Pattaya City has suspended six people from duty after complaints that tourists near Bali Hai Pier were asked to pay between 2,000 and 3,000 baht without receiving official fine documents or receipts.

The allegations concern people dressed as Pattaya City special affairs officers, who reportedly took tourists into a tent and accused them of offences including loud motorcycle exhausts and smoking. Pattaya's city secretary has stressed that while officers may have powers to detain people, they do not have authority to impose fines.

At 10.30am on 10 August 2026, Pattaya City Secretary Kiatthisak Sriwongchai said the city had learned of the complaint on 9 August and immediately opened an investigation. Those involved reported their information that morning, after which the matter was sent to the deputy mayor directly responsible and reported to the Pattaya mayor.

Six people removed from duties

Initial checks place the alleged incident at about 9am on 9 August at the Blue Zone car park at Bali Hai Pier.

Six people have been identified: three Pattaya City personnel, including three municipal enforcement officers shown in images, plus three outsourced workers hired by the city to help maintain order in the area.

All six have been temporarily removed from their assigned duties while the facts are examined. A reporter who visited the area said they saw operations taking place and filmed a tourist placing cash on an officials' table. However, it remains unconfirmed whether the money was a fine or paid for another purpose.

Pattaya City will take two tracks: the responsible department head will prepare a record for a police complaint if criminal wrongdoing is found, while a fact-finding committee will be appointed under official procedures.

Although such inquiries can normally take up to 60 days and be extended twice, city management has instructed officials to finish this one within around two weeks. The contractor employing the outsourced workers will also be called in, while state officials involved may be transferred away from their current area during the process.

Exhaust noise is not a city fine

Kiatthisak said enforcement over loud motorcycle exhausts is not directly Pattaya City's responsibility. Such cases must be handled under relevant laws, including the Public Nuisance Act or Motor Vehicle Act, by agencies with the authority to do so, notably police and the Department of Land Transport.

The investigation will therefore focus on whether the cash demands were made under legal authority, whether proper paperwork or receipts were issued, and what status any money paid to the officials had.

For foreign residents and visitors, the case is a reminder to ask for official documentation for any alleged fine and to be cautious about handing over cash without a receipt. Pattaya City said reports of similar conduct can be made to its 1337 hotline.

Kiatthisak apologised to residents and tourists, saying the city has consistently instructed its staff to act properly and does not want official conduct to cause hardship or damage Pattaya's tourism image. The city said no final finding has yet been made on whether unlawful collection of money occurred.

Picture courtesy of แจ็ค โพธิ์แดง

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11 August 2026

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You just can't beat a jolly good "fact-finding committee" if you want something kicked into the weeds.

My prediction - something along the lines of the money seen changing hands was actually the city officials gathering voluntary donations for the local stray dog foundation and/or orphans charity. Officers were remis in not issuing receipts, and those contributors who now desire a receipt (and probably returned home by now and can't be located for a statement) should make themselves known to the city council where they will be promptly issued with one.

Anyway, that's the line I'd go with. It's as good a BS excuse as anything - no crime was done, no Face was lost, and all is good in the world.

2,000-3000 baht. Scamming and rip offs has gone up in town!

I once had the experience here in Surin province of being stopped by highway police and the officer concerned had some excuse for wanting to fine me. I said I would need a receipt and he made a clucking/sucking/disappointed noise & waved me on ...

I had a similar experience here in Udon Thani province - he then asked to see my passport which fortunately I had with me - unbeknown to me at the time my gf gave the officer 200 as she passed him the passport

2 minutes later we were on our way- and my gf later explained it was better than wasting 5 hours in the local cop shop

TIT

Suspend them and give them a desk at the immigration in Suvarnabhumi. There they need people, suspending doesn't solve problems.

Just the usual made up or trumped up charges that those in uniform like to impose, and part of the culture that every Thai accepts as they have no choice. Tourists, less so. They don't expect to be intimidated by corrupt officials. A report elsewhere mentioned a foreign tourist who was too scared to tell his tale to a reporter. He won't be returning to Thailand, and nor will anyone he knows and tells of his shakedown will have Thailand on their to-visit list either.

Maybe the office guys complained that their colleagues on the road were taking all the money. So they took them off the street brought them into office and let the office workers go on the street to balance it out.

