Thai Interior Ministry Is Cracking Down On Drug Use In Night Venues

[webfact]

Pubs crackdown

By Nation on Sunday

The Interior Ministry is cracking down on drug use in night venues, Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat said yesterday. He said it would strictly check venues' operating hours, and if they allow youths to enter or use drugs. Security systems will be checked, and offenders charged. Agencies will meet tomorrow to plan the inspections.

About 100 officers from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission and the Narcotics Control Board raided Noir Pub at 3am yesterday in Bangkok's Wang Thonglang district after complaints the pub operated illegally. They found over 30 youngsters aged under 20.

Officials said they would take legal action against the owner for illegally operations, selling alcohol outside the legal period and allowing underage people to enter. More venues in Bangkok and the provinces will face raids.

-- The Nation 2010-08-01

[screamingeagle]

More wasting of resources from one of the worst police forces in the world. Is this really the best use of their resources? How about weeding out the blatently obvious corrupt officiers or trying to catch violent criminals. Oh sorry, they get paid not to!

[LuckyLew]

This is not a waste of resources, it is actually a good idea

They should close these establishments down if the flaunt the laws

That said it will never happen here ... too much money on the line

[jayjay0]

I guess day venues will be OK;)

[jybkk]

Same old same old.

One or two spectacular crackdowns and see you next year.

[geriatrickid]

Crock of sh*t. Remember the last crackdown promise?

Here's a hint;

1. Deputy Police Commissioner General Jongrak Juthanon said: 'We found it did not confirm to standards.'

Stumped?

(No peeking at the answer below or I'll have a kathoey slap your posterior, and they slap hard, lemme tell you.)

2. It was licensed to operate as a noodle shop and was supposed to close at midnight, plus it was located in an area of Bangkok that in 2003 had been zoned as a no entertainment zone.

3. Allegedly only 1 fire extinguisher was on the premises.

Despite the horrific loss of 61 lives, and a business operating illegally for some time, not one official or police officer was charged with dereliction of duty or corruption.

Remember the Santika. This is why I say this is crap. Let the interior minister act to enforce the fire code first.

edit 3/4 of my post vanished

Edited August 1, 2010 by geriatrickid

[petercool]

I am always surprised at the cop bashers here. For the resources they have, they do a fair job and all police I have come across in 4 decades or more here have been polite and seem to be trying to do their job. I would really like to know what perfect society these cop bashers came from that they are comparing Thailand to. There are good cops and bad ones everywhere in the world from my own experience and reading. Just what real inside knowledge do these bashers have ? Anyone here who has a real personal bad experience of Thai police - as opposed to hear-say is welcome to describe that.

[Tafia]

I am always surprised at the cop bashers here. For the resources they have, they do a fair job and all police I have come across in 4 decades or more here have been polite and seem to be trying to do their job. I would really like to know what perfect society these cop bashers came from that they are comparing Thailand to. There are good cops and bad ones everywhere in the world from my own experience and reading. Just what real inside knowledge do these bashers have ? Anyone here who has a real personal bad experience of Thai police - as opposed to hear-say is welcome to describe that.

The cop bashers and the Thai bashers one and the same, no doubt they did the same in their homelands; I, as you have only encountered politeness from the Thai police and have never been asked for 'tea money' despite being stopped numerous times for varying checks.

If cracking down on drug venues is a bad thing and a waste of resources...well.. words fail me!!

Edited August 1, 2010 by Tafia

[Valentine]

Periodic crackdowns are OK but the real answer is continuous enforcement of existing laws.

The Santika case has gone quiet & it would be interesting to have some real investigative journalism on this & numerous others but then again even if there are those prepared to do this the vested interests involved would put a stop to it plus the journalist's life could well be at risk.

How about a crackdown on the drug kingpins? A snowman would have a better chance of surviving in hel_l.

[geriatrickid]

I am always surprised at the cop bashers here. For the resources they have, they do a fair job and all police I have come across in 4 decades or more here have been polite and seem to be trying to do their job. I would really like to know what perfect society these cop bashers came from that they are comparing Thailand to. There are good cops and bad ones everywhere in the world from my own experience and reading. Just what real inside knowledge do these bashers have ? Anyone here who has a real personal bad experience of Thai police - as opposed to hear-say is welcome to describe that.

The cop bashers and the Thai bashers one and the same, no doubt they did the same in their homelands; I, as you have only encountered politeness from the Thai police and have never been asked for 'tea money' despite being stopped numerous times for varying checks. If cracking down on drug venues is a bad thing and a waste of resources...well.. words fail me!!

Cop bashers and Thai bashers one and the same? No. They did the same in their homelands? No.

If you have not seen the police coruption then either you do not get out much, are not employed in Thailand, do not own assets or are in denial. Which is it?

Is the Government of Canada inventing the allegations? The Government of Australia? The EU? Various agencies and government bodies have all cited endemic police corruption. Need some documentation? There's plenty of it. One of the nice reference articles comes courtesy of the briefing paper from Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board legal research division, which authored an opinion to be used by multiple departments and which cites approx. 20 different sources in its opinion: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Thailand: Police corruption particularly in the state of Udon Than, 18 December 2007, THA102694.E, available at: http://www.unhcr.org.../47d6547dc.html Read it before you dismiss the concern in respect to police corruption. You can find similar documentation in Australia and the EU.

