one way or another, I took the BTS today, and stayed well clear of any cigarette butts on the ground. BTS guards that I saw seemed to have no interest in them either...

Sounds more plausible that Mr Georgesen is scamming his local press - I don't buy this story at all.

We have all seen the signs. No smoking with a value attached to it.

I find it wholly plausible that a bunch of busybody guards would force you to pay up without bothering to notice that the person didn't have a packet of cigarettes on them. Which then does beg the question, who actually issues and collects the fine? Is the private company allowed to do it, or being an offence to smoke in public places, presumably a copper has to be involved.

These stories are becoming more frequent, but until the system realises that the burden of proof lies with the accuser, they will continue. Random finger pointing and intimidation to extort cash from farang was never out of fashion, but it would appear to be on the increase.

- More questions than answers here.

- Where did they take him? Does every BTS station have a room set aside for security guards to interrogate people? Of course not.

- Did the 'victim' report it to the BTS authorities? If not, why not?

- Did the 'victim' report it to the local police? If not, why not?

- Did the 'victims' employer (presumably a hospital) act on his behalf? No mention of this!

My understanding is that Thaivisa employs a journalist. Perhaps he/she could take up some these incidents and get some details/facts.

the flight crew of a Thai Air plane forced someone into a toilet at 30,000 feet

Wow, my secret wet dream

Mine too but 10,000 is a bit excessive....I'll pay 2000.....!!

I am heading to the Skytrain today. Just for grins i will talk to the security at the tram about this. And see what they say. Of course they will know nothing but i will post what they say.

Unless he is actually "Tony".

No chance, Tony is already safe in his hammock on the rubber plantation in Sri Lanka.

Praise be! The reference is to that Tony. I thought the poster meant a certain Pattaya character.

A couple of thoughts here.

I don't know that I see this as a scam. Recently the litter patrol was stationed near where I live near the Emporium, also with the little portable station. I sat over by the park and watched for a short while. The people they stopped, had littered. They stopped Thais as well as farang, which to be honest, surprised me.

I see nothing wrong with an anti-litter campaign. However, I would rather they cleaned up the heaps of rubbish that lay all over this city, sometimes covering entire empty lots. Its those informal rubbish dumps that harbor rats and other vermin that carry disease.

I have not seen the security personnel of the Skytrain that stand on the platform be very aggressive in any way, other than blowing their fool heads off with their whistles. One day there was a small group of Thai late-teenagers standing on the platform, clearly well behind the yellow line. The security guard began going with the whistle and then pointing at them. They ignored him. He eventually walked up to them and began pointing. They pointed right back, indicating the yellow line. He pulled out his walkie talkie. They just laughed. He pulled out his stick. One stepped forward with his hands out in a "go ahead, I'd like to see you" attitude. The security guard walked away. Perhaps it was just that he was restrained by all the potential witnesses. I see him most days...he looks so unpleasant and clearly thinks his uniform has more authority than it does...that doesn't seem that unusual here in the LOS. But in the end, even when someone does cross the yellow line, I have never seen him actually confront the person.

Sounds more plausible that Mr Georgesen is scamming his local press - I don't buy this story at all.

Why he should do that??

Are you familiar with Western tabloid press? People make up all sorts of rubbish just to get their "15 minutes of fame" (= attention) or to get paid for their story.

Thailand is an easy-mark right now - what's the betting the next story will be someone claiming the flight crew of a Thai Air plane forced someone into a toilet at 30,000 feet and relieved them of 10,000 baht for not wearing their seat belt....

Actually, I wouldnt mind being forced into the bathroom on the plane by a couple of the flight attendants Ive seen .....theres a name for that you know

Relieved by nice trolley dollies at 30,000ft for 10,000bt seem's a bit steap!

Granted the story is not corroborated but I find it entirely plausible. The police have been doing the cigarette butt scam for many years. So why shouldn't BTS security guards try in on too?

Best reasoning skill I have seen in years. It's like saying if strawberries are red so why shouldn't oranges be red.