Crooked Policeman At Bang Na Tollbooth

[dbrenn]

Hi All,

A friend of mine just had a bad experience with a policeman at Bang Na toll booth, where you have to pay on joining the Bang Na tollway from the Ram Intra section.

My friend is new in Thailand, and doesn't speak the lingo. He is not even sure wjy he was pulled over. This is what happened:

1) The cop waved him to the side of the road

2) The cop asked to see his licence

3) My friend got out his wallet and started looking through it for his licence

4) The cop grabbed his wallet and started looking through it, lowering it out of sight

5) The cop gave him back his wallet

6) 13,000 Baht was missing

My friend was naturally enraged by this, got out of his car and demanded his money back. The cop denied all knowledge of it, so my friend got out his mobile and tried to take a photo of the cop. The cop got very angry and menacing, and grabbed my friend by the arm, telling him not to take a photo. My friend eventually got 10,000 back by cooling off and asking nicely for his own money. The cop then drove off.

Unfortunately, my (rather naiive) friend didn;t get any details, like the cop's name or licence plate number. He was naturally very shaken by what could very quickly have turned into a very nasty experience.

Don't carry too much cash around if you are driving in that area, and no matter what happens, never fight with a cop.

Beware!

Edited August 16, 2009 by dbrenn

[Briggsy]

What a nightmare.

I don't doubt the veracity of your story as you are a regular and respected poster.

I have had my run-ins with corrupt traffic cops but this is really bad.

Whose car was it?

[dbrenn]

What a nightmare.

I don't doubt the veracity of your story as you are a regular and respected poster.

I have had my run-ins with corrupt traffic cops but this is really bad.

Whose car was it?

It was a company car, and my friend is a respectable type, not prone to exagerration.

I too have had brushes with traffic cops, amd usually they are OK if you humour them. In my experience, the only thing that approached this bad was when I had a motorbike accident and a drunken off duty cop stopped to intervene. I had skidded off my bike and it had hit a taxi. I was new in Thailand at the time and couldn't speak the language. I have no idea why, but the cop took a disliking to the taxi driver and started waving his gun around while shouting about a sticker that was on the rear window of the taxi. Terrifying.

A Thai friend once told me "Never trust a Thai policeman"

Edited August 16, 2009 by dbrenn

[topben]

Hi All,

A friend of mine just had a bad experience with a policeman at Bang Na toll booth, where you have to pay on joining the Bang Na tollway from the Ram Intra section.

My friend is new in Thailand, and doesn't speak the lingo. He is not even sure wjy he was pulled over. This is what happened:

1) The cop waved him to the side of the road

2) The cop asked to see his licence

3) My friend got out his wallet and started looking through it for his licence

4) The cop grabbed his wallet and started looking through it, lowering it out of sight

5) The cop gave him back his wallet

6) 13,000 Baht was missing

My friend was naturally enraged by this, got out of his car and demanded his money back. The cop denied all knowledge of it, so my friend got out his mobile and tried to take a photo of the cop. The cop got very angry and menacing, and grabbed my friend by the arm, telling him not to take a photo. My friend eventually got 10,000 back by cooling off and asking nicely for his own money. The cop then drove off.

Unfortunately, my (rather naiive) friend didn;t get any details, like the cop's name or licence plate number. He was naturally very shaken by what could very quickly have turned into a very nasty experience.

Don't carry too much cash around if you are driving in that area, and no matter what happens, never fight with a cop.

Beware!

sure it was a real cop or could it be some cop's friend driving his car? could it be someone who is not a cop dressed as a cop? details are missing here. whoever this capital "B......." is , he sure has shaken your friend if not others. remember, thailand is full of impostors and fraudsters. it's common in bkk to find these impostors these days. smart of your friend to take hisd picture though. has photo been submitted to the police yet?

[Gary A]

In my experience, the expressway cops are getting worse and worse. The are obscenely and obviously corrupt. Why and how this can continue is beyond me.

Fake cop? You have to be joking. A phony cop wouldn't be as greedy as the bunch at the toll booth.

