Q Bar Raid

[roamer]

Only 2 (preliminary) positives out of 373 ? Seems to me the Q bar should be congratulated on having so many clean living customers.

[stefano lucio]

Strange, and also somewhat confusing concerning passports being such an issue. True to form, Yes thai law does say foreigners must carry passports with them at all times, and one wonders if copies do you any good?, of which some places it is OK and other places it is no go. A Thai Drivers license does help but at same token once they know your a foreigner, some hard case uniform chocolate boy might want to see the real McCoy from time to time. Also bring one to such as a bar increases likelyhood you can lose it. So now what was the fine for not having a passport since they couldn't bang the patrons with a drug rap?????

Daveyo

Hard case uniform chocolate boy?

Oh my God Dave.. apology now or later?

[Axel]

Didn't Q-bar close down in Vientam because of too much harrassment?

Subsequently moved from the socialist Ho Chi Minh City to the

democratic Bangkok.

[Payne]

The news about the Q Bar raid is certainly shocking. I find it very hard to beleive that all the people in this the upscale bar were required to give urine samples! If true,what kind of message would that send out about the hospitality industry in Thailand?

When I have been at Q Bar, I met a number of advertising and fashion people. And I thought that these were the types of service industries that Bangkok wants to attract.

Unless I am mistaken, Q Bar isn't a drug venue for Thai teenagers! How can foreign business people in a high class bar be required to give urine samples? Is the Interior Minister out of his mind?

[Up2U]

I thought the faashion crowd were the pretentious, cocaine sniffing, bulimic set that no normal person would care to associate with. And that goes for the wannabee hangers-on as well. they are welcome to pay stupid prices for their drinks and welcome to have their own place to gather. As in most major cities, there is an 'in' place for these superficial, supercilious super egos. Let them keep to it and not disturb the rest of the world.

And if it gets raided occasionally, so what. Happens everywhere in BKK. Not that there's some missing tea money - just spreading the pain around a little.

[snoophound]

Its not a unique to Thailand Phenomenon.

In Aus now the cops walk into the clubs.....no matter how fashionable with sniffer dogs.

Maybe they are learning from the Ultra Efficient Thai Police.

[sriracha john]

Does this Toxin nonsense have an impact on tourism? If letters to the Nation like below are any indication, it certainly does.

Police-state tactics fail to impress tourists

My wife and I are in Thailand for about three weeks as tourists. On Sunday, after dinner, we wanted to have a drink at the well-known Q Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 11. Both of us and another friend could not enter the place because we didn't bring along our passports, which we kept at our hotel, the Conrad. I understand that the Interior Minister in Thailand is very eager to prevent underaged patrons from entering pubs and bars. However, all of us are around 50 (yes, 50) years old. Today I read in your newspaper that many foreigners were fined the day before at the same bar because they didn't carry their passports. I have never been in a country where middle-aged, well-behaved tourists are harassed methodically and probably for easy-money extraction like in the so-called Land of Smiles. Nowhere are tourists required to carry their passports day and night because the risk to lose them would be too high, and embassies would be very busy issuing replacement papers. My conclusion is that systematic harassment of tourists who are keeping Thailand afloat by spending billions in foreign exchange here is due either to police corruption or to a moronic policy of a blustering interior minister or both. I recommend the Prime Minister look into this matter urgently and very carefully, adjust the police-state methods applied at present and relieve some idiots from their positions. Please.

Dr Frank Sirninger

Bangkok

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news....19134&usrsess=1

[Payne]

I thought the faashion crowd were the pretentious, cocaine sniffing, bulimic set that no normal person would care to associate with. And that goes for the wannabee hangers-on as well. they are welcome to pay stupid prices for their drinks and welcome to have their own place to gather. As in most major cities, there is an 'in' place for these superficial, supercilious super egos. Let them keep to it and not disturb the rest of the world.

And if it gets raided occasionally, so what. Happens everywhere in BKK. Not that there's some missing tea money - just spreading the pain around a little.

I'm not sure why you have it in for the fashion industry old boy, but at least you could take the trouble to spell the word correctly.

This is quite serious stuff when the police raid an upmarket bar in such a rough manner. And as far as forcing all the customers inside, including foreign correspondents, to provide a urine test; well, that's simply not kosher in today's world.

Beleive me, this story about the Q Bar raid will have international legs. Is that what was intended by the Thai government?

