$118 Offered As Compensation To Motorcyclist Shot By Policeman

[Travel2003]

The OP quoted that the lad jumped a stopping point before the police drew arms and who knows what else was involved. Police dont just shoot people for the sake of it. I`m sure in this case it was well deserved.

you're right... he wasn't wearing a helmet... very much deserving of a load of lead in the leg...

Being stopped for not wearing a helmet is normally a 2-300 Bt fine.

Speeding away from the Police is normally something more than not wanting to pay 2-300 in Thailand.

Btw, running away from the Police in parts of NY, LA, Chicago, etc, would most likely resulting in bullet in your leg.

Again, even though far far far too many of the BiB are corrupt, there are still decent officers around.

Do not call them all for scum, mafia, etc.

[Thai at Heart]

Seriously.... I hope those of you that are defending Thai police never fall victim to them like I and thousands of others. They DO just shoot people, do some bloody research before saying something so obviously ignorant and uninformed. Im sure there a couple of "nice guys" Thai cops that are very polite to you..... doesn't change the fact that the police force is Thailands mafia and worse than that... they dont help you when you are in legitimate need of police work.

It seriously worries me when I see a group of them huddled at the corner of the road into their 3rd bottle of red, sweaty tshirts on, holsters in full view.

[gymshark]

My ex's old man had a scare when some plick was running around in their garden in bangkok one night, he started brandishing an old piece of shit revolver. When I saw the weapon I can tell you it probably would have hurt him more if he had fired it, it had never been maintained. Anyway, I asked them what they were playing at having a gun in the house and their explanation was that if they were being attacked and managed to call the police they probably would never get there in time if at all. Sad when you don't have a force to protect and serve who choose instead to beg and steal , that's right, beg, I had a cop stop by me in a Thai neighbourhood a few years ago and try to get me to give him petrol money for his bike !

Needless to say he didn't get it, cheeky tool.

[Travel2003]

Seriously.... I hope those of you that are defending Thai police never fall victim to them like I and thousands of others. They DO just shoot people, do some bloody research before saying something so obviously ignorant and uninformed. Im sure there a couple of "nice guys" Thai cops that are very polite to you..... doesn't change the fact that the police force is Thailands mafia and worse than that... they dont help you when you are in legitimate need of police work.

It seriously worries me when I see a group of them huddled at the corner of the road into their 3rd bottle of red, sweaty tshirts on, holsters in full view.

Rubbish!!

What, you have your own private Stake Out on the corners?

Too much "hear say" now.

All the years reading the Forums here at TV, and all the <deleted> about the Police (where infortunately a lot is true).

Everytime it sems to be the same members that talk about what they experienced, or what someone They know experienced, or what someone They know have heard.

With 1000s of members that read all these threads, strange that only a handful actually have personally experienced this.

The weirdest with the corrupt Police is that they normally take money from people that already has broken the law, and just want to pay there and then, so they can get going.

Then they talk <deleted> about the corrupt Police, forgetting that They are feeding them.

[Travel2003]

Needless to say he didn't get it, cheeky tool.

I like that.

Good.

[Huey]

Why did he run?

[imaneggspurt]

The Thai police are scum, they're no better than the mafia. Find me a good Thai cop and I'll find you a pig with wings. I feel sorry for the poor Thais who are the ones who suffer the worst treatment from those so called police.

No, they are the mafia. I am tired of people referring to them as police. They are simply just criminals who wear uniforms. Nothing more, nothing less.

You 2 are nothing less than 2 morons!

I know several good Police officers in this country.

They live in small 1-room apartments, being too proud to take any bribes, etc.

They really hate what the majority of their colleagues do.

Naturally they will never testify what their colleagues do.

But nevertheless these guys are honest.

Not all are corrupt!!

You two are the same type of people that fuel the idiotic posts that All brits are loud drunkards, or the Americans step on all people in other countries, or that all Thai ladies are hookers, etc, etc.

Finally, I have never ever had any trouble with the Police here, even long time before I met my (Police) friends.

I have never met any foreigners that personally had to bribe themself out of trouble. Even though I know that happens.

I agree that painting every police officer in Thailand with the same "corruption brush" is ridiculous. Certainly, there are a few that really do take pride in their jobs and don't take many bribes, but be careful about assuming that some are your "friends". I would strongly supect that if it came down to the choice of protecting your butt or making some money from a situation, 99% of Thai cops will opt for the money. These police officers you speak of may be friendly towards you, but that's a lot different than being your friends.

NEVER in 20 tears have i met a traffic cop that wasnt on the take, and thats only the bottom rung of the ladder,.