Unfortunately that job is reserved for Thai police only. 😬 It’s a long known side job for the police that have learned it from their superiors. Although, I’d rather pay a small cash fine than dealing with going to the police station. As long as I believe they were right and didn’t try to gouge my pockets. TIT

To me, the only part of this that I dislike is the lack of end transparency… I think it’s fair to transfer them initially - with pay (yes - with pay) - UNTIL the facts are established .. and IF the facts prove wrongdoing, then that’s where I think better transparency needs to happen.

The public should be informed of the full name, position held, offenses sustained and punishment imposed. I think it should be made fully public because they are public officials, acting with authority derived from the public and essentially paid by the public..

I don’t agree with just reassigning them - but I do think reassignment is fair for CERTAIN “minor” offenses .. but offenses like bribery, theft of public funds/resources etc should automatically be a dismissal for cause from civil service, and if appropriate, referral for legal action taken.

This has happened to me several times, but the most recent incident was about four years ago, between Tony’s Gym on Third Road and City Garden Tower.

A police officer stopped me for riding without a helmet and demanded 500 baht. I took out the money and asked for a receipt. He replied, “If you want a receipt, he will write one, but it will be 5,000 baht, which you have to pay at the police station on Beach Road, Soi 9.”

I couldn’t be bothered to spend my time arguing about it, and I had no idea whether that was actually true, so I handed him the 500 baht and continued on my way. In other words, I paid my way out of the corrupt system.

He was wearing a normal police uniform, and there was a police motorcycle standing right there at the spot where he collected the 500 baht from me.

What made the whole situation even more ridiculous was what was happening around us. Local people were constantly riding past on their mopeds, including five people on one at one point, and dozens of others were riding without helmets. Yet not a single local rider was stopped. The only people being stopped were farangs.

I still don’t understand what the actual purpose of stopping someone for riding without a helmet is if, after paying 500 baht, the person is simply allowed to get back on the motorcycle and continue riding without a helmet.

In my own country, if the police stop you for riding without a helmet, you cannot simply pay a fine and continue on your way. You have to put a helmet on before you can continue. If you don’t have one, the motorcycle will normally have to stay where it is until you can return with a helmet.

So what exactly is the point of stopping people for riding without helmets in Thailand? I would assume the purpose of traffic enforcement is to improve road safety. But in this case, it seemed more like a convenient way of collecting money from tourists.

Perhaps the money goes towards the police officers’ home-building projects or those impressive 24-karat gold Buddha necklaces that seem to be so popular. After all, when an ordinary traffic police officer is driving an expensive private car, living in an impressive house and wearing enough 24-karat gold around his fingers, wrists and neck to make a jeweller jealous, nobody seems to ask too many questions about where the money came from.

The police seem to be such powerful figures that perhaps nobody dares to question their wealth, even when many people have their own suspicions about how some of it may have been acquired.

And, of course, I was allowed to continue riding without a helmet after paying the 500 baht. I’m almost surprised they hadn’t arranged for another police officer a few hundred metres down the road to stop me again and collect another 500 baht for exactly the same offence.

If the purpose is really road safety, then surely the helmet should be the issue—not whether the farang has 500 baht in his pocket.

10 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

You just can't beat a jolly good "fact-finding committee" if you want something kicked into the weeds.

My prediction - something along the lines of the money seen changing hands was actually the city officials gathering voluntary donations for the local stray dog foundation and/or orphans charity. Officers were remis in not issuing receipts, and those contributors who now desire a receipt (and probably returned home by now and can't be located for a statement) should make themselves known to the city council where they will be promptly issued with one.

Anyway, that's the line I'd go with. It's as good a BS excuse as anything - no crime was done, no Face was lost, and all is good in the world.

What a joke! I wonder who higher up gets the big commission? Always follow the money trail.

6 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Suspend them and give them a desk at the immigration in Suvarnabhumi. There they need people, suspending doesn't solve problems.

Suspending a person from their employment is part of the policy applied in many Western countries when a person is accused of breaching a procedure etc whilst the allegation is investigated.

It is not a punishment.

11 hours ago, cynic1 said:

What a joke! I wonder who higher up gets the big commission? Always follow the money trail.

11 hours ago, cynic1 said:

What a joke! I wonder who higher up gets the big commission? Always follow the money trail.

"You just can't beat a jolly good "fact-finding committee" if you want something kicked into the weeds."

Yes but that's only after a committee has been formed to decide the structure of the committee.