Thai Police Still Extorting Tourists

[Serpico]

Police scamming tourists are getting more aggressive since arrivals are down.

"For the last 15 years I have been a very regular visitor to Thailand. My hobby is wildlife photography and the Kingdom has so much to offer.

I like to think that I am fairly streetwise, but even for a seasoned traveller it is still easy to get taken in.

On my last visit ,a few weeks ago, I was doing some last minute shopping in MBK (Bangkok). After spending quite some time walking around the centre, I decided to make my way back to my apartment, stopping to collect a take out ice coffee from one of the well known franchise on the ground floor.

Knowing that I would not be allowed to take the drink onto the BTS, I decided to sit on the steps outside the centre, sip my drink and watch the world go by for 10 minutes or so.

Having almost finished my drink, I got up and had just started to walk in the direction of the BTS, looking for a rubbish bin, when a voice from behind me said “Excuse me sir”. I turned around to see a man in paramilitary type uniform. Not a uniform that I immediately recognised.

He informed me in broken English that he was a policemen, and that he had seen me stub out my cigarette and drop it on the floor. He told me that I had committed a serious offence and that I would have to pay a fine.

I politely informed him that he must be mistaken. He asked why. I told him that I’ve never smoked in my life. He said that he had seen me and that he was not blind. He then produced a cigarette stub from his pocket and told me this was the evidence. He then demanded I hand over 2000 Baht.

I tried to reason with him, I even offered to turn out my pockets to prove that I neither had any cigarettes on me or matches/lighter. He was having none of it. “You break the law, you have to pay. You not pay, you go to prison for long time”.

By now he had taken a pad from his back pocket and began writing on it. He then gave me a piece of paper from the pad and again demanded that I hand over 2000 baht. The document he gave me was in Thai, part was pre-printed with gaps that he had written something in Thai – I confess, I am not able to read Thai.

I realised that this was some sort of scam. The guy was clearly after ‘tea’ money. But as I did not know if he was a real policeman or not, I had no idea how I was going to get out of this situation without creating a scene, and possibly being arrested if he was a real policeman .

I protested that I just been shopping in the centre and that I did not have that sort of money on me. Like a previous contributor to this blog, I always have two wallets on me. I took out my dummy one and showed him that I only had about 200 Baht, enough money to get a taxis and a meal that evening.

He said you have card, you go to ATM get money. He then pointed in the direction of one of the nearby banks. What he had actually seen in the dummy wallet was an expired frequent flyer card. I have to give this guy 10 out of 10 for being persistent.

I agreed to go to the bank and get some money, and started to walk in the direction of the nearest bank accompanied closely by this uniformed guy. My thought was that I would fake a transaction, and tell him that I had no money left in my account and take it from there.

When we got to the doorof the bank, he said I wait here you get money and bring back to me. As I entered the bank I noticed that he had turned around and was facing the opposite direction – not looking inside the bank.

I was in luck. I had been to this bank before to change currency, and I knew that there were two entrances, one from the road where I had just entered, and a second from inside MBK. So what did I do, I just kept walking out of the second entrance into MBK and up the nearby escalator to the first floor.

I have to admit, my heart was in overdrive. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was following. As I walked across that road bridge to the Siam Centre I could see him still outside the bank, pacing up and down.

It took some time (about 5 minutes or more) before he realised that something was wrong. He opened the bank door, peered in. He obviously realised then that there was a second entrance and that I had dissapeared. I would love to have been a fly on the wall to hear what he said. I can only imagine the flood of Thai expletives. But his body language said it all.

As he walked back up the road he took out the pad again from his back pocket and tore a sheet of paper from it. He screwed the sheet of paper up, and guess what. He throw it on the floor.

I’m now a bit older, I have a few more grey hairs, but I am certainly a bit wiser."

Photo evidence of littering scam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57617714418287/

.

[Curt1591]

The last trip to Paragon, I was hawked by these jerks while waiting for a bus.

I wonder if it would help to make Paragon, Siam Center , and Siam Discovery aware that these clowns are hassling their customers, setting up shop across the street.

[Ulysses G.]

He didn't want to go in the bank because of security cameras. These crooks are the people supposedly enforcing the law?

[joorakee]

Such things happen in many countries where policemen are underpaid.

As for me, I would pay a fine/give a bribe if I was caught for example for speeding or not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle (I always wear one). I'd pay if I did something wrong (maybe I'd try to negotiate a little bit ).

But I wouldn't let anyone punish me for something I didn't do. I don't smoke, either, and I can imagine how the OP must have felt after being stopped and accused by the cop.

It seems that the cop got angry - it serves him right.

Or was it maybe a fake policeman?

