Do You Get Harrassed By Thai Police Often?

[farang000999]

From a blog

"Things changed a couple of years back when men in brown uniforms took greater interest in white men behind the wheel. Where once I would be stopped every couple of months, it become every couple of weeks, and where once the cops were friendly, I found myself facing a more sinister tone. There was little or no banter and you'd face various questions, some of which could be quite impertinent. Citing civil liberties concerns with the authorities in Thailand simply escalates the situation and isn't recommended. Where are you going? Why are you going there? When will you come back? Why are you driving alone? Do you own the car or are you still paying it off? Why do you have a Thai drivers licence?

...Returning from a trip to Lampang, I was pulled over somewhere near Kampheng Phet and questioned at the side of the road by one copper while another tried to get into the back of the car. I told him to get out and he responded that he intended to search it. I refused and his reaction made you think I'd cursed his mother! Suddenly I was being told in rapid Thai that I was in big trouble. Refusing to co-operate with police was serious, they said. I'll never forget their final words (in Thai) "And no-one can help you now!" I grabbed my phone and actually started to call my one police friend in Bangkok, and was about to find out if my get out of a sticky situation card would work. They hurriedly backed off and sent me on my way. Very unpleasant."

What is your worst experience of being bothered by the TP? How common is it?

[noise]

Sorry to say NEVER with more years living here and traveling back and forth to Thailand than your average bear.

[thaimate]

In 21 years of coming here ,doing buisness here and the last 5 years living here i have been stopped 3 times every one was a driving error on my part,the police have always been polite and never asked for a bribe. so no no problems whatsoever.

Edited February 19, 2011 by thaimate

[stander]

^

Me too, I often wonder why after all these years driving here I have not once had an issues or been hassled by BiB. Sure I have been stopped and asked for my drivers license.

I did however pick up a speed ticket via a speed camera last week, but that was a fair cop as I was speeding.

[Richb2004v2]

Stopped once for tea money in 7 years. Sadly I can't complain there.

[Kwasaki]

I think there is some addition stuff the " blogger " is not telling.

Maybe he has a red shirt on when his stopped. .

[IanForbes]

Do I get harrassed by Thai police you ask? No, but my girl friend does. Of course, she is much prettier than me and gets harrassed by all males...

[doggie888888]

3 years and not once have I been bothered by the police. If the OP thinks the police are bothering "white men behind the wheel" might I suggest a darker tint on his car windows so nobody can see who is behind the wheel!

[Gippy]

Got stopped once in the pickup, a fair cop. Didn't pay anything as the cop was too lazy to write a ticket and I wouldn't pay his bribe. Never stopped in the Fortuner or on the motorbike.

[craigt3365]

Only time I have been harassed is when I was clearly in the wrong, speeding, illegal U turn, etc. The nerve of them!! And I was extremely happy to hand over 100B to avoid the hassles of going to the police station.

Seems they target scooters a lot where I live. But don't really stop cars except at night checking for drunk drivers...

[robblok]

Did get stopped with the motorbike for not being in the left lane a few times. (but they had plenty of Thais for the same offense). I have not been stopped in the car yet. I doubt they really target foreigners however there might be a few out there who do.

[geronimo]

In 25 years I've been stopped less than 5 times and had to pay twice!

[prefabs]

Just south of Korat there is a policeman who wears a white mask, wears fake Raybans and has hassled me almost every time I drive that road. He also manages to be near the Ambassador Hotel Na Jomtien and has had money off me several times. He also seems to be up near Yasothon. How can the same guy be everywhere. He is recognised by his mask and Raybans

[Semper]

10 years, never been stopped

[joe84330]

i've driven right past the waves and whistles more times than i've been stopped.

[clinique]

In 21 years of coming here ,doing buisness here and the last 5 years living here i have been stopped 3 times every one was a driving error on my part,the police have always been polite and never asked for a bribe. so no no problems whatsoever.

Yup, seconded. Same experience here.