Edited August 16, 2009 by Gary A

[dbrenn]

sure it was a real cop or could it be some cop's friend driving his car? could it be someone who is not a cop dressed as a cop? details are missing here. whoever this capital "B......." is , he sure has shaken your friend if not others. remember, thailand is full of impostors and fraudsters. it's common in bkk to find these impostors these days. smart of your friend to take hisd picture though. has photo been submitted to the police yet?

I don't think a fake cop would last very long standing at the toll booths in among the regular cops.

My friend didn't get the chancce to take the photo either - the cop grabbed his arm and stopped him.

[way2muchcoffee]

That's seriously over the top behavior. It goes well beyond the manufacture of false infractions. This is assault and robbery. Very disturbing.

Edited August 16, 2009 by way2muchcoffee

[noahvail]

Sorry your friend had to learn such a painful lesson - not so much the money, but the whole assault and robbery part. My driver's license and 300 baht are in a little cubbyhole in the dashboard. I'd never give up my wallet! Well, unless I was walking in BKK and got the frisk search, I guess. So *very* over the top.

[Maizefarmer]

Hi All,

A friend of mine just had a bad experience with a policeman at Bang Na toll booth, where you have to pay on joining the Bang Na tollway from the Ram Intra section.

My friend is new in Thailand, and doesn't speak the lingo. He is not even sure wjy he was pulled over. This is what happened:

1) The cop waved him to the side of the road

2) The cop asked to see his licence

3) My friend got out his wallet and started looking through it for his licence

4) The cop grabbed his wallet and started looking through it, lowering it out of sight

5) The cop gave him back his wallet

6) 13,000 Baht was missing

My friend was naturally enraged by this, got out of his car and demanded his money back. The cop denied all knowledge of it, so my friend got out his mobile and tried to take a photo of the cop. The cop got very angry and menacing, and grabbed my friend by the arm, telling him not to take a photo. My friend eventually got 10,000 back by cooling off and asking nicely for his own money. The cop then drove off.

Unfortunately, my (rather naiive) friend didn;t get any details, like the cop's name or licence plate number. He was naturally very shaken by what could very quickly have turned into a very nasty experience.

Don't carry too much cash around if you are driving in that area, and no matter what happens, never fight with a cop.

Beware!

Thats outrageous - you need to go see Noppadol Somboonsap (Noppadol is pronounced Noppadon) - he'll go through the roof if he hears this story - he'll go mad if he hears this has happened, believe me - he'll be making phonecalls and have every copper in the area on an ID parade in a flash.

If you drop me a private message I'll give you his secretary's direct number - her English is good, and so long as she knows the call is coming, who you are and what it's about, I assure you, she'll give you an appointment pronto pronto with the big man. Noppadon is one of the small group of senior Thai coppers who has earned the respect of his peers in Europe and the State's - he's a decent man who upholds the integrity of his rank (Gen) and of his office. It wouldn't suprize me if he wrote you out a cash chit on spot and sent you downstairs to the auditors office - he's that sort of guy, he'll be livid if this really did happen.

[mrtoad]

The Bang Na lot are getting worse. One of my mates got pulled over last week on his Motorbike. He had stupidly left his ID at my house. The cops wouldn't have a bar of it, and confiscated the bike. After he came and collected his ID and went to get his bike, he noticed that the 5k he had in his locked box was missing. Bunch of thieves, the lot of them.

[scorecard]

Also need to be careful at the tollway entrance on Petchaburi Road.

When not too many cars entering the bib place the plastic cones so that when you turn into the tollway entrance you are forced to change lanes, then they claim it's against the law to change lanes in this location.

I got caught a couple of times, now I go over to the RAMA 4 entrance. Pisses me off because the Petchaburi entrance is quite close to my condo and very convenient.

Friend from Pattya got caught recently and parted with 1,000Baht.

I negotiate, most times it works.

[ukrules]

This is disgraceful, it's a pity he didn't get a photo of the cop in question.

[dale8]

Hello, it is an unfortunate fact about the dishonest BIB in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he was not shot for taking a picture using the no witness rule of thugs. It is a good lesson so that it is not a good idea to take more than an ID and 1,000 baht with you, and be very polite so they do not think they will lose face. Cheers.

[clausewitz]

Also need to be careful at the tollway entrance on Petchaburi Road.

