Singaporean motorist lashes out at Thai police officer over fine

[webfact]

 

A Singaporean man attacked a Thai police officer after he was fined for riding a motorcycle without a license and a helmet in Phuket.

 

The incident occurred when traffic officers from the Cherng Talay Police Station stopped the Singaporean man, 37 year old Lim Jia Jie, at the Cherng Talay Intersection checkpoint on March 13. Lim was riding a motorcycle without a helmet and failed to present his license to the officers.

 

As per local traffic laws, Lim was required to pay a fine for his violations. The amount of the fine was not revealed. According to the law, Lim should face a fine of up to 2,000 baht for failing to wear a helmet and up to 1,000 baht for riding without a licence.

Lim flung the money at Police Corporal Siriphet Katemun, who was issuing the fine. Following this, the police requested Lim to leave the police station, further fuelling his anger. In a fit of rage, Lim proceeded to strike Siriphet on the head before other officers intervened to restrain him.

Fortunately, Siriphet suffered only a minor injury. Lim faced additional charges for his violent actions including:

Section 138 of the Criminal Law: attacking or obstructing an officer who is on duty. The penalty is imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.

Section 136 of the Criminal Law: insulting an officer who is on duty. The penalty is imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.

A similar assault against a Thai police officer was reported in August last year when a Chinese man tried to hit a Thai tourist police officer with a skateboard.

 

Following an airline’s refusal to allow him to board, the Chinese man attempted an attack. The airline captain barred him from the flight due to his potentially disruptive behaviour, which posed a risk to other passengers. Despite being denied entry, he persisted in attempting to board, prompting intervention from the tourist police.

 

by Petch Petpailin

Photo via Facebook/ Phuket Hotnews

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-03-14

 

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[richard_smith237]

OK.. so 100% agree that the Singaporean is in the wrong for riding without a licence and without a helmet and should pay the approriate fines. 

He should also be fined for attacking a police officer.

 

BUT... why did he react this way ?

 

Did he see numerous Thai's riding without a helmet and get annoyed because he was 'singled out'  ??

Did he see the duplicity with which the Police in Phuket target and fine foreigners compared to Thai's ??

 

Its long been established that in area's such as Phuket the Police know foreigners are stupid enough to make themselves easy pickings (low hanging fruit) for the BiB and foreigners can always pay their on the spot fines ?

 

Sure... Don't do anything illegal then, and I'd quite agree...

 

BUT... surely if the BiB are doing their job effectively, all the Thai's have bene fined so many times for not wearing a helmet that they'd all be wearing a helmet by now... right ??

 

 

I can see the Singaporean getting insulted at the unequal treatment he perceives as being unfair - he's still in the wrong though. 

 

If think if I lived in Phuket I'd get annoyed at the amount of Police checkpoints wasting my time with so many checks because they're looking to profit from foreigners. 

[rexpotter]

Singaporean guy yes Chinese, as he watched locals drive all over with ten people on the bikes no helmets and was pissed off. Bad move but I understand it.

[worgeordie]

There must be something in the water in Phuket ,making people crazy

for no real reason , the Singaporean guy must know he was in the wrong,

now he's looking at some serious charges ,

 

regards Worgeordie

[Korat Kiwi]

Unfortunately morality/fairness isn't part of their training. 

 

As people constantly say.... Easy pickings. 

 

Attacking a cop is never going to end well for the perp.  That's just dumb. 

[stevenl]

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

OK.. so 100% agree that the Singaporean is in the wrong for riding without a licence and without a helmet and should pay the approriate fines. 

He should also be fined for attacking a police officer.

 

BUT... why did he react this way ?

 

Did he see numerous Thai's riding without a helmet and get annoyed because he was 'singled out'  ??

Did he see the duplicity with which the Police in Phuket target and fine foreigners compared to Thai's ??

 

Its long been established that in area's such as Phuket the Police know foreigners are stupid enough to make themselves easy pickings (low hanging fruit) for the BiB and foreigners can always pay their on the spot fines ?

 

Sure... Don't do anything illegal then, and I'd quite agree...