[Patong Bob]

Seven years running a bar/restaurant in Patong, had to call the police several times and was never hassled or asked for money. I prefer the Thai Police to several police forces I have dealt with in "western"oountries.

[Atmos]

well the scooter has 18,000km on it since Nov 2009, before that plenty of kms on a long-term rental round Phuket. Almost a year each on Phuket and here in Sa Kaeo, mix of city and open-road - we head down to Chanthaburi regularly, I have never been 'harassed'.

Plenty of routine checkpoints, especially round here as we're near the border, the usual 'where are you from/going' have not been asked to hand over any money. Wear a helmet, have Thai licence and a copy of Green Book under the seat though have never been asked to produce that.

My first ever 'interaction' was when cycling (and I had a helmet on too) when waved down by a policeman - he simply wanted to look at my triathlon bike and see how the gears (in the brake levers) worked.

Going to C'buri at Xmas we had a stop at a checkpoint, looked at me, said hello and waved me on.

We came back from Chacheonsgao yesterday by bus, two checkpoints with police requesting ID (but not from me) looking for illegals/Cambodians, my partner was a little annoyed at being asked to produce her Thai ID - gets this often 'doesn't look Thai'. She'd consider that harassment!

[inzman]

I think the stick has been targeted by the coppers here as he has not been too low key. Best to keep a low profile and not make waves. In 7 years never been hasseled unfairly.

[supaprik]

I think the stick has been targeted by the coppers here as he has not been too low key. Best to keep a low profile and not make waves. In 7 years never been hasseled unfairly.

perhaps the coppers are just tired of boring kiwi ex english teachers

[SaamBaht]

The only time I was harassed by the police was when I was pissing on the side of the highway in Mississippi, and that was a state trooper not a city cop.

[jimbeam1]

Wow all you chaps are lucky. In nearly 3yrs have been stopped quite a few times. First was on route 2 that bypasses Korat. I was overtaking an old slow bus that should not have been on the road. Didn't see the bib in time, so was late in pulling in, 100bt. A couple of other times I was with ex girlfriends brother (cop)no charge. Then when I moved to Bangkok a year ago was stopped at On-Nut. I hadn't put new tax disc in window, although did manage to show it. This one wanted 1,000bt, he didn't like it when I laughed at him, but G/F managed to talk him down to 300bt. Another time going back to Korat, near the first place I was stopped. Went through a speed trap they showed me the read out 120km in 80km limit, 300bt with a proper ticket. So ok there. Then there was the time again I was stopped near Khon-Kaen, again on route 2, this time a cop with a motor bike, 100bt, with a bit of advice, as in keep to the speed limit for the next 1/2km? sure enough there they were with a speed trap The most recent one was in Bangkok, I was on the upper toll road, when I came t the turning I wanted, Indicated to show I was taking the slip road, although there was nothing behind me. Came down to another pay booth, as I was still on the toll road system, looked to see which booth to go to turned to head for it. Paid my money and went through, there the little darling was, pulled me over, with hand gestures told me I pulled that I pulled the steering wheel to the left to sharp? So now he is asking for 1,000bt. I told the g/f I am not paying anything, so she negotiated for a bit and came back with 700bt, he can get stuffed, so he then asked for my licence (Thai 5yr)looked at it walked off to the police office place, that looks like a border post. After a couple of minuets, she got out of the car, she had seen him coming in the wing mirror. I'm really fuming at all this, as to me it is pure extortion. She gets back in the car as the same time as he arrives at my side, hands me back my licence. She says ok we can go. I looked at her, how much did you give him, no answer, how much, 300bt. I bit my tongue and went. Cor blimey sorry if I've gone on a bit

jb1

[wylergnu]

Last year I got pulled over for driving in the right hand land when not overtaking. The problem was I was overtaking a truck at the time, and nearly ran over the police officer who jumped out from the bushes in the median strip to stop me. Crazy idiot. God knows what would have happened to me if I ran him over.

