Fruitless: Tourists they face jail time for bringing fruits to Thailand, govt warns

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts and the replies have been removed.

 

Some off topic posts and replies about bringing cheese into Thailand have been removed as this topic is about:

 

Fruitless: Tourists they face jail time for bringing fruits to Thailand, govt warns

[Clarkey611]

4 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

I recall flying into Perth with a golf bag as I intended playing golf while there. The customs officer asked if I had golf shoes in my luggage, which of course I did. He then proceeded to check them, decided they were dirty with strands of grass and the like, and took them away to clean them.

 

he did an excellent job but didn’t seem so happy when I asked him if he could also clean my black leather work shoes ????????

I had a boss who travelled to New Zealand on a regular basis and went through the RED lane and declared her golf shoes. These were cleaned thoroughly and returned in a pristine condition. A win win situation she said, but was not describing her golfing prowess.

[billd766]

47 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Exactly, another AN member who cannot read the OP.   The law applies to Thais also, as the OP stated.

And who is enforcing this law on the Thai people?

[zzaa09]

7 hours ago, Michael Hare said:

You were very very lucky not to be fined. An Australian was fined over $2,000 for failing to declare a subway sandwich. 

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/aussie-traveller-hit-with-2664-fine-after-failing-to-declare-subway-sandwich-c-7516246

 

Hilary Swank was fined $200 for failing to declare an apple and a organge on arrival in NZ,

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/31/filmnews.film

The cautionary customs regulations regarding agricultural products/food stuffs are all too commonplace throughout the world's borders and airports....

 

Not only are these particular laws and regulations political in nature, but more importantly act in protecting local agriculture from distinctly foreign pests or disease. 

 

It has it's place.

[metisdead]

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[IvorBiggun2]

38 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Thus: anyone with solid information on this would be providing valuable advice. 

Try this link.

 

http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Food%20and%20Agricultural%20Import%20Regulations%20and%20Standards%20-%20Narrative_Bangkok_Thailand_8-14-2009.pdf

[Geordieabroad]

On 4/12/2023 at 3:35 PM, dinsdale said:

This is why Australia is the most bio-secure continent/island/country in the world. If you think allowing bio risks in to possibly decimate agricultural industries then that's your opinion. South Australia has even more bio secruriy in place. Interstate travel into South Australia is guarded by customs for the same reasons. Fruit fly is a big one. 

Pity they never thought of that when someone brought pet rabbits in????

[dinsdale]

2 minutes ago, Geordieabroad said:

Pity they never thought of that when someone brought pet rabbits in????

True indeed. Add to that foxes, cane toads and numerous other things. 

[Jaggg88]

On 4/12/2023 at 3:24 PM, JensenZ said:

This reminds me of my own experience back in about 1998. I was flying from US to Australia. I packed 2 bananas in my carry on bag which I intended to eat on board. I'd forgotten about them, and when I was picking up my bags at the Brisbane airport the sniffer dogs were getting excited at the smell of overripe bananas.

 

They did a full search and treated me like a criminal due to an obvious mistake. Wtf would anyone smuggle 2 overripe bananas (practically mush at this point) into Australia. Customs officers are not allowed to use common sense. The whole customs team was totally bamboozled and didn't know what to do. I was there for hours, waiting for a decision. Luckily they didn't arrest me and sent a fine in the mail.

 

This is no way to treat tourists... over fruit. A tourist is not importing fruit, but bringing something to eat. Just throw it in a bin and tell the tourist it's not allowed.

 

 

You are not importing fruit but diseases and pests that are not indigenous to the Australian continent and that's why they are so strict.

[markclover]

Let's get to the core of the matter.  Who the hell eats "fruit"?

[cncltd1973]

anyone bringing smelly fruit on an airplane should immediately be blacklisted, returned to their country and their passports revoked forever, never again allowed to cross their border, amen

Edited April 13, 2023 by cncltd1973
cheekiness

[racket]

What is this? Songkran fool joke? 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, markclover said:

Let's get to the core of the matter.  Who the hell eats "fruit"?