 

BUT... surely if the BiB are doing their job effectively, all the Thai's have bene fined so many times for not wearing a helmet that they'd all be wearing a helmet by now... right ??

 

 

I can see the Singaporean getting insulted at the unequal treatment he perceives as being unfair - he's still in the wrong though. 

 

If think if I lived in Phuket I'd get annoyed at the amount of Police checkpoints wasting my time with so many checks because they're looking to profit from foreigners. 

"If think if I lived in Phuket I'd get annoyed at the amount of Police checkpoints wasting my time with so many checks because they're looking to profit from foreigners. "

I live here, am a foreigner and hardly ever get stopped. Maybe it makes sense to know a place before posting about it in stead of relying on social media for an opinion.

[Dan O]

16 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

OK.. so 100% agree that the Singaporean is in the wrong for riding without a licence and without a helmet and should pay the approriate fines. 

He should also be fined for attacking a police officer.

 

BUT... why did he react this way ?

 

Did he see numerous Thai's riding without a helmet and get annoyed because he was 'singled out'  ??

Did he see the duplicity with which the Police in Phuket target and fine foreigners compared to Thai's ??

 

Its long been established that in area's such as Phuket the Police know foreigners are stupid enough to make themselves easy pickings (low hanging fruit) for the BiB and foreigners can always pay their on the spot fines ?

 

Sure... Don't do anything illegal then, and I'd quite agree...

 

BUT... surely if the BiB are doing their job effectively, all the Thai's have bene fined so many times for not wearing a helmet that they'd all be wearing a helmet by now... right ??

 

 

I can see the Singaporean getting insulted at the unequal treatment he perceives as being unfair - he's still in the wrong though. 

 

If think if I lived in Phuket I'd get annoyed at the amount of Police checkpoints wasting my time with so many checks because they're looking to profit from foreigners. 

Just another what-about-ism post      it doesnt matter what others are or were doing or have done in the past.. the post is about what this guy did and his actions

[Bday Prang]

what is the photo alleged to be showing, other than a recent cheap haircut?   Is it supposed to show injuries of some sort?

[kidneyw]

He should have bluffed it and kidded on he was a Thai.

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

"If think if I lived in Phuket I'd get annoyed at the amount of Police checkpoints wasting my time with so many checks because they're looking to profit from foreigners. "

I live here, am a foreigner and hardly ever get stopped. Maybe it makes sense to know a place before posting about it in stead of relying on social media for an opinion.

 

Perhaps you are correct...    When I was there for SandBox (two weeks riding around), I was not stopped, but there were no check-points out. When I was in Patong 6 months ago (I wasn't riding, but I didn't notice any police stops at all).

 

And you are also correct, I do get a lot of my info on this from social media, and sites such as this, which perhaps also creates bias on my part.

 

So, maybe this thread is just feeding my confirmation bias, but I seem to see more reports of foreigners getting stopped and fined at checkpoints in area's such as Patong, than I do in Bangkok for example.... 

 

Perhaps thats because there are more tourist riding illegally in Patong whereas in Bkk most foreigners are long termers and get a license and the police see this pattern already. 

 

 

From personal experience of Phuket - there is nearly always a couple of Police Stops pulling over tourists in Patong.

 

Thus: Stevenl - where are you riding your bike around Phuket ?

Laguna / Bang Tao and north from there - BiB seem not interested... 

Rawai / Phuket town etc - BiB seem not interested...

 

Kata / Karen / Patong / Kamala - this is where I've noticed more police checkpoints over the years (of visiting Phuket a lot)... I always suspected these area's have more check points because there is more money to be made from tourists.

 

 

 

 

[freeworld]

6 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

what is the photo alleged to be showing, other than a recent cheap haircut?   Is it supposed to show injuries of some sort?

There is swollen welt behind the ear.

[mfd101]

Well, coming from Singapore he thought he could relax for the first time in his life, let down his (short short) hair, bend the rules, laugh a lot and vote for the Communist Party ...

