Passport checks at BigC Onnut

[Lorry]

  On 9/28/2023 at 12:12 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

The new Thai government is a FACT.

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You winessed this?

 

  On 9/28/2023 at 12:12 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Murderers DO end up in prison, FACT.

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You witnessed a murderer ending up in prison?

 

You forgot the moon landing and the existence of America...all hearsay, I didn't witness it. I only hear other people saying it's true.

[youngster30uk]

  On 9/28/2023 at 11:36 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

You still reported something that is hearsay, wherever what you didn't witness did or did not happen.

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Even if he reported something he saw or happened to him, it would still only be hearsay for us

[Bangkok Barry]

  On 9/28/2023 at 12:16 PM, Lorry said:

You winessed this?

 

You witnessed a murderer ending up in prison?

 

You forgot the moon landing and the existence of America...all hearsay, I didn't witness it. I only hear other people saying it's true.

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Go on. Keep digging your hole deeper and deeper, making yourself look sillier every time 

[Don Chance]

[hotandsticky]

  On 9/28/2023 at 1:02 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Go on. Keep digging your hole deeper and deeper, making yourself look sillier every time 

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Let him run.............................he has nothing better to do.

[owl sees all]

  On 9/28/2023 at 11:54 AM, Lorry said:

Don't get me talking about the moon landing...or the discovery of America 

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Why not?

[FolkGuitar]

  On 9/28/2023 at 8:33 AM, Tropicalevo said:

It is a legal requirement for all foreigners to carry a photo id document that is currently accepted in Thailand.

Same rule for Thais.

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True. But that legal document can be any Thai government-issued ID, such as a driver's license. The Top Cop has said that a passport photo copy is all that is needed.

 

[Gottfrid]

Pure nonsense! Probably didn´t happen. Besides that, by law, you have the right to produce your passport at a later time at the station.

 

It´s just to refuse to pay. 

[connda]

  On 9/27/2023 at 5:51 PM, Lorry said:

As told by a local vendor:

2 farang were checked near BigC, they didn't carry their passport. The police (?) wanted 5000, after some bargaining settled for 3000 per person. 

The vendor found it too much.

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Charge me with a crime and take me to court.  Oh - wait!  There is no "crime" as it was a shake-down.  Anyway - chalk it up for being a good reason not to live in one of Thailand's 'big' cities.  The police out in the sticks have better things to do than shake down the local farangs as doing so simply spurs the ire of their Thai families..

[owl sees all]

  On 9/28/2023 at 12:12 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Neither of the two examples you give me are rumours.

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Not too sure about that Barry. There is no real doubt that North and South America broke free from the big land mass and formed the Atlantic. But whether they were ever discovered or not by the Europeans, well!! Can something like that be discovered? Maybe they just found it on their travels.

 

As for the moon-walking?! No-one believes that now. Definitely a rumour.

[HauptmannUK]

I was asked for my passport one evening last year in Jomtien, close to the police station at the beach. Copper was looking at a young Russian's passport and then turned on his heels as I walked past and asked me for mine. I showed him a scan on my phone. He then asked me where I was staying. Then waved me on. Youngish copper who was polite and spoke pretty good English. No suggestion of a 'tip'.

[Seppius]

If it's true, and they did pay 3000 each, maybe they did not want the police to see their passports

[billd766]

  On 9/28/2023 at 1:02 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Go on. Keep digging your hole deeper and deeper, making yourself look sillier every time 

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Now that would be you digging the hole. Almost every other read and understood the post. 

 

OTOH, you are the unnecessarily pedantic person trying to make something from nothing.

 

You, like most of us who read the post, understood what he meant, and know that nobody is perfect.

 

OTOH I have no idea of the point that YOU are trying to make.

[Bangkok Barry]

  On 9/29/2023 at 6:45 AM, billd766 said:

Now that would be you digging the hole. Almost every other read and understood the post. 

 

OTOH, you are the unnecessarily pedantic person trying to make something from nothing.

 

You, like most of us who read the post, understood what he meant, and know that nobody is perfect.

 

OTOH I have no idea of the point that YOU are trying to make.

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Thank you for your comment. I see nothing wrong in being precise, but that's me. There are others who don't care and even find it offensive, probably to cover their own inadequacies.

[spidermike007]

In all the years I have lived here, the only time I carry my passport, is if I am doing some banking, where it is required, if I am going to immigration, or if I am leaving the country. Otherwise, a color copy of my passport, with the visa page on the reverse side, is always adequate for the cops, airlines, etc. That or my Thai ID or drivers license. Why take that kind of risk, when it is not necessary?

[foreverlomsak]

  On 9/28/2023 at 10:45 AM, owl sees all said:

Too complicated for me to do that. Bar codes and those square dotted things give me the jips.

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Quite agree 3 bar codes and 1 QR code on each bill do you pick and chose or is there a specific one to use.

Bit like when I tried to update bankbook today, failed "could not read bar code" it said, what bar code said I, it's a magnetic strip.

[Bangkok Barry]

  On 9/29/2023 at 6:45 AM, billd766 said:

Almost every other read and understood the post. 

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My initial reaction was that the OP was in Big C and had wanted to pay by card and was asked for his passport. That has been reported before. But then it turned out that not only did it not happen in Big C but it didn't happen to him at all, and nor did he see it happen. It was, to all intents and purposes, bar stool talk.

 

Do you now see the reason for being precise? Prevents any misunderstandings. And then he started throwing a word he doesn't understand back at me and talking about men on the moon!

