Airport Scam Spreads To Skytrain

[dippytart]

Is the box a cash register location for traffic violators or tourist information bay.?

Neither. The writing on the top of the kiosk says "Place to Pay the Fine for Littering". Aside from the fact that the kiosk should have an English langauge sign so that tourists would get the idea, I don't see how this is a scam.

It's illegal in most Western counries to drop litter, including the UK. The post above is misleading. The street where all the rubbish is not the same as the street where the kiosk is. Did it occur that one benefit of this practice is to keep the area looking respectable for other tourists? Is there any litter in the photos where the tourists are being fined?

No. It looks like apretty nice place to spend your holiday.

So the policy works.

The photo of the trash in the street is Suk Soi 11, in the heart of the hotel district.

Go there any morning and it looks just like that. If fact the entire area is trashed every nite by the vendors...not tourists.

So the answer would be to fine anyone who drops litter - both the tourists and the vendors - equally.

I couldn't agree more. I still fail to see how fining anyone for litter dropping amounts to a "scam".

Anyone got an online dictionary round here?

Edited July 24, 2009 by dippytart

[balo]

I believe this story , it probably happened outside National Stadium .

As prevoius posters mentioned the cigarette scam have been going on for years.

Now what can we do to stop this and warn tourists? Any video evidence we can upload to youtube ?

I bring my camera next time I'm there.

[samran]

Is the box a cash register location for traffic violators or tourist information bay.?

Neither. The writing on the top of the kiosk says "Place to Pay the Fine for Littering". Aside from the fact that the kiosk should have an English langauge sign so that tourists would get the idea, I don't see how this is a scam.

It's illegal in most Western counries to drop litter, including the UK. The post above is misleading. The street where all the rubbish is not the same as the street where the kiosk is. Did it occur that one benefit of this practice is to keep the area looking respectable for other tourists? Is there any litter in the photos where the tourists are being fined?

No. It looks like apretty nice place to spend your holiday.

So the policy works.

The photo of the trash in the street is Suk Soi 11, in the heart of the hotel district.

Go there any morning and it looks just like that. If fact the entire area is trashed every nite by the vendors...not tourists.

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

[mrtoad]

So the answer would be to fine anyone who drops litter - both the tourists and the vendors - equally.

I couldn't agree more. I still fail to see how fining anyone for litter dropping amounts to a "scam".

Anyone got an online dictionary round here?

As the original post in this thread says, the person involved had not dropped any litter, but was still forced to pay a fine. In that case it becomes a scam, just as the removal of bins in areas, which encourages people to drop litter, maybe a better word might be entrapment.

Whilst there are fines for dropping litter, it becomes a scam if the fine is not the legislated amount, or if it goes directly into the pockets of the BIB. It also seems, that there have been cases where people have been accused of dropping litter when they have not. I'm all for enforcement of such fines, if they are carried out in the correct manner, sadly it is normally abused by the BIB.

[selftaopath]

[

Why the hel_l cant the thai government simply issue an edict telling people not to pay and to report these issues to regular cops.

Unfortunately there are no sanctions. How can a police do anything when they themselves (colloectively speaking) are so corrupt. And the govt is behind it. The govt extorts money from foreigners EVERY chance it gets. Did you hear a/b the "new" law i.e. send money for 4 Thai workers to the govt Social fund even if you don't have any workers in you small business? This is needed to replenish the money taken to buy votes. GEEZE.

[tartempion]

So the answer would be to fine anyone who drops litter - both the tourists and the vendors - equally.

I couldn't agree more. I still fail to see how fining anyone for litter dropping amounts to a "scam".

Anyone got an online dictionary round here?

An other one who does not get it

Pratunam stalls, you see that cop wandering around?

He's at the look out for tourists smoking.

Don't care whatever else goes on on the street.

Closely follows smoking farang.

Waits till farang drops but.

Cop picks up smoking but, catches up with him and proudly pushes but under nose of farang. Cop was instructed to open mouth and say "two thousand Baht"

I brought amount down to one thousand baht.

you saw the youtube video on the cop counting the 100 bills he collected?

Sure collecting 1000 Baht bills is more profitable no?

A scam??? No way, all legal gains.

Edited July 24, 2009 by tartempion

[Oberkommando]

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

My long term ex-girlfriend had several garment stalls on the main Sukhumvit Road from Ekkamai next to Major Cineplex all the way down to Nana and was never "scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis". In fact as I recall she had no bother with the Police whatsoever during many years of trading.