 

 

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, Dan O said:

Just another what-about-ism post      it doesnt matter what others are or were doing or have done in the past.. the post is about what this guy did and his actions

 

Do you mean we should only discuss this individual incident in isolation ??? thats flawed and narrow minding thinking.

 

Do you mean that factors which may be contributory to the Singaporean's reaction are not relevant because YOU think it doesn't matter what others are doing or have done in the past ???

 

 

.....  the reason the Singaporean acted this way quite likely has a lot to do with reasons you seem to prefer to ignore... 

 

 

 

 

 

[bbi1]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

As per local traffic laws, Lim was required to pay a fine for his violations. The amount of the fine was not revealed. According to the law, Lim should face a fine of up to 2,000 baht for failing to wear a helmet and up to 1,000 baht for riding without a licence.

3,000 baht in fines. How do Thai people afford to pay these fines when normal incomes of Thais are between 10k-20k per month? You see so many Thais never wearing helmets when they ride.

[rexpotter]

23 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

what is the photo alleged to be showing, other than a recent cheap haircut?   Is it supposed to show injuries of some sort?

The cop wants to show us how well his barber tapered his hair. Its a fashion statement and he may be one of the 'Fashion Police!

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

3,000 baht in fines. How do Thai people afford to pay these fines when normal incomes of Thais are between 10k-20k per month? You see so many Thais never wearing helmets when they ride.

 

They don't afford them... And thats why they continue to ride without helmets (and also without a licence in a lot of cases)... 

The BiB are sympathetic...   if they do stop a Thai person without a licence or helmet, they let them go for 100 baht and tell them to 'be good and get their licence'...     that should be incentive enough - but it appears its not. 

 

If the fines were consistent applied all the time - the 'no helmet wearing' issue would be resolved very quickly (both Thai and toursits)... 

 

If the BiB were known to be more honest but strict, tourists would think twice about riding without a licence. 

 

 

I suspect the BiB mostly want people to ride without helmets and a license - its an easy money maker for them when they can be bothered to set up a check-point... 

... with so many people around not wearing helmets, I'm just surprised more aren't caught every day.

[Bday Prang]

2 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

The cop wants to show us how well his barber tapered his hair. Its a fashion statement and he may be one of the 'Fashion Police!

I bet his mum cut it for him

[Bday Prang]

19 minutes ago, freeworld said:

There is swollen welt behind the ear.

that is just the shape of his head surely

[daveAustin]

I’ve generally done ok with Thai police, but was in Chiang Mai many moons ago, bike had run out of fuel so was pushing it to gas station. Cop stopped me and tried to fine me for not wearing a helmet. I refused and said you’ve got to be kidding, citing it was boiling hot and I was doing about 0.5kmph. He let me off but insisted I wear the helmet. All the while myriad Thais were passing by without helmets, riding illegally etc. What the Singaporean did was OTT and yes he was in the wrong, but Thai police can at times be real stinkers. 

[hydraides]

3k fine is alot and pushing it for one stop when so many thais are riding without a helmet, normally they combine fines and give you a 800thb- 1000 thb fine

 

They got greedy here it seems 

[Will B Good]

Got fined recently….only B100…..for driving on a section of road "no one was supposed to be driving on"???……It was a normal road, no road works, no signs, plenty of traffic using it…..just smiled and paid.

[Liverpool Lou]

30 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

1 hour ago, webfact said:

As per local traffic laws, Lim was required to pay a fine for his violations. The amount of the fine was not revealed. According to the law, Lim should face a fine of up to 2,000 baht for failing to wear a helmet and up to 1,000 baht for riding without a licence.

3,000 baht in fines.

Up to, not mandated at that level.  There is room for the officer's discretion.

[Liverpool Lou]

9 minutes ago, hydraides said:

3k fine is alot and pushing it for one stop when so many thais are riding without a helmet, normally they combine fines and give you a 800thb- 1000 thb fine

 

They got greedy here it seems 

It was not reported that he was fined B3,000.                   

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

3,000 baht in fines. How do Thai people afford to pay these fines when normal incomes of Thais are between 10k-20k per month? You see so many Thais never wearing helmets when they ride.