[billd766]

  On 9/29/2023 at 8:55 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

My initial reaction was that the OP was in Big C and had wanted to pay by card and was asked for his passport. That has been reported before. But then it turned out that not only did it not happen in Big C but it didn't happen to him at all, and nor did he see it happen. It was, to all intents and purposes, bar stool talk.

 

Do you now see the reason for being precise? Prevents any misunderstandings. And then he started throwing a word he doesn't understand back at me and talking about men on the moon!

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Still sad.

 

You just can't let it go.

 

I isn't the end of the world and nobody, other than you cares.

[Bangkok Barry]

  On 9/29/2023 at 9:00 AM, billd766 said:

Still sad.

 

You just can't let it go.

 

I isn't the end of the world and nobody, other than you cares.

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Just because some - in your words, nobody - cares doesn't make it right. Maybe I care as I'm a journalist and to me language precision is essential. Although, seemingly, less so as the world dumbs down. I can understand though that many don't give a rat's fart about whether something is correct or not. Depends on your standards, i suppose.

[Albaby]

  On 9/29/2023 at 9:24 AM, Sticky Rice Balls said:

do i have to wear my helmet?

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Only if you have a brain to protect????

[ChipButty]

Don't let them search you on the street it has been known to plant something on you, 

[Liverpool Lou]

  On 9/27/2023 at 5:51 PM, Lorry said:

As told by a local vendor:

2 farang were checked near BigC,

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Where?  There's hundreds of BigCs.

[Liverpool Lou]

  On 9/29/2023 at 9:00 AM, billd766 said:

Still sad.

 

You just can't let it go.

 

I isn't the end of the world and nobody, other than you cares.

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You seem to care!

[Myran]

Yeah, and then a SWAT team made a raid at his house because he was painting it, or was it mowing the lawn?

[ericthai]

  On 9/28/2023 at 6:48 AM, foreverlomsak said:

Was informed by 3 armed and uniformed Immigration Officers, who had stopped me in the street, that carrying a copy of the passport was not acceptable (as it could be faked), that all foreigners must carry their passports on them when away from home, and I was only 9km away in my local town, I proffered along with the photocopy my Pink Card and Driving License they were waved away with the comment means nothing to us.

Wrong place wrong time, I think they'd just been checking a hotel for foreign residents and failed to find one, so homed in on me.

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The law does not say you need to carry your passport. It says you need to produce your passport.

[Lorry]

  On 9/30/2023 at 2:29 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

Where?  There's hundreds of BigCs.

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Threads have titles. 

 

 

[JensenZ]

  On 9/29/2023 at 4:39 AM, connda said:

Charge me with a crime and take me to court.  Oh - wait!  There is no "crime" as it was a shake-down.  Anyway - chalk it up for being a good reason not to live in one of Thailand's 'big' cities.  The police out in the sticks have better things to do than shake down the local farangs as doing so simply spurs the ire of their Thai families..

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If they insisted on a cash payment on the street I'd ask them to take me to the police station so I can get a proper fine and receipt. Also an interpreter and a phone call to my lawyer. If they paid 3000 baht, they were fools. My lawyer gave me advice NEVER to hand a passport to a cop. They can be used to leverage huge "fines" and it's best to tell them the passport is at your lawyer's office. Never make it easy for them.

[Lorry]

  On 9/30/2023 at 3:35 PM, JensenZ said:

it's best to tell them the passport is at your lawyer's office

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Sounds like good advice

[richard_smith237]

  On 9/28/2023 at 7:06 AM, trainman34014 said:

All nonsense; it is not a lagal rquirement to carry your Passport.   Should this happen it would be advisable to insist that you be taken to the Police Station where the so called 'Cops' operate from.  Carrying a Photcopy of your Passport is a good idea but again, is not a legal requirement !

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It's a legal requirement in Thailand to be able to produce 'government authority issued photo ID' within a reasonable timeframe...   

 

For most of us thats a passport... 

 

Having been here for over 25 years Ive been asked for my passport a Three times by chancing police in BKK (I didnt have it).

 

- Two occasions, two BiB pillion on a motorcycle, late night (3am-ish), pulled up the taxi I was in on some back soi's (Thonglor area), they wanted a passport, I just said no firmly, they asked where I was going and I just said 'Home'...  they seemed to back down. 

- On other early evening (7pmish - Asoke Juunction) they wanted me to get out of the taxi, I ended up calling a friend who works for the police and that was that.

 

Those occasions very much felt like a shakedown...  extremely rare, but its happened. 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

  On 9/29/2023 at 6:54 AM, spidermike007 said:

In all the years I have lived here, the only time I carry my passport, is if I am doing some banking, where it is required, if I am going to immigration, or if I am leaving the country. Otherwise, a color copy of my passport, with the visa page on the reverse side, is always adequate for the cops, airlines, etc. That or my Thai ID or drivers license. Why take that kind of risk, when it is not necessary?

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Agreed...   

 

That said, unlike some, I'm not so sure this is a made up story - The Thonglor police used to get up to similar shenanigans a while ago, so its perfectly feasible that either some BiB harassing foreigners or some 'fake police' are...   Both happen and have happened in the past.

 

As others have pointed out - IF facing such a situation and the BiB want to fine you, refuse the fine insist on going to the Police station.

 

In the vast majority of cases a photo of the ID page on your passport is fine, as is a Thai DL or a Pink ID card. 

 

Those criminals (Police and fake police) attempting to extort people back down when they know they are getting nowhere.