So don't talk nonsense and try to divert from the real issues at hand here which is foreigners being specifically targeted for extortion.

[Serpico]

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

My long term ex-girlfriend had several garment stalls on the main Sukhumvit Road from Ekkamai next to Major Cineplex all the way down to Nana and was never "scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis". In fact as I recall she had no bother with the Police whatsoever during many years of trading.

So don't talk nonsense and try to divert from the real issues at hand here which is foreigners being specifically targeted for extortion.

It's entrapment.

An idiotic thing to do in the heart of the tourist district. They don't care for their country or the environment or law enforcement. It's a money making scheme.

They do exploit the vendors too.

I see them helping themselves to food and drinks.

They also charge more "rent" to vendors selling the illegal stuff.

And they rent a house at the end of Soi 8 and sublet this place to 100 vendors for 1,000bt each a month. This activity trashed a very nice neighborhood by the way.

They are so greedy, they rent every centimeter of footpath they can. Can't even get a baby carriage down the walkway. Have to use the street.

Where they can't squeeze in another cart, they put a disfigured, diseased, mangled up Cambodian there or some babies, diverting donations to the poor.

Believe me. These guys are the scum of the earth.

Edited July 24, 2009 by Serpico

[samran]

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

My long term ex-girlfriend had several garment stalls on the main Sukhumvit Road from Ekkamai next to Major Cineplex all the way down to Nana and was never "scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis". In fact as I recall she had no bother with the Police whatsoever during many years of trading.

So don't talk nonsense and try to divert from the real issues at hand here which is foreigners being specifically targeted for extortion.

hey, loved being stalked. So what you are saying no vendors ever pay any money to the coppers?

Edited July 24, 2009 by samran

[JonWong]

I find this discussion very interesting. I come from Singapore, and I understand Bangkok effort to keep the city clean.

In Singapore, if you drop a butt, you are in for a big trouble. However, the Singapore police usually give the foreigner a warning, while they really fine the Singapore local heavily. 2,000 Baht fine is cheap by Singapore standard.

Try taking in more than an open pack of cigarette into Singapore. You will be heavily fine at the airport or other point of entry. There is no mercy. However, the good thing is that they do not take bribe.

Just because we are foreigner in Thailand, that does not give us the right to drop cigarette butt.

[neverdie]

I find this discussion very interesting. I come from Singapore, and I understand Bangkok effort to keep the city clean.

In Singapore, if you drop a butt, you are in for a big trouble. However, the Singapore police usually give the foreigner a warning, while they really fine the Singapore local heavily. 2,000 Baht fine is cheap by Singapore standard.

Try taking in more than an open pack of cigarette into Singapore. You will be heavily fine at the airport or other point of entry. There is no mercy. However, the good thing is that they do not take bribe.

Just because we are foreigner in Thailand, that does not give us the right to drop cigarette butt.

JonWong is a TROLL, he use to be MEGWONG, then DICKWONG. Dont feed him.

[sabaijai]

So, this guy is a liar and Thai authorities don't lie?. Yeah right!

What ''lie' and what 'Thai authorities' are you talking about? Skytrain 'guards' are not 'Thai authorities', and as far as I can tell from the OP, nobody has asked BTS to comment on this case, so what 'lie' are you referring to? The whole thing is totally uncorrobarated - just one guy back in the safety of Denmark telling a story and getting his name in the paper. Believe it if you want - but if you use the BTS regularly at Siam Square you'll realise how unlikely this is. For one thing, the platform guards are usually on their own, they don't go around in big gangs; secondly, BTS staff are, on the whole, pretty polite and professional. Thirdly, how do you know this guy wasn't being a drunken arsehol_e, got taken to the guard room, then made up this little story instead? Fourthly, since the guards are not police, the only authority they have is to remove him from the station. Fifthly, why didn't he go and report it as soon as he was out of the guardroom to, say, the station manager, the ticket office, a cop on the street, his embassy, oh come on, if this was real..what would you do?

Like I said, I aint buying it. I can't remember what there is in the way of CCTV at Siam, but that's the only way I'd believe a tale like this.

[mrtoad]

I find this discussion very interesting. I come from Singapore, and I understand Bangkok effort to keep the city clean.