When not too many cars entering the bib place the plastic cones so that when you turn into the tollway entrance you are forced to change lanes, then they claim it's against the law to change lanes in this location.

I got caught a couple of times, now I go over to the RAMA 4 entrance. Pisses me off because the Petchaburi entrance is quite close to my condo and very convenient.

Friend from Pattya got caught recently and parted with 1,000Baht.

I negotiate, most times it works.

I got caught on saturday at that one but only paid 160 baht. 1000baht is ridculous.

[kurnell]

Hello, it is an unfortunate fact about the dishonest BIB in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he was not shot for taking a picture using the no witness rule of thugs. It is a good lesson so that it is not a good idea to take more than an ID and 1,000 baht with you, and be very polite so they do not think they will lose face. Cheers.

Here we go again with the old 'lucky you didn't get shot' routine. Please tell me how many expats have been shot by police, in Bangkok in the last 30 years?

[Prudent_rabbit]

Hello, it is an unfortunate fact about the dishonest BIB in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he was not shot for taking a picture using the no witness rule of thugs. It is a good lesson so that it is not a good idea to take more than an ID and 1,000 baht with you, and be very polite so they do not think they will lose face. Cheers.

Here we go again with the old 'lucky you didn't get shot' routine. Please tell me how many expats have been shot by police, in Bangkok in the last 30 years?

well there were the 2 Canadians that were shot by a copper in Chang Mai just recently, 1 dead and 1 lucky to be alive

[kurnell]

Hello, it is an unfortunate fact about the dishonest BIB in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he was not shot for taking a picture using the no witness rule of thugs. It is a good lesson so that it is not a good idea to take more than an ID and 1,000 baht with you, and be very polite so they do not think they will lose face. Cheers.

Here we go again with the old 'lucky you didn't get shot' routine. Please tell me how many expats have been shot by police, in Bangkok in the last 30 years?

well there were the 2 Canadians that were shot by a copper in Chang Mai just recently, 1 dead and 1 lucky to be alive

More gossip?

[robblok]

Hello, it is an unfortunate fact about the dishonest BIB in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he was not shot for taking a picture using the no witness rule of thugs. It is a good lesson so that it is not a good idea to take more than an ID and 1,000 baht with you, and be very polite so they do not think they will lose face. Cheers.

Here we go again with the old 'lucky you didn't get shot' routine. Please tell me how many expats have been shot by police, in Bangkok in the last 30 years?

well there were the 2 Canadians that were shot by a copper in Chang Mai just recently, 1 dead and 1 lucky to be alive

More gossip?

There is a documented case here on Thai visa of a copper shooting a farang. I am not sure where it was thought pai or so. Anyway it does happen. But i doubt it happens much.

[kurnell]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

[robblok]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

The case im referring too went to court. I believe the guy is a fugitive now.

[Prudent_rabbit]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

Not idle gossip Im afraid, the copper shot them, he says "in self defense" the survivor says "no way"

Police claimed that Uthai (the Policeman) was shooting upwards in self defence as he fell to the ground. An investigation by Thai forensic expert Pornthip Rojanansund, found the policeman had shot down into Del Pinto’s head.

[Prudent_rabbit]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

Not idle gossip Im afraid, the copper shot them, he says "in self defense" the survivor says "no way"

Police claimed that Uthai (the Policeman) was shooting upwards in self defence as he fell to the ground. An investigation by Thai forensic expert Pornthip Rojanansund, found the policeman had shot down into Del Pinto’s head.

and don't forget about Police Sergeant Somchai Wisetsingh , who gunned down British backpackers Vanessa Arscott and Adam Lloyd in Kanchanaburi in 2004

[ukrules]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

There's lots of evidence, do you expect it to be served up to you ?

[mca]

If no evidence, then it is just more idle gossip.

Google is you friend.

http://www.google.co.th/#hl=th&q=canad...2515acbb1d07f79

[kurnell]

In Kanchanaburi the couple were tourists, were the Canadian couple expats? Any result from the trial as yet?

My point is, that I have read hundreds of times on Thai Visa that expats shouldn't do this/that when around Thais/police etc as you will get yourself shot. Anyone who has been shot in Thailand has either been involved in crime or involved with the police in some way. Random shootings from angry Thais or cops eg. for traffic offences just doesn't happen.