[Axel]

May be, I am wrong but believe that in most developed countries a raid can only be done with court order based on sufficient evidence to convince a judge there might be some law breaking going on.

Perhaps Bangkok's finest have a better idea. So, wherever you go at night, carry your passport and expect to spend a pint or so of your urine.

[RamdomChances]

The news about the Q Bar raid is certainly shocking. I find it very hard to believe that all the people in this the upscale bar were required to give urine samples! If true, what kind of message would that send out about the hospitality industry in Thailand?

This is quite serious stuff when the police raid an upmarket bar in such a rough manner. And as far as forcing all the customers inside, including foreign correspondents, to provide a urine test; well, that's simply not kosher in today's world.

Quite this sort of police activity should only go on at "thai" clubs or venues frequented by common falangs

The idea of "upper class" westerners and thais being treated the same as every one else is terrible!!

[Elysium]

I thought the faashion crowd were the pretentious, cocaine sniffing, bulimic set that no normal person would care to associate with. And that goes for the wannabee hangers-on as well. they are welcome to pay stupid prices for their drinks and welcome to have their own place to gather. As in most major cities, there is an 'in' place for these superficial, supercilious super egos. Let them keep to it and not disturb the rest of the world.

What am I missing here.....

I go to Q bar and now I am clasified as a wannabee hanger-on? (This since I am not part of the fashion industry)

Mate, get a life!! If you can't hack the fact that some people want to pay a bit more for a good drink (alcohol content in Q is at least twice the normal BKK size..) do not comment either. Obviously you are very much biased against people who chose to spend their hard earned money in another place than the by you frequented cheap charly shack. Be happy we are not there al together. Do not comment negatively at other bars without factual information, I guess you do.

You also seem not to know the new 'in' places in town. Q bar is not part of the 'in' places anymore. Those kind of places are coming up and are disappearing again after being spit out by the so called 'in' crowd. Q bar had the ability to establish itself as a major player in the club market and has been succesful over many years. But on this board it seems that succesful doing business is a crime. Making money with a sussesfull business is not a crime and should not mean that you have to accept any government interference whatsoever.

And may I say.

My comments against this kind of raids is not only because it is Q bar. I am against it in any other establishment. If the police was looking to make drugs related arests they should go to the places where they have a 90 % chance. Problem might be that those places are firstly owned by police officers or related groups and secondly that those places are only frequented by Thai youth and therefor it might not be enough to satisfy the (government controled) media. As a previous member wrote; there should be a process of law before raids occur. What is wrong with being innocent before proven quilty? Put in front of a camera might not be liked by your farang country manager. You will be having bagage now..... Out you go.... Charged quilty of drinking in Q bar!!

I am quilty as charged. Good that I have not a boss to worry about just my social acceptance in the Thai society.

For all those who were so negatively prejucided against Q bar: herewith I invite you to come over and make an opinion on your own. To those ones who are not able to distinguise non 'in' crowd clubs and bar from the 'in' crowd bars: let me show you around were you find Bangkok most pretentious people. You will not see many, or any, Farang here though!

Disclaimer: I am not other related to Q bar than being a guest of the establishment.

[orchis]

Maybe they could send the fashion police from the obnoxious Nokia commercial

over .

[astral]

Well that will be a real shot in the arm for the tourist business!!

[Haroon]

I think that this is not going to end. either their are passports for all visitors at a Q bars. Lots of amount and security has to be involved . Why we close down such areas in order to remove off such troubles.

Entertainments for few people costs other thousand people in trouble, this is not the entertainment or income resources.

I am a outsider, but quite often visited thailand and bangkok, and a such I feel pain that such a nice city does not require low profile entertainments. Lots of other way of entertainments can be adopted.

The foreign tourists will come and go , but the real affects people were the permenant residents.

This is my own thinking based on purely on true feelings

Regards

Haroon

[12call]

So what has all this got to do with Thaksin buying Liverpool football club???

Or Man Utd or or or

[Acharn]

More than 50 plainclothes and uniformed policemen, under orders of Deputy Interior minister Pracha Maleenont, closed the American owned Q Bar for the remainder of the night, stopped customers from leaving and administered urine tests to 373 people, said Sgt-Major Manote Panyatana.

