Anyone Ever Have To Pay Money To The Thai Police Or People?

[DragonQuest]

Just want to know some of the stories that havent been told, and what was the amount, and conclusion?

[Scott]

Sometime back had an accident--completely and totally my fault. Hit a parked truck head on while drunk and had no driver's license. Had to pay 200 baht for driving without a license, had to pay 200 baht for something else (causing an accident?--I don't remember).

No bribe solicited by the police officer, but he did ask what would happen in my own country!!! (I dare not think).

A Thai friend came along and gave the nice policeman 1,000 baht after all was said and done, since he had been nice enough to talk to me alone and said nothing about being under the influence in front of the insurance agent--which would have then not paid for the damages.

I did learn my lesson. I now do not ever drive if I have been drinking--no, not even one beer. No exceptions.

[Maigo6]

Sometime back had an accident--completely and totally my fault. Hit a parked truck head on while drunk and had no driver's license. Had to pay 200 baht for driving without a license, had to pay 200 baht for something else (causing an accident?--I don't remember).

You're a brave man Scott, the moralists on this Forum will crucify you for this admission.

Glad it all worked out for you in the end.

[Maigo6]

Sometime back had an accident--completely and totally my fault. Hit a parked truck head on while drunk and had no driver's license. Had to pay 200 baht for driving without a license, had to pay 200 baht for something else (causing an accident?--I don't remember).

No bribe solicited by the police officer, but he did ask what would happen in my own country!!! (I dare not think).

A Thai friend came along and gave the nice policeman 1,000 baht after all was said and done, since he had been nice enough to talk to me alone and said nothing about being under the influence in front of the insurance agent--which would have then not paid for the damages.

I did learn my lesson. I now do not ever drive if I have been drinking--no, not even one beer. No exceptions.

Scott, did the Insurance company still pay even though you had no license ?

[singa-traz]

If you are talking about Road accident:

Accident #1:

Hit a motocycle while turning left. Driver and Motorcycle both wrong (50/50). Motocycle driver slightly injured with no insurance. After a check-up at the hospital, doctor informed him that he can go home. His wife came in and insisted on one night at the hospital, and started requesting xxx,xxx THB. After discussion with the police, the insurance and someone with experience in dealing with such situation, the insurance agree to pay less than 50,000 THB, to settle the case. Not sure, if the police got some compensation for assisting in the case ...

Accident #2.

Motocycle hit the back of the car. Motocycle driver is 100% wrong (car not changing lane or anything). No injury, but again no insurance. Initially he try to imply that the driver was wrong, but realise he had no case. Gave his contact details and drove away to park the motocycle. Insurance guy came in, called the guy, who came back to do the paperwork. A bad driver, but at least an honest person. Police not involved, and no money paid.

So it will really depends on the accident, if you have all the right paperwork (Driving license, insurance, ...) and the people involved.

[Furbie]

I had to work out a deal for my friend who hit a parked motorcycle with his motorcycle. It was a really tough negotiation, as they wanted a ridiculous amount of money. In the end they got 2,000 baht as there was not a lot of damage; though I felt even that was excessive, my friend was really freaked by all the discussions going on around him he could not understand (he was a tourist, not a resident) and just wanted it over and done with, I was ready to make an afternoon of it

[Bpraim1]

I always get stopped for speeding, doesn't matter if I am over the limit or not. Started to just see it as a Farang road tax.

last month I got pulled over 6 times from Srisaket to BKk.

I desided to speak only english with them an asked to see the man that caught me over the limit. 2 seconds later was talk to just go.

since then no more raod tax, BUT THEY STILL TRY!

[Scott]

To a previous poster--yes the insurance paid for everything. Even though I didn't have a license. I was surprised. I don't think they knew I didn't have one.

Make no mistake, however, they have been recouping their losses ever since--I pay high insurance rates.

What the police officer did was have two meetings, one with me and a friend who interpreted--that's when I got the two tickets. Then a second one right afterwards with the owner or driver of the truck and the insurance agent (and a few other people whom I didn't know or know why they were there).