[ArthurPewty]

Met the same cock and bull outside MBK myself. They are not police. They are a sort of runner that drag people to the police so the police don't have to get their hands dirty. The time in question a rather forceful member of our party, who later explained the same rubbish happens in India, just stared at the guy and told him 'NO!'. The nasty little crook departed.

I know we all grumble, but there MUST be someone to complain to! There must be someone who cares in Thailand. They are always bleating about the 'image' of Thailand and allow this to carry on.

[robblok]

I think these things mostly happen in tourist area's, i live outside of those and so far i have never had to pay the police. I have been on my motorcycle and stopped and waved through.

I have even been in an accident where i was partly in the wrong but the police did not stick it on me and was helpful. After that accident where there were 2 cars a truck and my motorcycle i have changed my view of the police. There are a lot of good ones out there mostly outside of the tourist area's. I agree that there are also bad police officers and that extortion does happen.

[Meridian007]

The people you go to are the tourist police. Dial 1155, tell them the scam, but be careful if you let the "policeman" talk to the tourist cops on your phone, he might run off with it.

Alternatively, if you know you are in the right, say "okay, let's go to the police station to sort this out." That will usually deflate them.

[sunnymarky]

my god why are scared by these scum, like other thai scamming scum I tell them what to do when they try to cheat me . CALL THEIR BLUFF. "Ok lets go down the police station" But you decide what police station, all this <deleted> of signing a piece of paper and paying 2000 bht , going to ATMs, Get with it man!!!!!!!!!!

[moskito]

What a story, unbelivable Thailand, Land of Smile seems the guys in brown get more and more innovative year after year.

thanks for the link, great pics here too.

This is the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 11, in the heart of the hotel district.

The footpaths look like trash bins but a foreigner that tosses a cigarette butt will have to pay 2,000 - 10,000 Baht...without any paperwork, of course.

There are a dozen of these "Police" along Sukhumvit, a main tourist area.

They lurk in the shadows and follow any foreigner that smokes a cigarette, then fines them up to 10,000 baht when they toss the butt.

Each "Police Officer" is trapping 3 or 4 tourist per hour.

The trash bins seem to have been removed. Hmmm?

Tourists should be nurtured NOT ABUSED!

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57617714418287/

[junki3korean]

Hectic story......

[richieudon]

I know at least 3 people that have had money extorted from them in this way.

2 of them were for 3000 baht but the other was charged 5000, apparently the cigarette butt went down the drain so he was charged an extra 2000 baht for "polluting the city!"

It's easy to say "OK let's go down to the Police Station" but these guys can be quite intimidating and if you've never been to Thailand before and you're threatened with "Pay or you go prison long time" then you're sure to give your hard earned to these crooks.

Also many a time I've given money to the crippled beggars of Sukhumvit but now I'll keep my money. I can't help feeling sorry for these poor exploited people.

Shame on the Sukhumvit cops. Hopefully they'll have no luck and karma will repay them

[sanook2me]

Here we go again.. !

If you drop rubbish you will be fined..what is the problem? It happens in the Uk and most other countries why should people be treated differently here if they trash the place???

The OP is not talking about himself he's taking a quote from another webiste....we all know only the truth is out there on the web

End of....

[Dpolenz]

The first thing i did when i came to Thailand 6 years ago was to find myself a very good lawyer and have used him since then,whenever i had little problems with the Bib then would soon leave me alone once i got my Lawyer involved.Dirty s"#m

[bkkdangerous]

Here we go again.. !

If you drop rubbish you will be fined..what is the problem? It happens in the Uk and most other countries why should people be treated differently here if they trash the place???

The OP is not talking about himself he's taking a quote from another webiste....we all know only the truth is out there on the web

End of....

in the UK for littering you are given a fixed penalty notice, you then make payment later and not to the police, the payment is made to the courts. Also you will find that a fixed penalty is what it says it is, it is the same amount for everyone and not an amount based on how much they think they can extort. You also have the option from a fixed penalty to refuse to pay it and request a court hearing were the police will have to attend and give evidence against you.

The fact is you seem to fail to accept that there is a scam were people are paying money for no reason, people are accused when they have not dropped anything and the cigarette stub seems to be the favourite item that you are accused of dropping. If they have dropped litter then deal with it in a proper manner, provide evidence, take the person to the police station to pay the fine, have a fixed amount for the fine etc.

I have noticed the worst posters on here are the apologists that always trot out the same tripe about things happening elsewhere as though that justifies it happening, the posters who just accept scams or do not accept that they even exist. Maybe I should arrange a poker game with you lot and see how you cope, no doubt I would be more wealthy at the end of the evening.