Me. Twice a day. Bananas, mangoes, apples, strawberries, melons, jackfruit etc, whatever is in season and twice a day.

[3NUMBAS]

hanging is too good for them ??

 

junta in control means hanging miscreants

[moe666]

Would you prefer the warning that it is illigal to bring fruit into Thailand and what the fine is or do you prefer to show up without a clue and get busted  for the fruit you have brought with you. Alot of people just want to moan and groan about Thailand. I think a few of you just want an excuse to bitch.

[ujayujay]

Can the government please publish the tiny list of things that don't go to jail for in Thailand?????..........Songkran Songkran????????????

Edited April 13, 2023 by ujayujay

[JensenZ]

5 hours ago, Jaggg88 said:

You are not importing fruit but diseases and pests that are not indigenous to the Australian continent and that's why they are so strict.

I'm not importing anything. Sniffer dogs have no problem detecting forgotten lunch and rotten fruit, which is something a lot of people inadvertantly do.

 

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, moe666 said:

 Alot of people just want to moan and groan about Thailand. I think a few of you just want an excuse to bitch.

Yet most people feel that threatening tourists with a huge fine and imprisonment over a piece of fruit is too much. This is not just an "excuse to bitch", but an actual good reason to bitch LOL

[JensenZ]

12 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

still kicking is right and your reply is wrong. Even if you did forget that the bananas were in your carry-on bag, as you claim, your memory would have been jogged when you were completing the arrival card. You obviously answered the question with regards to food as NO. So the treatment you received was what you deserved for FALSELY completing your arrival card.

Your answer is absurd. Had I remebered the 2 bananas (that I packed in my backpack in Atlanta to eat on board) by the time I got to Brisbane airport about a day later, I would have thrown them out on the plane. LOL. Second option would be to throw them in the discard bin before going through customs.

 

You think I should have declared the 2 rotten bananas so I could eat them later or make a banana smoothy? That the dumbest suggestion I've ever heard - declaring rotten bananas on the arrival card.

[bignok]

On 4/12/2023 at 5:40 PM, Callmeishmael said:

I don't know about the rest of you, but I would rather pay the 20K baht than go to jail! ????

Could write a book about Thai jails.

[JensenZ]

9 hours ago, DavisH said:

This isn't comparable. Australia wants to remain disease free (as far as possible). Hence it is for environmental reasons. Thailand has just about every disease under the sun. In the OPs case, it is purely to protect local fruit growing industries. 

It is comparible as a lot of people pack food in their carry-ons to eat on board, and on long flights, forget about the items... potentially getting a year in jail according to the new regulations in Thailand.

 

On shorter budget flights, the airplane food is terrible. I've carried my own lunch on many flights over my many years of flying around the globe. I forgot to eat my carry-on fruit one time --- sorry!

[JensenZ]

8 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

 "Just throw it in a bin and tell the tourist it's not allowed".

If you bothered to read the OP properly you'd know that that is what usually happens.

So according to your good reading skills, you discovered this is what "usually happens". Perhaps you could explain the reason for this warning about a fine/jail time if they "usually" just confiscate the items. Is it just to scare people, or only for the unusual occassions?

[IvorBiggun2]

12 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

and on long flights, forget about the items

Nice excuse. Ignorance isn't an excuse in the excuse In the eyes of the law

Edited April 13, 2023 by IvorBiggun2

[JensenZ]

12 hours ago, kennw said:

You obviously did not read the many warnings or announcments about fruit, plants etc. not allowed to enter Australia due to bio-risk. Just get rid of it before you get on board. As an Island Australia is free from many bio problems and they are just trying to keep it that way. Just use your common sense.

My overripe  banana story has attracted too much attention from virtuous members with great memories who never make mistakes, and then proceed to lecture me about Australian regulations, that I am well aware of.