The second meeting was a very mild chastising of me for "driving on the wrong side of the road", blah, blah, blah. And that was about it. After we left, my friend went back and gave the officer 1,000 baht, so there was no solicitation, nor attempt to solicit, or anything. We had actually left the police station.

The reason my friend went back, was as we were leaving there were a lot of people around and it wasn't possible to give him anything or talk to him.

I had two frightful months of waiting for "the other shoe to drop", i.e., for the insurance company to figure out I didn't have a license or something and send me the nice whooping bill of 196,000 baht in damage! They didn't.

I will never put myself through that again and the thought of what I could have put some completely innocent people through scared the absolute hel_l out of me.

So, the moral crusaders can go ahead and crucify me--they probably couldn't inflict any more pain than on me than I have on myself and if it makes them feel better OK--I deserve it, I guess.

[meemiathai]

You are lucky! Good lesson low cost!

Some people aren't that lucky.

[Prakanong]

Once 10k THB and another 7k THB

Dunno how much the lawyer as a middle man took out of this though.

[true blue]

same as previous post motorbike ran in to back of car while i was parked and eating in resturant next to it guy admitted to insurance guy he drunk insurance guy pulled him over the coals got money off him and his id card said he would be sending him a bill never heard no more customs guy at international side of cnx did me for 1000 for 1 btl of spirts over limit

[lazeeboy]

same as previous post motorbike ran in to back of car while i was parked and eating in resturant next to it guy admitted to insurance guy he drunk insurance guy pulled him over the coals got money off him and his id card said he would be sending him a bill never heard no more customs guy at international side of cnx did me for 1000 for 1 btl of spirts over limit

once leased a car to a freind ,long term ,unfortunatly he had a heart attach and died ,the tourist police took the car ,i went to the police with all the paper work to get my car back but they would'nt let me have it ,after hours of argueing i call him some names (profanaties) in english and in thai ,i then got arrested and on the charge sheet he put i assaulted him ,i explained i had in fact only insulted him ,speaking to another policeman he said if this was put in my passport i would have problems at the immigration as they would think i beat up the officer and would'nt get back in ,80,000b later i got my car and passport back without being charged ,he did'nt get the car but had 80.000b anyway ,never insult a policeman you can never win

[mikethevigoman]

Sometime back had an accident--completely and totally my fault. Hit a parked truck head on while drunk and had no driver's license. Had to pay 200 baht for driving without a license, had to pay 200 baht for something else (causing an accident?--I don't remember).

No bribe solicited by the police officer, but he did ask what would happen in my own country!!! (I dare not think).

A Thai friend came along and gave the nice policeman 1,000 baht after all was said and done, since he had been nice enough to talk to me alone and said nothing about being under the influence in front of the insurance agent--which would have then not paid for the damages.

I did learn my lesson. I now do not ever drive if I have been drinking--no, not even one beer. No exceptions.

Quoted from the yorkshireman monty python sketch, "you were lucky "

[mikethevigoman]

Just want to know some of the stories that havent been told, and what was the amount, and conclusion?

I got stopped twice in the same day by the same cop (different times of day and different sides of the road,same location ) first time 400 baht, second time i made a joke of it and said as i am a regular customer can you discount for me ?, ok 200 baht ! amazing thailand,.

,.

[vegas]

I was pulled over for not wearing a helmet in Hua Hin. My missus told him I had just moosed my hair and it was in the process of drying. He charged me 50 baht.

[quiksilva]

A friend of mine was so drunk he could hardly walk, when attempting to get into his car after a stint in Nana, he fell over.

I wasn't there so couldn't stop him / persuade him to take a taxi, unfortunately though the police was. They helped him to put they keys in the door and maneuvered him into the driving seat and bade him farewell, I'm told that they didn't even ask for a tip!