Two people were found to have "purple urine" meaning that they had taken drugs but police were performing further retests to see if they had taken illicit or prescription drugs, Manote said.

Of the 373 people tested, 104    didn't have passports with them as required in Thailand, and were taken to a police station where they were fined and released. He did not know the amount of the fine.

"We do random checks at a different bar every Friday. It's by the orders of the police commander and policy of the government to be strict about drugs," Manote said.

"We did the raid last night because the minister requested it... he ordered us to make arrests, and he's in command, so we had to make the arrests," he said.

The thing about this that puzzles me is that these raids are still being carried out at the orders of the Ministry of the Interior, but they no longer are supposed to have *any* authority over the police. The police are supposed to come under the Prime Minister's Office now. Of course, Pracha Maleenond is Purachai's surrogate here -- both of them are from the Church Wing of the Phalang Tham Party, which was where Thaksin got his start (the Party that is, not the Church Wing of it), and both he and Purachai probably want to keep getting publicity.

Nobody seems to know what their agenda *really* is. They've gotten the law requiring zoning and early closing times passed, but now Thaksin is holding up implementation of it. This case shows that their original premise, that these places are all dens of drug use, is false, but they aren't interested in truth. I think it's pretty clear that the cops wouldn't have fined anyone for not having a passport if Pracha hadn't been there. He wasn't looking for any real wrongdoing -- he was specifically harrassing people he thinks should be run out of Thailand.

[Rinrada]

Two people were found to have "purple urine"

I would have though that bearing in mind the pedegree of the punters in the "q"bar their urine might at least have turned out to have been "Blue"

Good Heavens Carruthers...Where will they strike next?......the British Club

[sabaijai]

Is Richard too outspoken or is he just one of the view [sic]who dares to speak up! Guess that we are all afraid to publicly state our opinions. Pretty sad, isn't it?

Elysium, I intended 'outspoken' in its most positive sense. I admire Richard for speaking what's on every other club-owner's mind.

I couldn't agree with you more, if people like the Q Bar experience and are willing to pay for it, who cares? Spending a couple hours in a place packed with wannabe models doesn't do me any harm at all. Beats hanging out at Cheap Charlie's or the equivalent guzzling 40B beer in the company of 7 leering farang pensioners and 12 bored bar girls. Having the option of both is ideal, but oddly enough you don't see police raids on places like that, where they just might find plenty of purple urine ...

BTW I've been gearing up for a short vacation in Paris next month, and notice that most of the bars there are open till 4am. Thaksin wanted Bangkok to become a fashion hub like Paris, but someone needs to remind him that aspiring models need places like the Q Bar to be discovered

[Insight]

It's ridiculous - we (farangs / Westerners) are being targeted.

Here's another example: The law in which forced shops to stop selling booze past 12am. This was implemented everywhere, for about one night, except at the Villa and 7-11 at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 33 where I tried to buy a few bottles of beer at around 1am about a month ago and was refused. (Don't know how it stands today)

Why here? Because they're mainly used by farangs leaving Londoners or the Soi 33 bars. Travel a bit further down the road to a different 7-11 a bit more hidden and you could buy any alcohol you wanted available.

I don't understand what message they're trying to convey here other than "you are not welcome". Is there a govenment figure that could enlighten us?

[Foggy Bottom]

Two people were found to have "purple urine"

I would have though that bearing in mind the pedegree of the punters in the "q"bar their urine might at least have turned out to have been "Blue"

Good Heavens Carruthers...Where will they strike next?......the British Club

Mortimer do behave ones self ..... The Foreign Correspondent Club has to be next you know. After all, there's a general election brewing and the generals simply won't tolerate all these foreign journalist johnnies writing the truth about the one they want to win. The decent thing must be done what? Can't have the voters being informed about what's actually good for the country you know.

[mrchips377]

I think maybe everyone is being a bit paranoic, i don't think there is particular targeting of farangs, it's just some farangs are giving us all a bad name and maybe the cops are rightly suspicious of us. How many farangs are now getting caught selling drugs, involved in crime or are illegally in thailand. e.g. i read the other day about a guy got caught in Pattaya selling viagra type drug , some dutch guy got caught with so many (stolen?) passports and not so long ago some russian guy got caught involved in a robbery, also in pattaya. So the cops and authorities are getting more suspicious and wary of foreigners in general. Remember how many thais got shot and killed during the drugs campaign, it was in the thousands. Toxin and his government are just being politically correct in their own Thai way. Look back in the UK at how the police are behaving there, e.g. the speed traps, the attempts to convict people on all sorts of small offences, which often get thrown out of court. Its just the consequences of having a powerful almost one party government. They will do some very luny things because there is no effective opposition.