Interesting! I've been stopped by the police three times while driving. Once was on a motorcycle, and I was guilty of not wearing my helmet. The officer would not take any money but insisted that I go to the station to pay the fine. Another was also while riding a motorbike. This time the officer accused me of driving in the outside lane. I held my ground and explained that I was not in that lane. After he threatened me twice by saying that I'd have to go to the police station, I said, "Fine -- no problem. Give me the ticket and I'll go pay it." He finally gave up and sent me on my way without a ticket or paying him. The last time was while driving a car, and this time I was guilty of letting my tax sticker expire. Once again, the officer refused to take any money on the spot but made me drive to the nearest police station to pay the fine.

I guess it's just luck of the draw, but it's intersting that you've NEVER met an honest Thai traffic cop in 20 years, yet 2 out of 3 I've had encounters with appeared to do the proper thing.

Yes, and my experience is in 20 years and i have driven all over thailand .3 times on one trip to the border 3 months ago and paid on the spot each time, but maybe its because i was breaking the law ( speeding ) and i dont jump up and down ,suits me fine, pay up and sod off, im in thailand, if you think we will change ANYTHING here with morals ill be very surprised ,.if they insisted on court appearances and had a points system here i would have been a pedestrian long ago,. .however on the more serious issues of compensation from the police what would happen if it was refused and they made it public, unfortunatly again this is thailand and we ( well most of us ) are guests here and its none of our business ,comments we can make, changes however are an entirely different ball game,. Edited August 25, 2008 by imaneggspurt

[way2muchcoffee]

I guess it's just luck of the draw, but it's intersting that you've NEVER met an honest Thai traffic cop in 20 years, yet 2 out of 3 I've had encouters with appeared to do the proper thing.

I've been pulled over 5 times in 1.5 years driving a new D-Max. Four of the five times I had to pay 500 bt (each time). Three of those four times I had done nothing wrong. The kicker was that two of the straight rip-offs occurred during one trip over a two day period. I was not pleased. Mafia indeed!!

[Travel2003]

I guess it's just luck of the draw, but it's intersting that you've NEVER met an honest Thai traffic cop in 20 years, yet 2 out of 3 I've had encouters with appeared to do the proper thing.

I've been pulled over 5 times in 1.5 years driving a new D-Max. Four of the five times I had to pay 500 bt (each time). Three of those four times I had done nothing wrong. The kicker was that two of the straight rip-offs occurred during one trip over a two day period. I was not pleased. Mafia indeed!!

And of course, you always keep witin the speed limit with your D-Max.

[RusticCharm]

And of course, you always keep witin the speed limit with your D-Max.

That's not the point. If the BiB point a radar gun at me and clock me over the limit, then okay, I'll get fined and accept it.

Getting fined for non-existent infractions just so the BiB can line their pockets IS what we're talking about.

I find your constant support of the Thai police somewhat strange. Remember Chalor Kerdkes?

[Travel2003]

And of course, you always keep witin the speed limit with your D-Max.

That's not the point. If the BiB point a radar gun at me and clock me over the limit, then okay, I'll get fined and accept it.

Getting fined for non-existent infractions just so the BiB can line their pockets IS what we're talking about.

I find your constant support of the Thai police somewhat strange. Remember Chalor Kerdkes?

I was just kidding regarding the D-Max mate.

Hence my whink.

I do not support the entire Police Corps, but do not to accept that they all are called Scum, etc.

[richoz]

The Thai police are scum, they're no better than the mafia. Find me a good Thai cop and I'll find you a pig with wings. I feel sorry for the poor Thais who are the ones who suffer the worst treatment from those so called police.

No, they are the mafia. I am tired of people referring to them as police. They are simply just criminals who wear uniforms. Nothing more, nothing less.

You 2 are nothing less than 2 morons!

I know several good Police officers in this country.

They live in small 1-room apartments, being too proud to take any bribes, etc.

They really hate what the majority of their colleagues do.

Naturally they will never testify what their colleagues do.

But nevertheless these guys are honest.

Not all are corrupt!!

You two are the same type of people that fuel the idiotic posts that All brits are loud drunkards, or the Americans step on all people in other countries, or that all Thai ladies are hookers, etc, etc.

Finally, I have never ever had any trouble with the Police here, even long time before I met my (Police) friends.

I have never met any foreigners that personally had to bribe themself out of trouble. Even though I know that happens.

Absolutely agree.

I know several play it by the book police officers here. One has been in the force for over 30 years and is as sound as they come.

These guys risk their lives for us day in day out. I have nothing but respect and the highest regard for the boys and girls in brown.

The only people that make remarks like to two above (dumb & dumber) are those who have no respect for the law in the first place. The OP quoted that the lad jumped a stopping point before the police drew arms and who knows what else was involved. Police dont just shoot people for the sake of it. I`m sure in this case it was well deserved.