In Singapore, if you drop a butt, you are in for a big trouble. However, the Singapore police usually give the foreigner a warning, while they really fine the Singapore local heavily. 2,000 Baht fine is cheap by Singapore standard.

Try taking in more than an open pack of cigarette into Singapore. You will be heavily fine at the airport or other point of entry. There is no mercy. However, the good thing is that they do not take bribe.

Just because we are foreigner in Thailand, that does not give us the right to drop cigarette butt.

JonWong is a TROLL, he use to be MEGWONG, then DICKWONG. Dont feed him.

If he is, you would think he could be a bit more original in the use of his names, at least you have to give Permanent Disorder a bit if credit for all of his other names.

[neverdie]

^Yes well lets just say Jon isnt the brightest spark, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a couple of beers short of a six pack etc etc , I think ive nearly picked him a dozen times, all correct of course. Actually Jon, I just found your other new name as well.

[robbiecia]

Mr Wong is right though.

Singapore is clean, and they do provide plenty of bins.

If you drop a ciggy butt there, you deserve to be fined.

Bangkok is not clean, and they do not provide any bins.

Locals are certainly not targeted or fined for dropping a butt.

So the wannabe BIB (known as the Tesakijt) target the tourist.

[ozzieovaseas]

^Yes well lets just say Jon isnt the brightest spark, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a couple of beers short of a six pack etc etc , I think ive nearly picked him a dozen times, all correct of course. Actually Jon, I just found your other new name as well.

SO..Seems we've been inundated with a multitude of muppets on T.V...

Banished members getting new nickos...other crazies impersonating (allbeit very poorly) normal thinking people...

Where will it all end??

Maybe T.V can issue Neverdie with an official T.V shirt,cap and badge and start issueing these buggers with fines..

and VERY hefty ones..

he should be based at the airport so as not to miss all the ke-noks trying to skip town..

Maybe T.V can rent him a patch of turf out front of Kingpower

[mrtoad]

^Yes well lets just say Jon isnt the brightest spark, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a couple of beers short of a six pack etc etc , I think ive nearly picked him a dozen times, all correct of course. Actually Jon, I just found your other new name as well.

SO..Seems we've been inundated with a multitude of muppets on T.V...

Banished members getting new nickos...other crazies impersonating (allbeit very poorly) normal thinking people...

Where will it all end??

Maybe T.V can issue Neverdie with an official T.V shirt,cap and badge and start issueing these buggers with fines..

and VERY hefty ones..

he should be based at the airport so as not to miss all the ke-noks trying to skip town..

Maybe T.V can rent him a patch of turf out front of Kingpower

Neverdie should be promoted to head mod!!

[neverdie]

^Yes well lets just say Jon isnt the brightest spark, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a couple of beers short of a six pack etc etc , I think ive nearly picked him a dozen times, all correct of course. Actually Jon, I just found your other new name as well.

SO..Seems we've been inundated with a multitude of muppets on T.V...

Banished members getting new nickos...other crazies impersonating (allbeit very poorly) normal thinking people...

Where will it all end??

Maybe T.V can issue Neverdie with an official T.V shirt,cap and badge and start issueing these buggers with fines..

and VERY hefty ones..

he should be based at the airport so as not to miss all the ke-noks trying to skip town..

Maybe T.V can rent him a patch of turf out front of Kingpower

Well we did discuss a badge but it was identified that I needed a chest to pin it on first.

anyway, im only a few strokes away from being banned myself

[neverdie]

^Yes well lets just say Jon isnt the brightest spark, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a couple of beers short of a six pack etc etc , I think ive nearly picked him a dozen times, all correct of course. Actually Jon, I just found your other new name as well.

SO..Seems we've been inundated with a multitude of muppets on T.V...

Banished members getting new nickos...other crazies impersonating (allbeit very poorly) normal thinking people...

Where will it all end??

Maybe T.V can issue Neverdie with an official T.V shirt,cap and badge and start issueing these buggers with fines..

and VERY hefty ones..

he should be based at the airport so as not to miss all the ke-noks trying to skip town..

Maybe T.V can rent him a patch of turf out front of Kingpower

Neverdie should be promoted to head mod!!