I went to Novotel disco the other day, got asked for my id, passport or driving license. I always carry my passport with me. Of course it's risky but if i don't want get fined so I have to take the risk.

By the way, dont diss "Cheap Charlies" there's some very fine folk who go there, they maybe just have to watch the pennies !

Chips

[ponder]

Is there a govenment figure that could enlighten us?

I doubt it. But is there? I never carry my passport when I am on holiday in Thailand.

Last time I was there, a friend of mine got fined 2000 baht for throwing a cigarette on the ground. Okay, it's the law. But he was given no receipt by the police - they just pocketed the money.

Could they start doing the same to tourists not carrying passports? They would make a killing because nobody expects such a law. If you lose your passport, you will be asked why you did not leave it in the safety deposit box back at the hotel.

[elsie]

Just for the record; Q Bar was raided last month as well. On Friday the 16th.

[Johpa]

To summarise previous statements and comments..

Q bar failed a payment to the MIB?

No, they never seem to pay and never will. All licenses are in order and there is no reason to pay other than official regulated payments.

Or do you all agree with the 'underworld'?

This affecting tourism in Thailand?

IMHO it does. Had already two queries from people outside Thailand. Entertainment is one of the pilars of tourism industry as a whole.

I am not very familiar with social venues in Bangkok and have never heard of the Q Bar, but I do know that if you have a nightspot in Thailand that never seems to "pay" the proper officials (AKA MIB) and have an ownership that has an attitude that they never will pay, then one should not be surprised that this bar was raided in such a way as to shut it down. Clearly the ownership of this bar, if they did have an attitude of holier-than-thou relative to tea money, got their comeuppance.

The Police do not expect tourists to carry their passports at night into clubs and tourists would be foolish to carry a passport at night into a club. Somebody high on the list got pissed off, or perhaps jealous, at this club's owners and acted unilaterally hoping that perhaps Toxin's dislike of Farangs (he wants to replace independent Farangs with easy to control Chinese tour groups) would protect him. Those who took the action are probably in a bit of hot water at the moment because of the stupidity of their actions due to the negative impact this will have on other influential Thai folks involved in tourism. But I would still never carry a passport at night into a club or bar and I would certainly avoid any establishment in the Kingdom that had clearly upset local high ranking authorities.

[Jeff Jarvis]

The Qbar is known worldwide and soon this story will be too. What is the message they are trying to send?

At least they didn't bulldoze the place like the Soi 10 corner....

[Elysium]

I am not very familiar with social venues in Bangkok and have never heard of the Q Bar, but I do know that if you have a nightspot in Thailand that never seems to "pay" the proper officials (AKA MIB) and have an ownership that has an attitude that they never will pay, then one should not be surprised that this bar was raided in such a way as to shut it down.  Clearly the ownership of this bar, if they did have an attitude of holier-than-thou relative to tea money, got their comeuppance.

The Police do not expect tourists to carry their passports at night into clubs and tourists would be foolish to carry a passport at night into a club.  Somebody high on the list got pissed off, or perhaps jealous, at this club's owners and acted unilaterally hoping that perhaps Toxin's dislike of Farangs (he wants to replace independent Farangs with easy to control Chinese tour groups) would protect him.  Those who took the action are probably in a bit of hot water at the moment because of the stupidity of their actions due to the negative impact this will have on other influential Thai folks involved in tourism.  But I would still never carry a passport at night into a club or bar and I would certainly avoid any establishment in the Kingdom that had clearly upset local high ranking authorities.

You are not familair with Bangkok and still you belief you assesment is correct.

Sorry, not...!

The day we give in to extortion practises just because that is the way they want to play, is the day we go down a very slippery slope. I guess you relate your stories about paying of fees to the naughty nightlife only. Be aware that most entertainment places are not paying extorted amounts to the MIB. Some 'have to', like Nana and Cowboy and some choose freely to do so in exchange for 'services' offered.

And concerning the passport story..... guess we won't see you anywhere in town. With this attitude it is either the hotel or the police station...

