Police Complaint..?

[paulbrun]

Is there any way, or any point, to make a complaint against a traffic policeman, who fabricated an offence, so he could get 1000 baht from me..? I would just like to let someone know what he's doing, in the hope he will be stopped. I did nothing illegal, but he pulled me over, demanded my driver's license and refused to return it unless I paid him. I realise this is going on every day, everywhere, and I am not going to get the money back, but I still think it should be reported. Any ideas..?

[wellred]

Maybe set up a video cam in your car and film if something comes up again? In a country where tourists are routinely targeted for quick cash I doubt you will get far even should you find somewhere to escalate your complaint.

[khunron13]

It's not April Fool's day yet!

[UKJASE]

Maybe u can write to sergeant idontgiveadam..... he works at the pieinthesky police station

[KKvampire]

dont waste your time, If you complained you will get fined for the complaint , You are falang.

[Kalbo]

You'll more than likely get into more trouble than it's worth trying to complain about this. If possible, could you

expand a bit further on the said incident, and whereabout it was ? Cheers

[jerrysteve]

Your out of luck there buddy. You are a foreigner here,, but if you paid a 1000 baht you paid way to much.

Nextime refuse, and ask him where he is headquarted, then tell him you want to immediately speak to his commanding office RIGHT NOW!

I have a car here too, but I always let my Thai ole lady drive, and we never get stopped.

[TommoPhysicist]

Your mistakes were

1) Handing over your license

2) Handing over 1,000bht

Next time, give them a photocopy of your license, then haggle them down to 200bht.

And when handing over the 200bht, think of all the driving offenses you got away with.

[quadman]

Your out of luck there buddy. You are a foreigner here,, but if you paid a 1000 baht you paid way to much.

Nextime refuse, and ask him where he is headquarted, then tell him you want to immediately speak to his commanding office RIGHT NOW!

I have a car here too, but I always let my Thai ole lady drive, and we never get stopped.

When my "old lady" and I get stopped he gets 200 thb historically, I get a chuckle out of a 6.00 CDN offence.

It's fast, cheap and to the point compared to "home"

Edited August 16, 2012 by quadman

[yourauntbob]

This system is top down. If an officer does not collect enough money each month his superiors will give him hell and possibly shift him to an undesirable job within the force. If your complaint did get in the hands of his superiors they may even promote him for doing such fine work.

[givenall]

If you do not like the this and do not want to pay the money directly to the police just ask for the ticket and go to pay and may be you can complain to the people in the police station, but not sure it gets very far. At least the officer does not get the full amount and he has to share with other office since it is through the ticket payments.

[colinneil]

When i have been stopped for no reason , i ask his name where he is based, they usually walk away , it works if you have pen and paper ready and let them see it.

[Gone]

Next time try taking out your mobile and taking a picture of him and his name on his shirt then put the phone down your pants and smile. At least if you have to pay you will get a hand job out of the deal. hahhaa

[carra]

Next time try taking out your mobile and taking a picture of him and his name on his shirt then put the phone down your pants and smile. At least if you have to pay you will get a hand job out of the deal. hahhaa

i did this once hahaha (apart from the pants and hand job), they stopped me at the top of Thonglor, normally i don't stop but this one jumped in front of the car, I did what i do, I locked my doors and lowered the window about one inch, I asked why I had been stopped and he replied 'phone' I said I wasnt on my phone so we went backwards and forwards with him repeating phone and me repeating no, then he changed it to 'licence' to which I repeated no. then an older one came over and tried the same, 'phone' then 'licence. eventually he accepted i wasnt using my phone so changed it to 'u turn'. Then he went back to 'licence' so I showed it through the window opening, he asked for it and I refused, then I got my phone and took his picture so he ran to the front of his car, got his phone and took my picture, he now somewhere has my picture with my thumbs up and a big shit eating grin. i was then told off for living in Thailand a long time and not speaking to him in Thai.

anyway to cut a long story short eventually I asked if he was from Thonglor or Makasan, i picked up my phone and said i will call my friend at the station he said, gave his name and lo and behold it seemed after all no offences had been committed and I was on my merry way.

the moral of the story is to know a senior officers name, and secondly delay them as long as possible as it means other easier targets are passing them buy so its costing them money.

Before the normal 'you are dicing with death' and 'they are only doing their jobs' well i will say i have been here 7 years and never had any comebacks, I do it in a pleasant polite manner, and secondly if I was indeed on my phone or have done something wrong I will take the ticket to the station and pay the fine. if they try to stitch me up I never succumb to it. Do all this while maintaining a friendly non threatening air about you.

ok, now cue the abusive posts calling me an arsehol_e etc

[craigt3365]

Well done carra. Or you could do like my friend did. Give him your library card from back home...and keep going. I keep my old, expired one with me at all times just in case.

[richard_smith237]

You have simply bribed a police officer and in doing so you've become part of the corrupt system and broken the law yourself. This could come back and bite you in the backside if you complain.