Mate, If theres 80 thousand on the thread, Im probably on the list for moderatorship at number 79,999

first person I would ban would be george, mainly because he allowed all u twits to join the forum

Edited July 24, 2009 by neverdie

[mrtoad]

[

Well we did discuss a badge but it was identified that I needed a chest to pin it on first.

anyway, im only a few strokes away from being banned myself

Hope those strokes are done in private, otherwise you could be paying out a big fine for indecency. :D

[neverdie]

My first step as a Self Proclaimed Nutterator is to tell u twits to get back on topic, its about the alleged airport scam at the skytrain, remember

[mrtoad]

My first step as a Self Proclaimed Nutterator is to tell u twits to get back on topic, its about the alleged airport scam at the skytrain, remember

Okay sir, no strokes on the skytrain.

[Priceless]

One mistake in the article is stating THB 10,000 equaling $1500....should read around $ 280......if THB 10,000 equaled $1500, they certainly wouldnt have any tourists or farangs living in Thailand...

I think you should blame Google. 10,000 THB is approximately 1,500 DKK (Danish kroner, remember it's a Danish newspaper), not 1,500 USD

/ Priceless

[infernalman7]

WOW I never aware that scams even exist on skytrain system, which I feel quite safe already...

Need to be a lot more careful now. This country is turning into Malaysia two

[Oberkommando]

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

My long term ex-girlfriend had several garment stalls on the main Sukhumvit Road from Ekkamai next to Major Cineplex all the way down to Nana and was never "scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis". In fact as I recall she had no bother with the Police whatsoever during many years of trading.

So don't talk nonsense and try to divert from the real issues at hand here which is foreigners being specifically targeted for extortion.

hey, loved being stalked. So what you are saying no vendors ever pay any money to the coppers?

I thought what I was saying was quite obvious from my post.

I am not stalking you either, however you do tend to post a lot of opinionated and unsubstantiated nonsense like the above and I feel compelled to respond. Sorry if that irks you but I was under the impression this was a forum to debate and exchange opinions.

In 7 years of my relationship with my ex-g/f, and with her owning several stalls all along the lower Sukhumvit Road I never heard her complaining about the Police "scamming them".

Come to think of it, all her friends I know that had stalls and rented stalls from here didn't have problems with the Police either.

Feel free to substantiate or retract your earlier statement though.

[samran]

don't be so high an mighty. Night vendors get scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis. How else do you think they can continue to sell?

My long term ex-girlfriend had several garment stalls on the main Sukhumvit Road from Ekkamai next to Major Cineplex all the way down to Nana and was never "scammed by the coppers on a weekly basis". In fact as I recall she had no bother with the Police whatsoever during many years of trading.

So don't talk nonsense and try to divert from the real issues at hand here which is foreigners being specifically targeted for extortion.

hey, loved being stalked. So what you are saying no vendors ever pay any money to the coppers?

I thought what I was saying was quite obvious from my post.

I am not stalking you either, however you do tend to post a lot of opinionated and unsubstantiated nonsense like the above and I feel compelled to respond. Sorry if that irks you but I was under the impression this was a forum to debate and exchange opinions.

In 7 years of my relationship with my ex-g/f, and with her owning several stalls all along the lower Sukhumvit Road I never heard her complaining about the Police "scamming them".

Come to think of it, all her friends I know that had stalls and rented stalls from here didn't have problems with the Police either.

Feel free to substantiate or retract your earlier statement though.

like you, my experience is via personal contact. I take it your ex never sold anything fake, or ripped off, at her store then? Just about the only one on Sukumvit then.

also you should look up who the tesakit are. Municipal police, well renowned for taking regalar payments from vendors.

Edited July 25, 2009 by samran

[dippytart]

I must be on the wrong site - I thought 'ThaiVisa' was for people interested in Thailand.

No Mate sorry to disappoint you.

Thai visa is a site where there are many 'experienced' expats that actually live in Thailand. Theres thousands of years in a collective total cruising the threads here telling their account of how things go down in the land of smiles.

If you want glossy brochures, slide down to the travel agent....now doubt they will be able to sell you something

Don't get me wrong, Thailand is a wonderful place with many wonderful people and its truely worth the visit, however when you pack to come on holiday make sure you don't forget your brain & all your common sense, which seems to be not that common these days. Goodluck and enjoy.

If you notice my second post you'd have seen that I can read thai, so not sure what makes you think i'm a tourist - maybe because i don't agree with the gang of expats who live in farang -ivory towers mansion and whose 'thousands of years' of collective experience involves little more than commuting from their farang oasis via taxis to red-light districts for years on end. There's a whole lot more to thailand than meets their eyes.