[JimmieBlonde]

I know someone who was pulled over for speeding in a car, Cop wanted 500 Baht, blokes wife negotiated it downto 150 baht

Interestingly, wife was pulled over today while on a visit to Bangkok Womens prison, refused to give over a bribe so has to get someone to collect her license tomorrow from some polica station

[Prakanong]

A friend of mine was so drunk he could hardly walk, when attempting to get into his car after a stint in Nana, he fell over.

I wasn't there so couldn't stop him / persuade him to take a taxi, unfortunately though the police was. They helped him to put they keys in the door and maneuvered him into the driving seat and bade him farewell, I'm told that they didn't even ask for a tip!

I know a guy fell asleep at the wheel of his Porsche at the Asok junction on Sukhumvit - Policeman tapped in the window to wake him up and told him to move over. He then drove him back to his condo is Suk Soi 4

[ColPyat]

Previously when i didn't have a driving license and rode my motorcycle around town i was stopped at every police block and had to pay up, mostly 100 Baht.

Since i have a driving license i haven't been stopped even once.

[soundman]

We donate 20,000B to the end of year police party. Amongst other benifits this ensures the police actually respond when we have a problem at any of the family bussinesses.

Soundman.

[Aussietraveller]

Stopped for speeding 2 weeks ago north of Khon Kaen.

I was eating a burger from KFC (Zinger) and was stopped by police. He insisted that i was speeding.

Wanted 250 Baht.

I had 120 baht in small change on me or 1000 baht notes.

He could not change the 1000.

He settled for 120 Baht so i gave him the french fries as well....

[piker]

A cop showed up solo and I was pressured to pay 3000 baht to a disgruntled female anatomy renter. I was a new arrival in Thailand. At this point, since all my papers are in order, I might even consider fighting the charge.

The ultimatum was to head to the police station and I assumed I could get hit for more or be required to spend the night in a cell.

3000 baht and I went to sleep in my own bed. I've told this story numerous times and I ask you: "what is your breaking point?" At what point would you say, "that's too much of a bribe?"

[DragonQuest]

What would you guys do if you shake a 16 year old girls hand while working, and then she accused you of rape, but it was only a hand shake, and now she wants 5000 baht, you offered 3000 baht(She said no), but you firmly beleive this is a scam to extort money from a farang when he and her boyfriend and father go to the police station to demand money? what would you do and what would your rights be as an American? its clearly the biggest scam I have ever come across I cant believe the saying was true"The thais dont want the farang they just want our money"

anyone know a good lawyer?

anyone have any sound advice of this weird situation?

Edited September 11, 2007 by DragonQuest

[Prakanong]

What would you guys do if you shake a 16 year old girls hand while working, and then she accused you of rape, but it was only a hand shake, and now she wants 5000 baht, you offered 3000 baht(She said no), but you firmly belive this is a scam to extort money from a farang when he and her boyfriend and father go to the police station to demand money? what would you do and what would your rights be as an American? its clearly the biggest scam I have ever come across I cant believe the saying was true"The thais dont want the farang they just want our money"

anyone know a good lawyer?

anyone have any sound advice of this weird situation?

Personally I would pay the 5000THb - take it as a lesson learned and keep involvment with plod to a minimum.

Its wrong I know when you have done nothing but just look at that Brit released last week after 6 years for doing noting.

Some, and only some, of these people would have no qualms about telling bare faced lies to destroy your life over what is a bar bill in reality.

This will probably get me flamed but I have always thought there was a particular cruel streak caught up in "Asian Values" somwhere along the line - ie if you are lower down the chain you are nothing and breaking you or hurting you means nothing as you are lower or weaker - its not just to farangs or whatever and not just Thailand.

[simon43]

I was having a bad day and driving my Merc in BKK. Some idiot bus cut me up, so I chased the bus and had words with the female conductor (some low-life). She got me really flustered and angry, so I drove my car over her and killed her.

Anyway, for some reason, this made the onlookers quite annoyed and they got me really scared as I sat in my car with this woman squashed underneath it. Luckily for me, my parents are important people and I was rescued from these louts and have been able to rest under doctor's orders.