You never need to (or very rarely) need to pay an onsite fine, instead they take your licence, issue you with a receipt and you collect it from the nearby Police station the next day after paying the official fine.

That said, collecting your ticket from the station the next day is sometimes hugely inconvenient and its easier to pay a fine on the spot *If you have done something wrong.

In the case of the Op: What did the Police officer say you had done wrong?

Never hand your licence over, leave the window open (by about 3inches) and show them the licence through the glass. This also prevents the more confident officers from leaning in and taking the car keys.

Op: You've paid up already, there is nothing you can do. In future simply show them your licence, but refuse to hand it over (remember not to let the situation escalate though) be firm but polite. Find out exactly what you are being pulled over for before accepting any blame.

Edited August 16, 2012 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

Next time try taking out your mobile and taking a picture of him and his name on his shirt then put the phone down your pants and smile. At least if you have to pay you will get a hand job out of the deal. hahhaa

i did this once hahaha (apart from the pants and hand job), they stopped me at the top of Thonglor, normally i don't stop but this one jumped in front of the car, I did what i do, I locked my doors and lowered the window about one inch, I asked why I had been stopped and he replied 'phone' I said I wasnt on my phone so we went backwards and forwards with him repeating phone and me repeating no, then he changed it to 'licence' to which I repeated no. then an older one came over and tried the same, 'phone' then 'licence. eventually he accepted i wasnt using my phone so changed it to 'u turn'. Then he went back to 'licence' so I showed it through the window opening, he asked for it and I refused, then I got my phone and took his picture so he ran to the front of his car, got his phone and took my picture, he now somewhere has my picture with my thumbs up and a big shit eating grin. i was then told off for living in Thailand a long time and not speaking to him in Thai.

anyway to cut a long story short eventually I asked if he was from Thonglor or Makasan, i picked up my phone and said i will call my friend at the station he said, gave his name and lo and behold it seemed after all no offences had been committed and I was on my merry way.

the moral of the story is to know a senior officers name, and secondly delay them as long as possible as it means other easier targets are passing them buy so its costing them money.

Before the normal 'you are dicing with death' and 'they are only doing their jobs' well i will say i have been here 7 years and never had any comebacks, I do it in a pleasant polite manner, and secondly if I was indeed on my phone or have done something wrong I will take the ticket to the station and pay the fine. if they try to stitch me up I never succumb to it. Do all this while maintaining a friendly non threatening air about you.

ok, now cue the abusive posts calling me an arsehol_e etc

This is the way to handle it... Good one... Its nothing more than a game, a lot of these Police officers are chancing their luck.

[donmeurett]

Your mistakes were

1) Handing over your license

2) Handing over 1,000bht

Next time, give them a photocopy of your license, then haggle them down to 200bht.

And when handing over the 200bht, think of all the driving offenses you got away with.

"Next time, give them a photocopy of your license", Where did you come up with that idea ?? Could you do it in the UK. or USA I do not think so. So why do you think you could do it in Thailand.??

[rgs2001uk]

Your mistakes were

1) Handing over your license

2) Handing over 1,000bht

Next time, give them a photocopy of your license, then haggle them down to 200bht.

And when handing over the 200bht, think of all the driving offenses you got away with.

"Next time, give them a photocopy of your license", Where did you come up with that idea ?? Could you do it in the UK. or USA I do not think so. So why do you think you could do it in Thailand.??

Well we aint in the UK ot the USA, we are in Thailand, thats why we can do it here.

I NEVER carry my passport with me, but I do carry a photocopy, I have NEVER been asked to produce it, but I would rather pay some piddly 200 baht fine for not having the original on me, than lose my passport and the cost that would come with replacing it.

I do carry an Arabic drivers license with me in the car, as well as my Thai one, last time I was stopped I pulled out the Arabic license, that stumped him, it could have been a library card from back home for all Sgt Somchai knew.

Rather than lose face and admit he was a total idiot by not knowing what it was, he just wanted to make the problem go away, so he took one look and said ok on you go.

[Tanuki]

Your mistakes were

1) Handing over your license

2) Handing over 1,000bht

Next time, give them a photocopy of your license, then haggle them down to 200bht.

And when handing over the 200bht, think of all the driving offenses you got away with.

"Next time, give them a photocopy of your license", Where did you come up with that idea ?? Could you do it in the UK. or USA I do not think so. So why do you think you could do it in Thailand.??

you're comparing this third world joke to the US and UK? it's not the UK or USA and that's why you can do it here.