[morphic]

In Kanchanaburi the couple were tourists, were the Canadian couple expats? Any result from the trial as yet?

My point is, that I have read hundreds of times on Thai Visa that expats shouldn't do this/that when around Thais/police etc as you will get yourself shot. Anyone who has been shot in Thailand has either been involved in crime or involved with the police in some way. Random shootings from angry Thais or cops eg. for traffic offences just doesn't happen.

Yup, this guy is right, all of the rest of you are wrong. Bad things NEVER happen in Thailand but if they do then its only because the farangs did something to ask deserve everything they got and were probably criminals. Farangs are always wrong, Thais are alwats right and there are never anty exceptions to this rule.

These stories about the Canadians (and others) getting shot are therfore lies made up by the various posters here or the Canadians had doen somethnig wrong and deserve to have been shot/killed/slaughtered by the good and righteous Thai man who must have been right to have shot/killed/slaughtered the farangs as he is Thai and therefore cannot do wrong or be wrong.

[mrtoad]

In Kanchanaburi the couple were tourists, were the Canadian couple expats? Any result from the trial as yet?

My point is, that I have read hundreds of times on Thai Visa that expats shouldn't do this/that when around Thais/police etc as you will get yourself shot. Anyone who has been shot in Thailand has either been involved in crime or involved with the police in some way. Random shootings from angry Thais or cops eg. for traffic offences just doesn't happen.

Sorry, you've lost me here. The shooting in Kanchanburi was certainly not the fault of the tourists, and I'm pretty certain that the Pai shooting has not actually been resolved. Of course the BIB are fine upstanding members of the community, just aske the Thai girl that had here arm lopped off.

[richard_smith237]

New lesson learnt here, thanks for the post.

Get stopped by the police while driving your car, open your window partially then access your ID out of arms reach, this also prevents them from leaning in and taking the keys (which I’ve heard they also do sometimes).

For anything more, many of us who have lived here for some time have made some connection with someone who as always said “any problems give me a call”.

After reading this post and while feeling the frustration of the Op and his friend I fell as though I would like to get caught in a similar situation and see how that pans out after calling my friends (they are sick of seeing their name tarnished by the dirty ones and IMO deserve the respect for the work they do, I am often surprised at their control after hearing many of their stories as RTP).

This story is quite worrying and quite frankly disgusting, it reminds me of watching movies of bent USA cops smashing lights out and charging the drivers with an offence.

In many years I’ve never been inconvenienced by a dodgy Police officer, but I read so many stories in TV that I feel it’s only a matter of time until I do.

Shocking story.

[Dakhar]

In Kanchanaburi the couple were tourists, were the Canadian couple expats? Any result from the trial as yet?

My point is, that I have read hundreds of times on Thai Visa that expats shouldn't do this/that when around Thais/police etc as you will get yourself shot. Anyone who has been shot in Thailand has either been involved in crime or involved with the police in some way. Random shootings from angry Thais or cops eg. for traffic offences just doesn't happen.

Years back, a thai traffic cop attempted to issue a ticket to another thai. As it turned out, the thai civilian was "conected" and went on a rant about who he knows, and how he was going to "fix" the cop good.

Of course this angered the cop, so he shot and killed the civilian. I believe he let his wife live.... then the cop shot himself. He did not die imediatley, and it was so long back, I can not remember if he eventually died.

I can't remember enough details to do a decent google search, but maybe some of you folks remember this occurance and can add to it.

Regardless,

stupidity + low morals + a hand gun + a disregard for life = bad medicine

[dondraper]

In Kanchanaburi the couple were tourists, were the Canadian couple expats? Any result from the trial as yet?

My point is, that I have read hundreds of times on Thai Visa that expats shouldn't do this/that when around Thais/police etc as you will get yourself shot. Anyone who has been shot in Thailand has either been involved in crime or involved with the police in some way. Random shootings from angry Thais or cops eg. for traffic offences just doesn't happen.

you are an amazing person kurnell. someone gives you a link to an exact story of a copper being found guilty and becoming a fugitive and you then somehow claim that these tourists were involved with the cop despite any evidence suggesting so, and previously you talk about gossip. again, you are a truly truly amazing person!