[jubby]

driving here regularly for 15 years only had to pay tea money once and that was in a notoriously well known spot down south.

been stopped a couple of times at mountain road blocks and had the pickup searched half-heartedly.

once was stopped and ask wether I was 'John' something or another.

The main Harrasement I get is from a local BIB who insists I drink 3 glasses of whatever he's drinking whenever he spots me. and its usually too early in the day for me.

Now how many times have I been stopped in my home country in the last 15 years, and how much did it cost me .

[samran]

I think the stick has been targeted by the coppers here as he has not been too low key. Best to keep a low profile and not make waves. In 7 years never been hasseled unfairly.

perhaps the coppers are just tired of boring kiwi ex english teachers

perhaps a ex kiwi teacher wanted to get people to read his blog by saying something controversial, which in the experience of most people, is entirely inaccurate.

He'll make a good tabloid journo when he returns home.

[Petesear]

I've hardly been stopped for anything in the last 6 years but before that I was stopped in my car at least once a month, often more.

I was stopped for driving a new car(red plate) at night a few times, stopped for changing lanes, turning left, speeding etc etc. Every time I was stopped back then I was asked for money, I even had money taken from my wallet outside the World Trade centre by a BIB on a busy Saturday afternoon.

I was also stopped and searched in the street a few times but nothing ever came from that.

Then it all changed, and I believe that Thaksin may have had something to do with that.... The irony!

[Spee]

Never been harrassed by the Thai police, and never had any sort of confrontation with them. I only rarely drive alone. Usually my partner or someone from her family is in the truck with me. Maybe that has something to do with it, maybe not. Also never had an issue while out and about on my own, but I tend to mind my p's and q's.

[Ricardo]

I've been stopped once in 7 years, driving a pick-up with Chiang-Mai plates near Nakhon Sawan towards home, and asked where I was going. I gave the usual "mai passa Thai' routine, and said 'Bye ti Chiang Mai, yu ti Chiang Mai', and was waved-on.

I wouldn't say I get harrassed by the Thai police, they even gave me a 10km lift once, when I was hitch-hiking !

[Bluetongue]

4 times for speeding over a few years, the last time I played dumb and he didn't know how to ask for tea money so let me go. Routine checks all the time, again near the border, everyone is stopped. The one that came to the scene of my accident where the drunk motorcyclist riding head on at me in my lane got sideswiped by me in to a ditch was on my side, no sympathy whatsover for the motorcyclist. Was going to lock him up until his family came along and paid everyone off.

[bermondburi]

As someone else said Stickman has to get people to read his column and if he said that he was selling his car because he was skint or because he was leaving Thailand then it wouldn't really grab people in the same way.

My own experiences are varied. I have been stopped many times by the police, sometimes I have paid an OTS fine where I have done something wrong and I have got a receipt. Other times, normally in BKK it has been an OTS bribe to make the problem go away. I haven't been stopped many times where I haven't done anything wrong but it has happened and when it has happened I have never had to pay. Always in BKK you see motorbikes getting pulled over at the side of the road for no reason.

Many times when I have been in the wrong I have been given better treatment than a Thai and I have not had to pay and been let go, normally because they don't speak English and I'm not going to speak Thai at first. Every day where I live I pass the same copper directing traffic when I take my son to school in the morning and I don't have a helmet. He's never stopped me for this, in fact most days he holds the traffic for me to let me turn right. Once driving from Ranong to Buriram and running out of petrol with no pumps around, I stopped at a restaurant for help. Three police inside who sent a kid out to get a bottle and then proceeded to feed me and give me beer and talk to me about Princesss Diana. Very bizarre. They also rang my wife to tell her not to worry if I was late as they were just taking care of the foreigner and seeing that I was okay. Only in Thailand !

On the whole no real problems.

Although, having said that. Coming back home along Kanchanapisek Road on Saturday the policeman jumps out of nowhere to stop me on the bike. I wasn't doing anything wrong and I had to break hard to slow down and a car nearly went into the back of me. The copper then just said " go go " . Cheers mate !