[chinook]

Next time try taking out your mobile and taking a picture of him and his name on his shirt then put the phone down your pants and smile. At least if you have to pay you will get a hand job out of the deal. hahhaa

i did this once hahaha (apart from the pants and hand job), they stopped me at the top of Thonglor, normally i don't stop but this one jumped in front of the car, I did what i do, I locked my doors and lowered the window about one inch, I asked why I had been stopped and he replied 'phone' I said I wasnt on my phone so we went backwards and forwards with him repeating phone and me repeating no, then he changed it to 'licence' to which I repeated no. then an older one came over and tried the same, 'phone' then 'licence. eventually he accepted i wasnt using my phone so changed it to 'u turn'. Then he went back to 'licence' so I showed it through the window opening, he asked for it and I refused, then I got my phone and took his picture so he ran to the front of his car, got his phone and took my picture, he now somewhere has my picture with my thumbs up and a big shit eating grin. i was then told off for living in Thailand a long time and not speaking to him in Thai.

anyway to cut a long story short eventually I asked if he was from Thonglor or Makasan, i picked up my phone and said i will call my friend at the station he said, gave his name and lo and behold it seemed after all no offences had been committed and I was on my merry way.

the moral of the story is to know a senior officers name, and secondly delay them as long as possible as it means other easier targets are passing them buy so its costing them money.

Before the normal 'you are dicing with death' and 'they are only doing their jobs' well i will say i have been here 7 years and never had any comebacks, I do it in a pleasant polite manner, and secondly if I was indeed on my phone or have done something wrong I will take the ticket to the station and pay the fine. if they try to stitch me up I never succumb to it. Do all this while maintaining a friendly non threatening air about you.

ok, now cue the abusive posts calling me an arsehol_e etc

....thanx........ one of the best posts for a long time...........love a good larf

[paulbrun]

Thanks to all the good, and the dubious advice. I have been here 20 years and only been stopped and 'fined' 4 times. I would have argued with him, but I had my family with me, in a car that was not running well, and we were 'lost' and looking for a garage. I realise I made a mistake by handing over my license, and was on loser thereafter. Lesson learned..! It happened at the junction of Wireless and Rama 4, and he claimed I changed lanes illegally..? As I said I was lost, and certainly did nothing dangerous. I have his number if I ever see him again..!

Edited August 17, 2012 by paulbrun

[smileplur]

^^Been stopped there a number of times on a motorbike. Even twice in go turning onto Rama IV from Sathorn. I shit you not. I was flagged over at the red light. Forced out of 100 baht. Then, I got stopped again when the light turned green and I turned. I just laughed at the second guy and told him to go talk to the guy in the both and gunned it.

[cmbe]

A few years ago I drive alone from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and turn on my notebook and web cam, for the reason that my partner can watch me and be sure that I still wake up while driving after 12 hours in airplane. On the road, police stopped me and ask me where I am going, then he see that notebook is turn on with the web cam (in that time it was apart installed from notebook, so can see it easy), he doesn't ask anything more, just say "you have also web cam", then he let me go.

[lazygourmet]

Usually I speak to them in French -polite!- language but very fast without letting them place a single word.

And it works...

Within less than a minute, I have my documents back and "bon voyage"...

[Pseudolus]

Next time try taking out your mobile and taking a picture of him and his name on his shirt then put the phone down your pants and smile. At least if you have to pay you will get a hand job out of the deal. hahhaa

i did this once hahaha (apart from the pants and hand job), they stopped me at the top of Thonglor, normally i don't stop but this one jumped in front of the car, I did what i do, I locked my doors and lowered the window about one inch, I asked why I had been stopped and he replied 'phone' I said I wasnt on my phone so we went backwards and forwards with him repeating phone and me repeating no, then he changed it to 'licence' to which I repeated no. then an older one came over and tried the same, 'phone' then 'licence. eventually he accepted i wasnt using my phone so changed it to 'u turn'. Then he went back to 'licence' so I showed it through the window opening, he asked for it and I refused, then I got my phone and took his picture so he ran to the front of his car, got his phone and took my picture, he now somewhere has my picture with my thumbs up and a big shit eating grin. i was then told off for living in Thailand a long time and not speaking to him in Thai.

anyway to cut a long story short eventually I asked if he was from Thonglor or Makasan, i picked up my phone and said i will call my friend at the station he said, gave his name and lo and behold it seemed after all no offences had been committed and I was on my merry way.

the moral of the story is to know a senior officers name, and secondly delay them as long as possible as it means other easier targets are passing them buy so its costing them money.

Before the normal 'you are dicing with death' and 'they are only doing their jobs' well i will say i have been here 7 years and never had any comebacks, I do it in a pleasant polite manner, and secondly if I was indeed on my phone or have done something wrong I will take the ticket to the station and pay the fine. if they try to stitch me up I never succumb to it. Do all this while maintaining a friendly non threatening air about you.

ok, now cue the abusive posts calling me an arsehol_e etc

Well done - 100% agree with this approach. Waste their time, as they are wasting your, annoy them as they annoy you. Don't pay them unless it is done the official route at the station.

[lizardtongue]

Bottom line is that this is a corrupt country/society make it work for you, but do not pay if you have done nothing wrong.

If you are guilty of committing an offense then play the game, if they start at 1000 (which is way over the top) go straight down to 100 that way you should get 'away' with 2/300.

I have been stopped and blatantly asked for 'money for coffee' offered 15 baht for 7/11 coffee and was promptly waved on!