Happily, I didn't have to pay the police anything and there's a good chance that my dad can even got some money to pay for the damage to my car when it hit this woman.

[t.s]

To a previous poster--yes the insurance paid for everything. Even though I didn't have a license. I was surprised. I don't think they knew I didn't have one.

Make no mistake, however, they have been recouping their losses ever since--I pay high insurance rates.

What the police officer did was have two meetings, one with me and a friend who interpreted--that's when I got the two tickets. Then a second one right afterwards with the owner or driver of the truck and the insurance agent (and a few other people whom I didn't know or know why they were there).

The second meeting was a very mild chastising of me for "driving on the wrong side of the road", blah, blah, blah. And that was about it. After we left, my friend went back and gave the officer 1,000 baht, so there was no solicitation, nor attempt to solicit, or anything. We had actually left the police station.

The reason my friend went back, was as we were leaving there were a lot of people around and it wasn't possible to give him anything or talk to him.

I had two frightful months of waiting for "the other shoe to drop", i.e., for the insurance company to figure out I didn't have a license or something and send me the nice whooping bill of 196,000 baht in damage! They didn't.

I will never put myself through that again and the thought of what I could have put some completely innocent people through scared the absolute hel_l out of me.

So, the moral crusaders can go ahead and crucify me--they probably couldn't inflict any more pain than on me than I have on myself and if it makes them feel better OK--I deserve it, I guess.

had to lay down my vfr 400 on a petchburi road because some woman did a u turn across 3 lanes of traffic in the wet. leaving the bike lying in the road i ran and caught her. police and insurance arrived, claim filed 2 weeks later i got a check for 50,000 baht for the respray and brake lever damage.

I had no license.

[simon43]

Dragonquest, the first mistake you made was to offer any money. That indicated that you accepted that you were guilty of her accusation.

A medical check-up would have provided your defence ...

Simon

[DragonQuest]

ya i did because everybody from my manager to my brother to my girlfriend to my friends told me too pay, I thought 3k was nothing till she bumped it up to 5k then i was like hel_l no i didnt do shit except shake her hand shes taking advantage of the situation , so now im gonna fight it.

[Upcountry]

Got pulled over for speeding on the highway. I had been cruising in the fast lane, maybe 20k over the speed limit, almost no traffic, lights on, when I came over a hill and saw the cop waving me over at a check point. The cop spoke English and told me they had caught me on radar. After taking my license for a minute he came back and asked for 400 baht. My wife, and friend didn't want to argue with him, so I paid it. One of the most irksome things about it is that as I took out the money to give to him through the window, he suddenly waved my hand down and said hurriedly "don't show", or something like that.

Now, who's going to jump on me for bribing when it's the cop demanding the money? If I didn't care about ruining the day, I might have asked where where the radar was, how fast they thought I was going, and demanded a receipt, as some people advise. But I didn't want my companions to spend the day at a police station with me.

What would you guys do if you shake a 16 year old girls hand while working, and then she accused you of rape, but it was only a hand shake, and now she wants 5000 baht, ...

I mentioned this to my Thai wife. Her reaction was that it is a common scam in street situations. If someone took a girls hand it would be considered part of a proposition. Then, like a cop busting you, she could "claim" rape attempt and have her witness friend there to help corner the poor git.

Your mistake was to shake hands in the first place (wai instead). If she offered her hand first, and you took it, perhaps it was a scam.

But is was unclear what situation you were in other than "working". From your later post, it sounds like there were no witnesses at the time/place. It would be interesting to hear the whole story - worthy of a thread all its own.

Edited September 11, 2007 by Upcountry

[realmadrid25]

We donate 20,000B to the end of year police party. Amongst other benifits this ensures the police actually respond when we have a problem at any of the family bussinesses.

Soundman.

this is horrible on so many levels and you are embracing government corruption. plus, youd probably be better paying as you go.