What to do if Thai police stop you and attempt a ‘shake-down’

[Salerno]

6 hours ago, Lizzy Duang said:

I still believe in the case that inspired this article the Taiwanese woman would have paid 30 k in court.

What is that figure based on?

 

In the most infamous case to date, the actual fine by the court was 827 Baht.

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Salerno

[jacko45k]

17 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

The cops here dont just try it on with tourists and foreigners , they do the same to Thais , but the Thais seem to have ways of deflecting the cops using humour , influence  or acting dumb

In the case of my Mrs being railed at for false accusations made him back down and want to get away from her. I agree they try it on with their own, but for those of us who live in the foreigner heavy area of Pattaya, it does not look that way. Watching the helmet offenders in front of the police station being flagged over will confirm the bias.... 

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The article was written by some bloke in Phuket so, yes, you're right, what does he know!

Under the banner 'National News'.  Did you miss that?  Has Pattaya declared UDI & is not now part of the Thai Nation?

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, there is most certainly a number one can call to complain in Bangkok... not sure it is the police though. My Mrs has used it when a driver got lost and wanted to abandon us heaven knows where. 

But the fines are inflicted by the police (except in Pattaya!)

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, mikebell said:

But the fines are inflicted by the police (except in Pattaya!)

Well  good luck getting a policeman to impose a fine on a taxi driver... he would probably be more interested in seeing your passport, and whether you recently threw a cigarette butt down!

[mikebell]

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Well  good luck getting a policeman to impose a fine on a taxi driver... he would probably be more interested in seeing your passport, and whether you recently threw a cigarette butt down!

'the deputy director-general of the DLT, said the department had informed taxi drivers that they must not exploit their passengers by illegally adjusting their meters for higher fare rates'.  This announcement was made last week by 'The Department of Land Transport (DLT)', so there must be a national law which as ever is ignored by the BIB unless they stand to gain.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, mikebell said:

20 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The article was written by some bloke in Phuket so, yes, you're right, what does he know!

Under the banner 'National News'.  Did you miss that?  Has Pattaya declared UDI & is not now part of the Thai Nation?

What's that got to do with who wrote the article?

[mikeymike100]

In the Bangkok post is says the young lady will safe from prosecution because of bribing the police officers? Even though she was extorted of the money by the cops?

Well that's REAL NICE of them?????

[crazykopite]

I was stopped several years ago by 4 police officers way off the main road I was very polite after all I have been living in the Kingdom for 18 years. They asked me to leave the car and put my hands on the car roof while they spread eagled me and did a body search at the same time two officers searched the inside of my vehicle I was worried that they would plant something and then try to get money out of me but they didn’t they thanked me and let me go the only thing that confuse me was they didn’t look in the trunk of the car nor did they lift the hood of the engine they asked me where I was going I pulled out my pink Thai I’d card and told them I was on my way for a hospital appointment but I will admit to being very nervous as it is well known on the island that the police like to collect T Money !!!!!

[Lorry]

On 2/1/2023 at 7:39 AM, nigelforbes said:

If there was no police force, the drug trade in Thailand would swamp the country in no time

Somehow I feel Chuwit might disagree:

 

[Lizzy Duang]

13 hours ago, Salerno said:

What is that figure based on?

 

In the most infamous case to date, the actual fine by the court was 827 Baht.

 

Here are a couple of examples with heavier fines (including deportation) and explanations by lawyers: 

https://iamkohchang.com/blog/vaping-in-thailand.html

Edited February 2, 2023 by Lizzy Duang

[Gknrd]

Pay and go on. That is what the Thai's do.  

[Salerno]

8 hours ago, Lizzy Duang said:

Here are a couple of examples with heavier fines (including deportation) and explanations by lawyers: 

https://iamkohchang.com/blog/vaping-in-thailand.html

Yes I've read that blog before and it doesn't cover the details nor does it report accurately, the deportation is the most infamous case I referenced.

 

There was obviously more to the story - the BiB extortion attempt was for 40K, she refused to pay, off to the police station, was bailed for 100K,  her court case was set for a month later after her scheduled flight home (can't remember if that meant she was on overstay or not on completion of the court case), she went to court and was fined 827 Baht - not 40K that reading the blog would lead you to believe. According to her after the court case she thought she was being taken to get her passport back but she was actually taken to Bangkok IDC where she was locked up for a few days before getting a flight out. She also claimed her bail money wasn't returned.

 

The 30K fine for the the Dutchman in Pattaya they mention wasn't a fine it was pure extortion by the BiB, it never went to court.

 

Vapers with any common sense should know all about this and be prepared to bargain down. As I posted on another thread at the start of the Charlene story almost a week ago:

 

Hence my comment you replied to, cases of farang actually reaching court are as rare as hens teeth so I don't know where the figure of 30K was pulled from - officially it's supposed to be 4 tines the value of the vape. The French woman is the only one I know of and as stated, the actual fine was only 827 Baht. But the inconvenience, the added cost of lawyers and the possible ramifications does not leave taking it to court as a preferred option IMO.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Salerno

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

What's that got to do with who wrote the article?

You appeared to suggest that the article was only relevant to Phuket and not Pattaya.

[Shocked farang]

The article is right about paying the "fine" on the spot as it useless to fight against the Thai police, the act like a mafia and if the issue is brought to the police station more and more senior officers will be looking into the issue which means it will become more expensive. You cannot beat the Thai police, period. 

[Huckenfell]

On 1/31/2023 at 8:47 PM, Thailand said:

"be prepared to negotiate an on-the-spot fine and payment"

 

This article appears to be advocating bribery and corruption?

OMG ! Do you actully live in Thailand do you have any idea whatsoever how the RTP operate.