I find it particularly offensive and insulting to have someone deny that one of the reasons there is no respect for the rule of law in Thailand is that IMO the police are rotten to the core. Look at the ownership of many of the beer bars and clubs. Why do many police officers have ownership stakes? Do you understand the concept of conflict of interest? I can assure you that if a police officer in my homeland was sitting in a bar that pimped out people and was visibly inebriated yet still consuming whiskey while prominently wearing his badge and sidearm, I would be equally offended and disgusted. You can make all the excuses you want, but that's representative of police ethics in Thailand. There is no oversight of the police authority. The PM and lead police general admitted as much earlier this week. The civilian oversight committees are rigged and stacked with police cronies.

There is something inherently wrong with your moral compass if you are not concerned by police officers purchasing their ranks and positions as is currently the case. There is something very wrong with your understanding of integrity when you do not see the destruction and damage the police corruption causes. Why did 61 people burn to death at the Santika club? How is it the club could operate in an area where there were not supposed to be clubs? Why didn't the police act to stop the sale of liquor in a venue that was not licensed? On and on it goes.

I have respect for police officers that are professional and that have integrity. Honest Thai police officers are prevented from doing their jobs properly because of the disease of corruption that plagues the system in Thailand. It's time to disband the police department and rebuild. It's time to reintroduce the concept of justice into the entire justice system. Police corruption is an impediment to the advancement of Thai society and those that want it to stop, are not Thai bashers.

Edited August 1, 2010 by geriatrickid

[Tropicalevo]

Hey Geriatrickid. Stay cool.

I agree with Petercool. In my experience I have found all of the police that I have come into contact with to be reasonable and helpful. I have been in Thailand for 17 years, and have had many occasions to interact with the police. Once as a bad guy (traffic accident - they were VERY helpful and respectful to me - not to the Thai side) and usually as a person helping others and once as a victim.

The least favourable view was when I was the victim of a hit and run (in my truck). When I took the details of the Thai driver to the police station - their response was "You have full insurance - tell them it happened parked outside your house.

Yes of course a lot of the police are corrupt in Thailand. So was the Prime Minister for goodness sake! What do you expect? But I guarentee you that there are also corrupt policement in Canada and the USA. (I cannot be bothered to search for examples on the web.) Of course there are no corrupt policemen in the UK - they all went to HongKong back in the 70's (I think it was then.)

Just remember that only bad news sells. No one tells the story of the policeman who did a good job (as in many of the cases where I have personal experiance!)

[jayjay0]

I am always surprised at the cop bashers here. For the resources they have, they do a fair job and all police I have come across in 4 decades or more here have been polite and seem to be trying to do their job. I would really like to know what perfect society these cop bashers came from that they are comparing Thailand to. There are good cops and bad ones everywhere in the world from my own experience and reading. Just what real inside knowledge do these bashers have ? Anyone here who has a real personal bad experience of Thai police - as opposed to hear-say is welcome to describe that.

Well I don't have first hand experience. But the other day a cop stopped my wife for not wearing a helmet and would not take any money for helping her .He did how ever give her a ticket so that the next day she could go and thank them at the police station with a 400 Baht donation.

Corruption at its worst.

Actually most of those who post that way have no idea of what is going on in the real world. They seek out like minded thinkers and shut the rest of the world out.

[Hawk]

[

Well I don't have first hand experience. But the other day a cop stopped my wife for not wearing a helmet and would not take any money for helping her .He did how ever give her a ticket so that the next day she could go and thank them at the police station with a 400 Baht donation.

Corruption at its worst.

Actually most of those who post that way have no idea of what is going on in the real world. They seek out like minded thinkers and shut the rest of the world out.

Well that's nice as the cops around my area prefer an immediate cash donation, usually B200 will cover one's misdemeanor nicely.

Old saying: "Never trust a cop or a lawyer". And that's in the real world.

[Tafia]

I am always surprised at the cop bashers here. For the resources they have, they do a fair job and all police I have come across in 4 decades or more here have been polite and seem to be trying to do their job. I would really like to know what perfect society these cop bashers came from that they are comparing Thailand to. There are good cops and bad ones everywhere in the world from my own experience and reading. Just what real inside knowledge do these bashers have ? Anyone here who has a real personal bad experience of Thai police - as opposed to hear-say is welcome to describe that.

Well I don't have first hand experience. But the other day a cop stopped my wife for not wearing a helmet and would not take any money for helping her .He did how ever give her a ticket so that the next day she could go and thank them at the police station with a 400 Baht donation.

Corruption at its worst.

Actually most of those who post that way have no idea of what is going on in the real world. They seek out like minded thinkers and shut the rest of the world out.

Corruption - I think you will find thats a fine for breaking the law.

[bkkjames]

One might have thought it might be counter productive to announce to the criminals etc that a crackdown is coming.

Reminds me of that tv program 'bait car', you know the one where they leave a 'marked' police car with the keys on the side of the road to catch car thieves.

[salty]

I wonder what is the normal length of time for a crackdown before it is forgotten. A month maybe?

[junglist]

I wonder what is the normal length of time for a crackdown before it is forgotten. A month maybe?

Depends on how much extra money they make.