 hours ago, sikishrory said:

Crying poor us for 3 years when we were all gone and their businesses all closed down.

Now we're back and they haven't learned anything.

What haven´t they learned. Should they have learned to let foreigner be on overstay in your opinion?