With those views you are more dangerous than the crims in uniforms (you call then the police). Police dont shoot innocent people huh???? Grow up and get a reality check:

07 Oct 2004 two english backpackers shot by a crim in uniform in Kanchanburi.

06 Jan 2008 two tourist shot by another crim in uniform in Pai

THAI POLICE ARE CRIMIMALS

[torrenova]

My experience is mixed. I've had them give me a lift on their bike when no motorbike taxi was around in Pattaya (no helmet but he didn't nick me for not having one !). Gave him the same as a motorbike taxi tip.

Driving to Buriram. Often 2 or 3 speed checks but you don't know the real limit nor do they have any equipment to say how fast you were going so I suppose you could just blag it and eventually they would have to let it drop for lack of evidence (though they could probably fabricate some). When obviously speeding have paid Bt100 a couple of times and once some Thai in the truck paid Bt200.

In the village up north there are some in the extended family and they seem ok. They do expect freebies like food and beer but we've never had to call on their services so I have no knowledge of whether help would be forthcoming if there wasn't some cash in it for them.

Pulled up in Bangkok for nothing. He wanted Bt500 but I said no. Tried to make out it was some problem to drive in Bangkok on Korat plates !!! Once paid Bt100 just to get out of their quicker.

Now if you don't wear a helmet on a bike then you are breaking the law and should be fined according to the law. That is not the issue. The issue is whether a ticket is issued. My experience is that certainly in Pattaya, more tickets are being issued than years ago when it was normal just to pay Bt100 or Bt200 to drive away.

It is my understanding and I am certainly willing to be corrected on this, that they must pay quite a lot to join the force. Thus, that money must be repaid. It cannot come from salaries so it must come from corruption. Strange that one retired policeman I know quite well owns apartment blocks and all kinds and he was nowhere near the top of the ladder. I can never see it changing.

[sriracha john]

The OP quoted that the lad jumped a stopping point before the police drew arms and who knows what else was involved. Police dont just shoot people for the sake of it. I`m sure in this case it was well deserved.

you're right... he wasn't wearing a helmet... very much deserving of a load of lead in the leg...

Being stopped for not wearing a helmet is normally a 2-300 Bt fine.

Speeding away from the Police is normally something more than not wanting to pay 2-300 in Thailand.

Btw, running away from the Police in parts of NY, LA, Chicago, etc, would most likely resulting in bullet in your leg.

Again, even though far far far too many of the BiB are corrupt, there are still decent officers around.

Do not call them all for scum, mafia, etc.

I've seen scads of times when a helmet checkpoint has been avoided by motorcyclists turning around before the checkpoint is reached... by both young and old.

Thanks for the tip on America... I'll be sure to tell my friend's family here to make sure they wear their helmets the next time they're cruising Interstate 80 over there.... and also not to do their normal U-turn tactic in front of any roadblocks whilst traveling there...

[12DrinkMore]

It is my understanding and I am certainly willing to be corrected on this, that they must pay quite a lot to join the force. Thus, that money must be repaid. It cannot come from salaries so it must come from corruption. Strange that one retired policeman I know quite well owns apartment blocks and all kinds and he was nowhere near the top of the ladder. I can never see it changing.

There is a book written by Thais and published in Thailand about corruption. From memory to achieve a top police position in Bangkok would cost upwards of 20,000,000 Baht. That was a decade ago, doubtless inflation and competition have caused this to increase.

[Travel2003]

It is my understanding and I am certainly willing to be corrected on this, that they must pay quite a lot to join the force. Thus, that money must be repaid. It cannot come from salaries so it must come from corruption. Strange that one retired policeman I know quite well owns apartment blocks and all kinds and he was nowhere near the top of the ladder. I can never see it changing.

There is a book written by Thais and published in Thailand about corruption. From memory to achieve a top police position in Bangkok would cost upwards of 20,000,000 Baht. That was a decade ago, doubtless inflation and competition have caused this to increase.

Im pretty sure you also have the calculations regarding how long it will take to "collect" 20 Mill Bt for an Officer.

Or to "collect" enough money for several buildings.

Unless these positions are for the guys coming from the rich families, I would believe it would take some time reaching these numbers.

lol

Anyhow,

from my point of view, this subject can go on forever.

[petitechevre]

you cannot have a good police if you don't pay them well...

i mean if i was a police officer in canada and i was making 25k a year.. id definately stop every single car on the street and find a reason to give them a ticket and offer them to get away from 150$ for like 20$ in my pocket... all day long.. id stop young kids drinking in the park and tell them.. 10$ each for 1 week without an interuption.. etc etc

cant expect someone to put his life in danger and keep order if you're not gonna threat him better than a garbage man. or at least give them a DECENT house for their family(cost nothing, thai construction is terrible and cheap) and an average motorbike for home, 100% dental/health system, then 7k a month is acceptable. but still close to bad