Busted For Being Underage..At An Internet Cafe

[andymach123]

So my son( 14 years ) and i head into our local internet cafe in Chiangmai. Sitting there for an hour or so when i notice a police officer approach, and starts taking photos of my son. Then another comes over, then another...suddenly we are surrounded by a dozen police. My son is asked for his passport and age. The police move off to the store front..The store manager ( a uni kid ) is then detained for while, he comes over and types on Google translator...." Help me please...i need 20,000 Baht ). Looking outside the shop ( near CMU ) and its a major bust...trucks, divvy vans, bikes, lights, even jets ( well the jet turned out to be Air Asia ). The strip has a few large internet cafes on it, so is targeted.

So anyway, it turns out that for a kid under 15 - it is illegal to use internet past 20.00 in the evening, for under 18 it's a no no past 22.00 hours.

I go up and be extremely nice and apologetic, and after 45 minutes of fun..the charges are dropped and everyone is happy. Actually the police chief was happy the whole time....laughing merrily as this poor kid manager was hauled over the coals.

The reason for the bust is a crackdown to get kids out of the cafes...to stop the 24 hour gamers. Not a bad reason....and it was more exciting than the emails i was reading anyway

[Flatouthruthefog]

Thanks for this wise warning.You were right to be with your 14 year old there. Another lesson for all we parents.And you handled it well. Get 'em laughing and avoid being tapped up for cash. You know your Thailand!

[Mrjlh]

Someone on TV should look up the law. If the child is WITH an ADULT (in this case their parent) it should not apply. Common sense dictates this should be the case, don't you think?

Edited April 16, 2011 by Mrjlh

[zzaa09]

Someone on TV should look up the law. If the child is WITH an ADULT (in this case their parent) it should not apply. Common sense dictates this should be the case, don't you think?

Common knowledge would indicate that such "laws" are not designed to protect anyone nor concerned with any such well-being.

[krading]

Good law as far as I'm concerned.

If they enforced it a bit more strictly maybe my connection might stop dropping out every five minutes during the school holidays.

[mstribling]

Sad when kids can't play games on the Internet.

[geriatrickid]

Sad when kids can't play games on the Internet.

Sadder still when they can beat me at the games. This is why I support the ban. It prevents me from losing face.

Seriously though, there have been a lot of incidents in the late hours at the internet cafes involving underage kids getting robbed or threatened. It's sort of like the taxing/tribute/protection situations in the west where kids have their ipods, lunch money etc. extorted by older kids. In the west it happens at the malls or subway stations the kids use. In Thailand it is the internet cafes. Very difficult to stop and prevent.

[metisdead]

Title edited to remove the suggestion of illegal activity.

[wolf5370]

I was in an internet cafe a few weeks ago (telephone line was out for a few weeks took TOT a while to decide if it was the line or the internet - even though neither phone not internet was working!). It was maybe 9pm - I had my kids with me as we were coming hme from the cinema and I wanted to check my mails. No cops of anything, but I did notice a few late teens in there playing online poker - brown stuff could really have hit the fan if the BiB turned up that night me thinks.

[jazzbo]

In the days before I had in-room WiFi I was twice in an Internet shop when it was raided by the police for having under 16 year olds in the shop on a school day before 2 PM ... I was politely asked by the police to leave and the shop was promptly closed for a few days (with fine also I would presume) ...

Later on I used to be in the shop at 1:50 PM on a school day with about 20 boys in their school clothes and their noses pressed outside to the glass eying which spot they would choose when they would storm the shop at 2 PM.

[smokie36]

Yes its a real pest is this law.

I get busted without my passport all the time.

<cough> <cough>

[KhunChay]

They should make the kids ban 5pm so we get better internet.

[Ping]

The last time I had the misfortune to have to use a 'net cafe, it was packed with kids playing games, screaming and running amok. The young Thai lad running the joint didn't give a toss. Couldn't get out of the place quickly enough...

[maswov]

Funny a 14 year old can't use the internet past 2000 but its ok for an 8 year old to sell flowers on the streets at 0200.

[Ping]

^It's not okay, it's illegal. I refuse to buy from them - many are working as slaves.

[KhunChay]

Funny a 14 year old can't use the internet past 2000 but its ok for an 8 year old to sell flowers on the streets at 0200.

Because there are few criminal organizations behind the 'flower children' activities and the rest you can guess.

[TheLaughingMan]

This is nuts, they are harrassing your child even though he is directly being supervised by his parent? Is this North Korea?! If dad is with him END OF STORY! Move along stupid cop, nothing to see here, thanks BUH BYE. And the shop employee runs over to you and asks for 20k baht?! The whole thing reeks of retard. How on earth are they even thinking of extorting money from you? Glad you were all smiles and it worked out, I would have had a seizure trying to suppress my outrage over the level of TARD in that room, and this country.

[mstribling]

^It's not okay, it's illegal. I refuse to buy from them - many are working as slaves.

There a good price though. I like to give them to working girls.

[travelmann]

Sad when kids can't play games on the Internet.

Sadder when they end up all fat due to spending all their time playing games on computers?

[zzaa09]

Sad when kids can't play games on the Internet.

Sadder when they end up all fat due to spending all their time playing games on computers?

Not so much that, but better to suggest that they don't use computers/internet to to a more learned advantage.

[Semper]

Sad when kids can't play games on the Internet.

Why is this ?

[TimeBandit2]

I used to wonder how kids can afford to spend all day in those 'cafes. I asked one shop owner about it (who didn't have any computers empty!) and he said they were all his relatives and had to let them play for free because of Nam Jai!

Edited April 18, 2011 by TimeBandit2

[tartempion]

Ridiculous laws in this country

I go shopping early, when the temp is till fresh.

Can't buy a box containing 12 bottles of beer...

Can't watch a movie showing any one smoking or drinking.

Can't have females showing tits on Sonkran.

Other than that plenty of idiots burning their plastic bags/trash or simply throwing all away from their motorbike or through the window/door of the bus

Talking on their mobiles whilst driving their motorbikes etc etc

[bangkokburning]

I bet if you had to cough up 20K we would be having a different conversation.

2200 curfew - perhaps a good thing but it won't make anyone actually do any studying. Have you ever seen a student of any age carrying a book?