There is good and bad out there, accept that there are <deleted> out there in uniform that will scam and I am sure you will live better, oh and I have first hand experience when I had to pay Thonglor police to proceed with a prosecution against a thai despite providing irrefutable evidence, paying them to do whay they are already paid to do, yeah they are really pillars of society, but hey if it has never happened to you then I guess it never happens, you have probably never been to space so does that mean nobody has?

[ozzieovaseas]

Here we go again.. !

If you drop rubbish you will be fined..what is the problem? It happens in the Uk and most other countries why should people be treated differently here if they trash the place???

The OP is not talking about himself he's taking a quote from another webiste....we all know only the truth is out there on the web

End of....

Yeh agreed....sounds suspiciously like an old story posted some time ago

Or maybe its the same guy..the thread where some guy was claiming a multiple BTS employees threatened and extorted him on the BTS floor for having a cigarette.

I notice the link to website was familiar, so me thinks this OP has embellished an old post with his grand "bank getaway" tale

I mean, i confess to being bored at times,hence spending to much time on here,but...PLUese...cummon

[ricklev]

The people you go to are the tourist police. Dial 1155, tell them the scam, but be careful if you let the "policeman" talk to the tourist cops on your phone, he might run off with it.

Alternatively, if you know you are in the right, say "okay, let's go to the police station to sort this out." That will usually deflate them.

Do you really believe that the purpose of the "tourist police" is to help tourists?

[sabaijai]

Here we go again.. !

If you drop rubbish you will be fined..what is the problem? It happens in the Uk and most other countries why should people be treated differently here if they trash the place???

The OP is not talking about himself he's taking a quote from another webiste....we all know only the truth is out there on the web

End of....

Yeh agreed....sounds suspiciously like an old story posted some time ago

Or maybe its the same guy..the thread where some guy was claiming a multiple BTS employees threatened and extorted him on the BTS floor for having a cigarette.

I notice the link to website was familiar, so me thinks this OP has embellished an old post with his grand "bank getaway" tale

I mean, i confess to being bored at times,hence spending to much time on here,but...PLUese...cummon

Yep, an old story resuscitated. I live near MBK and go there on average once a week, and have never been accosted in that vicinity by police or by fake police, nor do I know anyone who has.

[ArthurPewty]

I have never been in a car accident, nor has anyone I know. Therefore there is no such thing as car accidents. Agreed?

What I was party to happened before my eyes. I have walked past other obvious tourists having a smoke in the same area and noticed the 'police' lurking about.

[Curt1591]

Yep, an old story resuscitated. I live near MBK and go there on average once a week, and have never been accosted in that vicinity by police or by fake police, nor do I know anyone who has.

I thought it was the same old angry litterer story. But then I came upon their fishing expedition.

These clowns are camped below the SIAM BTS. They even have a little table set up, with posters about littering. Kind of an "informational picket", so to speak.

Wander around the Siam Square side of the BTS, at the bottom of the stairs. You'll see them. They act like the typical traffic trap, except these guys go after pedestrians.

[Serpico]

Yep, an old story resuscitated. I live near MBK and go there on average once a week, and have never been accosted in that vicinity by police or by fake police, nor do I know anyone who has.

I thought it was the same old angry litterer story. But then I came upon their fishing expedition.

These clowns are camped below the SIAM BTS. They even have a little table set up, with posters about littering. Kind of an "informational picket", so to speak.

Wander around the Siam Square side of the BTS, at the bottom of the stairs. You'll see them. They act like the typical traffic trap, except these guys go after pedestrians.

Yes, I noticed they hang out with the gem scammers when not fleecing a tourists.

Just go to the Siam BTS Station and look over the railing.

There they are, Thailand finest, scamming tourists and talking with the professional tourist scammers.

picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57618075380996/

[hhgz]

The photo is of a Thai speaking with a couple farangs, and a Thai tuk tuk driver reading a magazine. Although neither Thai is wearing a uniform, you immediately identify one as a policeman, and he's scamming the tourists. You should seek professional help to alleviate your paranoia.

[Alwaysright]

I think these things mostly happen in tourist area's, i live outside of those and so far i have never had to pay the police. I have been on my motorcycle and stopped and waved through.

I have even been in an accident where i was partly in the wrong but the police did not stick it on me and was helpful. After that accident where there were 2 cars a truck and my motorcycle i have changed my view of the police. There are a lot of good ones out there mostly outside of the tourist area's. I agree that there are also bad police officers and that extortion does happen.

Only the weak(mice) can be extorted,they never bother me.

[pattaya_girl]

What a great Post Serpico, I really enjoyed reading this one, a smile came on my face when you said you went out of the other entrance. That's the way to do it, good on you.

I have heard of this Scam before, it happened to a Female friend of mine a couple of Years ago, she was scared and paid up... She was on her own.