And.. with your lack of knowledge, how can you determine which bar or club did 'upset' high ranking officers?? This is not the story, do not make it more than it is. They were looking for drugs and they failed to make the promised arrests. Since the press was there and they were about to loose face they had to come up with another plan. Passports than??

[dtoodnut]

SO If somebody comes up dirty, what do they do?

[dtoodnut]

I thought the faashion crowd were the pretentious, cocaine sniffing, bulimic set that no normal person would care to associate with. And that goes for the wannabee hangers-on as well. they are welcome to pay stupid prices for their drinks and welcome to have their own place to gather. As in most major cities, there is an 'in' place for these superficial, supercilious super egos. Let them keep to it and not disturb the rest of the world.

And if it gets raided occasionally, so what. Happens everywhere in BKK. Not that there's some missing tea money - just spreading the pain around a little.

I'm not sure why you have it in for the fashion industry old boy, but at least you could take the trouble to spell the word correctly.

This is quite serious stuff when the police raid an upmarket bar in such a rough manner. And as far as forcing all the customers inside, including foreign correspondents, to provide a urine test; well, that's simply not kosher in today's world.

Beleive me, this story about the Q Bar raid will have international legs. Is that what was intended by the Thai government?

In Sweden they do it. Only they single you out by erratic behavior. In the US, Dewey Beach in Delaware Wash. DC's nearest beach, they arrest you for walking home a couple of blocks with beer on the breath. Somebody stumbled off a bayside bar there with a beer in hand and they fined him $500 for drinking in public. No vehicles whatsoever. The Thais are far more civilized, and just want to discourage it while padding their income. In just a few years I watched the yah-bah turn sweet, modest girls into crazed floozies. I don't want to see such sweet people get wacky from drugs. Hey, those cops want their daughters to go to the university, not work in the bars. That costs money.

PAY UP, or go to Brighton, Devon or Cornwall instead. I will take Thai Cops over American Beachtown cops any day of the week!!

[madmitch]

I remember Thaksin recently stated that the Government wants to treat drug users as patients, not criminals. Doesn't that make it obvious that the police only raided the bar to look for individuals that needed medical help? The fact that all but two were perfectly healthy and had to write off the rest of the evening either at the local police station or some other venue is just a consequence of the caring nature of the government towards drug users.

[DaveYo]

Listen fellas, POLITICS plays a major factor more often than not when it comes time for elections. Those existing polidogs want another so called 4 or 6 years and the pay from that alone is good for them since it is above poverty level. Not to mention what comes under the table daily for extra padding. Raiding a tourist spot is tantamont to a PR disaster, because tourists indeed do spread the word out faster than radio waves, and such can indeed cause a PR crisis for the upper Thai doo dads.

What I noticed here no one has EVEN said what the fine was or is for not carrying your passport!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fancy that part.

Like I said above here, and I do agree with some of you that has assessed some quotes quite accurately since it is harrassment totally, but not finding anyone with the druggies in their system they had to save face by banging the foreigners with no passport. Now get this, had everyone had their passports, and no one tested positive for drugs, you can literally bet a thousand to one, of who would really lose face besides other things.

The foreigners who were in this can sue the individuals plus the one who ordered such raid, for harrassment big time since this incident is not a common thing and is not wide spread and has no uniformity, such can be construed to this point as argument.

One of these days the Thai authorities are going to be humiliated to the bone as long as they keep this up. It is pointing in that direction. This part is my prediction.

I have also said long ago, The thai government does not want foreigners here for more than 60 days max. They the Thais themselves, have a distaste in their mouths (bordering towards racism) towards foreigners and many reasons for such can be given (one of them spoke that Foreigners are a Threat to their own personal Security and Wealth such as homes and land) and I have found it to be quite surprising, since many of us do contribute to their income. I can point out many good topics which is clearly related to such and that such cannot be disputed. I am talking reality here, not fantasy or some shoot of the moon crap. Beware of the Thai people, and don't be fooled by their smiles!!!!!!!!!! If they do something however small it may be they want to be PAID regardless. They do not want you as friend, but as their ATM and even being your friend will cost you some money to keep them around. Thai people are not like Americans or British, where an American or British person will want to try to be your friend and try to help you here and there without demanding to be paid for being just a Friend. Understand. The sooner us foreigners understand this the better off we all will be at the end.

Daveyo