For all you peeps who are caught up in this 'thais are all scammers' stereotyping, just imagine if a foreinger lived in a red-light district in your own country and never saw much of the rest of it. What would they think about your country?

To the guy who said 'here's another one that doesn't get it' and then moaned about how the police follow farangs till they drop a butt on the street, the easy answer is: DON"T DROP LITTER AND YOU WON'T GET FINED. Not hard if you just think about it a little.

As for the OP, who DIDN'T drop litter, I feel sorry for him, but like others have said here, i'm not sure all the details are accurate. Was this at MBK or the Skytrain? As anyone else had this experience INSIDE the BTS station? Haven't heard anyone back this up yet.

love

DippyTart (an expat with much less than a thousand years of experience, but still more - apparently - than a lot of others 'round here.)

[neverdie]

^ whilst I find your post amusing dipytart, what ever you do, don't stand in a door way or somewhere else where there is a breeze, some of your tickets might blow off & you could end up getting fined for that

[samran]

I must be on the wrong site - I thought 'ThaiVisa' was for people interested in Thailand.

No Mate sorry to disappoint you.

Thai visa is a site where there are many 'experienced' expats that actually live in Thailand. Theres thousands of years in a collective total cruising the threads here telling their account of how things go down in the land of smiles.

If you want glossy brochures, slide down to the travel agent....now doubt they will be able to sell you something

Don't get me wrong, Thailand is a wonderful place with many wonderful people and its truely worth the visit, however when you pack to come on holiday make sure you don't forget your brain & all your common sense, which seems to be not that common these days. Goodluck and enjoy.

If you notice my second post you'd have seen that I can read thai, so not sure what makes you think i'm a tourist - maybe because i don't agree with the gang of expats who live in farang -ivory towers mansion and whose 'thousands of years' of collective experience involves little more than commuting from their farang oasis via taxis to red-light districts for years on end. There's a whole lot more to thailand than meets their eyes.

For all you peeps who are caught up in this 'thais are all scammers' stereotyping, just imagine if a foreinger lived in a red-light district in your own country and never saw much of the rest of it. What would they think about your country?

To the guy who said 'here's another one that doesn't get it' and then moaned about how the police follow farangs till they drop a butt on the street, the easy answer is: DON"T DROP LITTER AND YOU WON'T GET FINED. Not hard if you just think about it a little.

As for the OP, who DIDN'T drop litter, I feel sorry for him, but like others have said here, i'm not sure all the details are accurate. Was this at MBK or the Skytrain? As anyone else had this experience INSIDE the BTS station? Haven't heard anyone back this up yet.

love

DippyTart (an expat with much less than a thousand years of experience, but still more - apparently - than a lot of others 'round here.)

Don’t worry. We live in what seems to be parallel universes to these guys.

I lived in Soi Kasemsan 1 for about 3 years, went over that bridge more times than I cared to remember on the way to work, on the way home, on the way to the gym. Not once was a pounced on by the coppers in question.

Do I deny the scam occurred to the OP? No.

At the same time, I’m not convinced that the coppers are pulling it on innocent tourists on a regular basis, and I’m convinced that given the level of confusion with the OP’s story, there is something not being told.

My general advice is like yours. Don’t break the law here and you won’t be hassled. I will add though, if you do think you are unfairly being targeted, make a scene, take their photo’s with a camera phone, take their details, or just insist on a written fine, with a receipt, to be paid down at the police station. They’ll soon shy away if they are trying to bust/scam you.

I await a schalacking by the usual suspects.

Edited July 28, 2009 by samran

[neverdie]

Geeze Samran, Thats not so nice considering my initial post about this only said to use your common sense & use ur brain.

As for the need to go and research every posters prior post's before responding to them, I can only imagine I am the only one not doing so, so silly me.

I find it amusing that dipy tart can read thai, yet comes straight into thai visa and on one of her very first posts makes a comment about being on the wrong site because she thought thai visa was a site for people interested in Thailand.

I'd say thats exactly what youve got here, wouldnt you?

ps: never been fined or scammed in thailand.....had a couple of attempts but they were never successful. (naturally that comment excludes the 3 traffic fines Ive had in the last 20 years, where each time I committed the offence, 2 driving and one parking)