 

You obviously didn't read my post. Had you read it, you would have understood that I forgot about the bananas after a very long flight. I'm quite aware of the law and the discard bin as I've flown into Australia many times over the years. This was the first time I had forgotten my packed food. This has nothing to do with common sense.

[JensenZ]

9 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Nice excuse. Ignorance isn't an excuse in the excuse In the eyes of the law

Oh goodness. The virtuous members never quit. I expected a fine - I got a fine. It was the drama they caused over 2 rotten bananas that made the story a bit more interesting. Had I just received a fine, I would not have written about the event.

 

It has nothing to do with excuses or ignorance - I just plain forgot.

Edited April 13, 2023 by JensenZ

[Lemsta69]

6 hours ago, Geordieabroad said:

Pity they never thought of that when someone brought pet rabbits in????

It was the Poms what brought the rabbits, innit?

[JensenZ]

15 hours ago, Michael Hare said:

You were very very lucky not to be fined. An Australian was fined over $2,000 for failing to declare a subway sandwich. 

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/aussie-traveller-hit-with-2664-fine-after-failing-to-declare-subway-sandwich-c-7516246

 

Hilary Swank was fined $200 for failing to declare an apple and a organge on arrival in NZ,

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/31/filmnews.film

Actually, I eat a lot of Subways, so would have preferred to have gotten a fine like Jessica Lee and received a gift box from Subway, including a $2664 voucher to spend at Subway. She did well.

 

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/shock-twist-after-womans-2664-subway-fine-at-airport/news-story/7b459b45e8e0a041d6cebd5fdff572db

 

"To her surprise, Subway sent her a voucher for $2664 worth of food following the fine."

 

By contrast, in inflation adjusted AUD from 1998, my 2 bananas cost me about $500 in 2023 money and I had no offer of free bananas to cover my expenses.

 

[richard_smith237]

14 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Oh goodness. The virtuous members never quit. I expected a fine - I got a fine. It was the drama they caused over 2 rotten bananas that made the story a bit more interesting. Had I just received a fine, I would not have written about the event.

 

It has nothing to do with excuses or ignorance - I just plain forgot.

Even a fine is excessive IMO... 

 

It's easy enough to travel and forget about the snacks we have packed - especially when travelling with children... We travel with plenty of different snacks for our son and often forget about half of them only to ‘find them’ when unpacking at our destination. 

 

The ‘virtuous’ members you commented are being ridiculous and IMO this law is utterly ridiculous and completely ignores the ‘human side of travelling’....  Someone being fined for accidentally carrying a banana is completely OTT IMO - such a mistake is obviously an innocent mistake where the ’passenger’ clearly had no intention to illegally bring in a banana...  Its easy enough for the customs to just say.. Opps.. please be more careful in future !!.. thats it - a fine is preposterous.

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

14 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

14 hours ago, JensenZ said:

and on long flights, forget about the items

Nice excuse. Ignorance isn't an excuse in the excuse In the eyes of the law

Neither is something like this ‘crime of the century’ - the contempt with which the customs treat people as if they are career-drugs-traffickers is over the top... These obvious mistakes ‘could’ be handled with some humanity. 

 

 

[Michael Hare]

A few years ago, an eldery English friend of mine (90+ years), flew from Bangkok to Sydney to visit his daughter. On arrival, he ticked no on all the boxes. No food, no wood items etc. The agricultural people did a bag search and found he had a pair of leather shoes which had wooden shoe stretchers inside each pair. "What are these mate?" asked the agricultural officer. "Shoe stretchers, my good man, to keep my shoes in shape" replied my English friend. "They are wooden, mate and you didn't declare them" said the agricultural officer. My English friend was having difficulty understanding the Australian accent and asked if he could talk to someone higher up who could speak English. All hell broke out. My English friend was taken to a side room where a full body search was made, even an anus search. He had to pay a fine, his shoe stretchers were taken away and destroyed and my friend never went back to Australia again.