As for myself, being well warned from the likes of your goodself and others, If I do smoke a Ciggie in public, I always give the Tab end to my Thai Partner to put out, but to be honest I don't know what I would do if I got accused of something I had not done..

Its very worrying and thankyou for the warning.

It reminds me of one time myself & my Partner on the Chopper Motorbike heading for Bangkok from Pattaya, we had our Caps on, we were 100% legal with all our documents, the Traffic Police still wanted 200 bt.

I asked my Partner why? He said, This is Thailand, Pay up and they will leave you alone, refuse and they will find something (or make something) for sure... Phew.

[sanook2me]

Yes, I noticed they hang out with the gem scammers when not fleecing a tourists.

Just go to the Siam BTS Station and look over the railing.

There they are, Thailand finest, scamming tourists and talking with the professional tourist scammers.

picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/...57618075380996/

Whats this add your own caption to the photo competition..

Ummh I see Mr Tuk Tuk driver reading a comic because he knows this post is a joke!

Mr Thai " Mr can you see how clean the pavement is in this photo! thats why you need to pay for your littering!"

Farang "This is a scam, i'm going straight to the internet with this"

Those photos are just lame and stupid IMHO.

[ballzafire]

If you've got your camera with video capability handy and this happens to you, I would immediately aim it at the "cop's" face and politely begin "interrogating" him by questioning just whose cigarette butt it is, and so forth, so as to not only document the incident but also turn the tables a little on him by intimidating him.

Having him on camera while making his false accusations might trigger an immediate loss of face because he may suddenly realize that it will likely end up on the internet, with a potential audience in the tens of thousands, and with a good number quite possibly fellow Thais, some of whom may know him and ID him.

Get them to squirm and hesitate in front of a lens. Then stall, Stall, STALL. It just might work.

I know this is what I would do if they ever tried to pull this stunt on me...

Edited November 11, 2009 by ballzafire

[dttk0009]

Yep, an old story resuscitated. I live near MBK and go there on average once a week, and have never been accosted in that vicinity by police or by fake police, nor do I know anyone who has.

I thought it was the same old angry litterer story. But then I came upon their fishing expedition.

These clowns are camped below the SIAM BTS. They even have a little table set up, with posters about littering. Kind of an "informational picket", so to speak.

Wander around the Siam Square side of the BTS, at the bottom of the stairs. You'll see them. They act like the typical traffic trap, except these guys go after pedestrians.

The only time I've ever had a run-in with the BiB was precisely there. Granted, I did toss a cigarette onto the ground and technically was littering, it felt a bit stupid to pick me out of a crowd when everyone around me was doing it too. I think they charged me a bit less (500baht) because I was quite friendly with them and spoke Thai in a very respectful manner. They wanted to make clear to me that it wasn't a scam by showing me a book of names (which I also had to sign), which was filled mostly with Thai names (which was true). I paid my fine and went on my way. Hurt quite a bit as back then I didn't have too much money, but ya learn something from it.

[moskito]

Here we go again.. !

If you drop rubbish you will be fined..what is the problem? It happens in the Uk and most other countries why should people be treated differently here if they trash the place???

The OP is not talking about himself he's taking a quote from another webiste....we all know only the truth is out there on the web

End of....

I have noticed the worst posters on here are the apologists that always trot out the same tripe about things happening elsewhere as though that justifies it happening, the posters who just accept scams or do not accept that they even exist. Maybe I should arrange a poker game with you lot and see how you cope, no doubt I would be more wealthy at the end of the evening.

guess every line is wasted bkkdangerous, guys like Sanook2me are the better Farangs and blind Thailovers, they always say IF YOU DONT LIKE IT GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY...but stick their heads in the sand like these big birds....UNTIL....yeah, until THEY have a problem of any kind, then they are mostly the loudest people of all.

I never know that Londons Streets are so dirty like that one on the pic of Sukhumvit and I honestly dont belive it. But if so, for sure there is no police charging you money for throwing a cigarette

[Gippy]

I never know that Londons Streets are so dirty like that one on the pic of Sukhumvit and I honestly dont belive it. But if so, for sure there is no police charging you money for throwing a cigarette

I have seen the streets of London and many other towns in the UK as dirty as that. Oh, and a lot of councils in the UK, including Westminster have fixed penalty fines of up to £80 for dropping a cigarette butt on the floor.

[true blue]

i rember talking to a friend of mine,who had just been on holiday to thailand,when i asked what like he said great except from when in bangkok he got fined by a cop for throwing a cig butt away,and that was 15 YEARS AGO.

[Serpico]

The "litter" cops are all over Bangkok now, lurking in the shadows and stalking every foreigner that smokes.

Nice money maker.

These same cops are running all the disfigured beggars and renting the footpaths to the porn & copyright violator vendors.