 

They don't afford them... And thats why they continue to ride without helmets (and also without a licence in a lot of cases)... 

The BiB are sympathetic...   if they do stop a Thai person without a licence or helmet, they let them go for 100 baht and tell them to 'be good and get their licence'...     that should be incentive enough - but it appears its not. 

 

If the fines were consistent applied all the time - the 'no helmet wearing' issue would be resolved very quickly (both Thai and toursits)... 

 

If the BiB were known to be more honest but strict, tourists would think twice about riding without a licence. 

 

 

I suspect the BiB mostly want people to ride without helmets and a license - its an easy money maker for them when they can be bothered to set up a check-point... 

... with so many people around not wearing helmets, I'm just surprised more aren't caught every day.

[Dan O]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Do you mean we should only discuss this individual incident in isolation ??? thats flawed and narrow minding thinking.

 

Do you mean that factors which may be contributory to the Singaporean's reaction are not relevant because YOU think it doesn't matter what others are doing or have done in the past ???

 

 

.....  the reason the Singaporean acted this way quite likely has a lot to do with reasons you seem to prefer to ignore... 

 

 

 

 

 

Like most of your post you jump to conclusions without evidence, just your feelings or blame the victim without evidence and now what about ism on an article about 1 idiot and his actions but it must be whatever you feel is the cause. Again this article wasnt about thais, corruption what the police allow or dont allow it was about 1 guys acting a fool. play stupid games and you win stupid prizes.  It has nothing to do with what I think but YOU seem to think your the expert. Dont bother replying because Im done discussing this with you. Stick to the topic of the article.

[NoDisplayName]

1 hour ago, hydraides said:

3k fine is alot and pushing it for one stop when so many thais are riding without a helmet, normally they combine fines and give you a 800thb- 1000 thb fine

 

They got greedy here it seems 

 

We don't know how much the fines were.  The article only stated the maximum total for both offenses.  We here are assuming he was charged the maximum for both.

 

Problem was he allegedly threw the money at the desk officer, likely not the copper that wrote the tickets.  He was asked to leave, whereupon he allegedly attacked the officer.

 

I can't believe this fellow is from Singapore which practices strict gum control.  Singapore, where gum chewing and spitting is forbidden, and folks tend to stay in line.  Perhaps he's actually Swiss?

[AverageAussie]

2024 is a year for elections in several parts of the world, so brace yourselves. It will be the year of constant whataboutisms in the news & on social media.

 

Even more so than normal. 

[Dolf]

Only a 1/3 wear helmets. It is a joke.

[richard_smith237]

28 minutes ago, Dan O said:

Like most of your post you jump to conclusions without evidence, just your feelings or blame the victim without evidence and now what about ism on an article about 1 idiot and his actions but it must be whatever you feel is the cause. Again this article wasnt about thais, corruption what the police allow or dont allow it was about 1 guys acting a fool. play stupid games and you win stupid prizes.  It has nothing to do with what I think but YOU seem to think your the expert. Dont bother replying because Im done discussing this with you. Stick to the topic of the article.

 

Of course we 'jump to conclusions'...  most of us do, thats the whole concept of a discussion forum, discuss issues without the limitations of being in a court room....   

 

You have jumped to conclusions too...  (thats fine too, until you become a hypocrite and object to others for drawing their own conclusions and discussing such).

 

- You have made your own conclusion that the actions of this man have nothing to with any previous exposure this man may have had the BiB in Thailand (or that seems to be your implication)

 

- You have also made your own conclusion that this incident is completely separate from any reputation the BiB have (or that seems to be your implication)

 

 

Perhaps you'd be better of reading the news where there is no option for further discussion, because you clearly lack the critical thought to offer intelligent contribution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, Dolf said:

Only a 1/3 wear helmets. It is a joke.

 

Agree 100%.....       IF authorities were serious about resolving the high road fatality rates, they'd be able to do so very quickly by dealing with the helmet issue.

 

Authorities were unwavering in their efficiency to get everyone to wear masks...  they could do the same with helmets - I'm inclined to believe they just don't care at all. 

 

 

Edited March 14 by richard_smith237