My Experience With Thai Police Last Night , And I Have Few Questions

[flyx]

Last night around 2am in sukhumvit area ..

when i was going to my room , i saw police was stopping taxies have foreigners passengers

(they didnt stop cars with only thai persons!)

one of that taxies were my taxi

they did ask me for passport and it wasnt with me at that time of midnight! , they did ask me to go out of car and then he did put his hand in my pockets and try to find something . he did find nothing , and then he did insist to find something and search again .. it made me angry because i saw he dosent want finish and i told him hey you can't touch me , u did search already and u did find nothing and bla bla bla

I wasnt drunk and i wasnt with a prostitute

i want to know thai police can put his hands in my pocket ? what is their limited ?what is our right?

if we be drunk or with a prostitute , so they can stop us ? and this country is democratic or not ?

[necronx99]

Yes they can and no, it's not really.

[ThaidDown]

Being drunk in a public place would be against the law, so you would not admit to that. Similarly you would not be with a prostitute as, prostitution is basically illegal.

Not going to get into any argument whether you must carry your passport or not, but it is required that everybody carry identification. The op does not indicate that he had any identification. The police officer could therefore take you to the police station until your identity could be verified.

Of course, if you had nothing to hide you could let him check your pockets and you are on your way.

That's just a long way of agreeing with necronx99 "Yes they can and no, it's not really.'

[Morakot]

Of course, if you had nothing to hide you could let him check your pockets and you are on your way.

That's just a long way of agreeing with necronx99 "Yes they can and no, it's not really.'

The "nothing-to-hide" argument is a slippery slope in terms of personal rights and freedoms.

[Morakot]

According to the Special Case Investigation Act, B.E. 2547 police have permission to search persons when there is 'reasonable ground'.

I guess from your description an officer can easily make a case for a "reasonable ground", as you didn't have any form of identification with you.

Thailand_Special Investigation Act B.E. 2547_2004.pdf

Edited August 22, 2012 by Morakot

[Morakot]

and this country is democratic or not ?

The rule of law and democracy are not necessarily the same.

[richard_smith237]

I have always understood that the Police can search anyone given 'reasonable grounds' as the above post mentions.

However, they are not allowed to place their hands inside your pockets. They should ask you to empty your pockets and then they can pat you down to check there is nothing remaining in your pockets.

Rumour has it that the reason they are searching foreigners in the Sukhumvit area (near Sukhumvit Soi 22) is that the area is a known for westerners dealing drugs.

[transam]

Think we can forget about farang land Police etiquette here, and rightly so. Get rid of the lowlife farang druggies, a simple search takes seconds and your on your way.

Our lad was stopped on his scooter and was told to piss in a bottle , looking for drug use in his urine. Of course this practice is open to an easy setup. But l see no problem with a search.

[Morakot]

However, they are not allowed to place their hands inside your pockets. They should ask you to empty your pockets and then they can pat you down to check there is nothing remaining in your pockets.

I doubt that there is any legal specification on this mode (that would not allow this). This seems purely an operational policy guided by social/cultural principles, discretion, or what not.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Morakot

[givenall]

and this country is democratic or not ?

The rule of law and democracy are not necessarily the same.

and this country is democratic or not ?

The rule of law and democracy are not necessarily the same.

Just to make sure you get answer to your question, No Thailand is not a democratic country.

[sysardman]

He was just searching for your wallet because you obviously didn't get it out quick enough (or at all). If you didn't have your passport or at least a copy you were fair game to him. Next time I suggest having a few readies ready

[happynthailand]

Make sure the cop shows you his hands before sticking them in your pocket.they have been known to have a ya ba(speed pill) between fingers

when they pull their hand out of your pocket "look what i found in your pocket.

i've had a police man try that on me, both times times i made him show me his hands,he won't open his hands,so no pocket search

[Morakot]

Just to make sure you get answer to your question, No Thailand is not a democratic country.

The latest government is democratically elected with about 75% of the electorate having cast their vote on Sunday, 3 July 2011.

If you ask whether Thailand is a place where the rule of law is important that's a different issue.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Morakot

[chainarong]

This country is only a few octaves higher than Myanmar or Cambodia as far as police and military go, they will tell you we have Thai democracy , this is not to be confused with democracy.

[richard_smith237]

However, they are not allowed to place their hands inside your pockets. They should ask you to empty your pockets and then they can pat you down to check there is nothing remaining in your pockets.

I doubt that there is any legal specification on this mode (that would not allow this). This seems purely an operational policy guided by social/cultural principles, discretion, or what not.

I have a number of friends in the RTP - It is them who tell me that its a violation of procedure if the Police wish to place their hands in our pockets. Not only to prevent them from planting any evidence, but also to protect the officer (we could have needles, blades etc in our pockets).

If we don't trust the Policeman who wants to search us we are well within our rights to request a search at a nearby station (which I suspect may become a little more invasive than we like !).

That said - articulating the law to a Policeman may be met with a distasteful response. Its simply easier to let them get on with searching us and getting on our way.

I've no issue with being searched, but I won't let a Policeman place his hands in my pockets. I also have a friend who was searched recently, he said the officer was very polite, showed him his empty hands, asked my friend to empty his pockets and then patted him down. Then the Policeman thanked my friend and said 'have a good day'... the Policeman spoke English. I don't imagine any decent member of society taking offence if a search is carried out in this manner.

[Morakot]

This country is only a few octaves higher than Myanmar or Cambodia as far as police and military go, they will tell you we have Thai democracy , this is not to be confused with democracy.

In Burma, a substantial number of members of each chamber of the parliament are appointed by the military. This is normally not the case in Thailand.

[Morakot]

However, they are not allowed to place their hands inside your pockets. They should ask you to empty your pockets and then they can pat you down to check there is nothing remaining in your pockets.

I doubt that there is any legal specification on this mode (that would not allow this). This seems purely an operational policy guided by social/cultural principles, discretion, or what not.

I have a number of friends in the RTP - It is them who tell me that its a violation of procedure if the Police wish to place their hands in our pockets. Not only to prevent them from planting any evidence, but also to protect the officer (we could have needles, blades etc in our pockets).

If we don't trust the Policeman who wants to search us we are well within our rights to request a search at a nearby station (which I suspect may become a little more invasive than we like !).

That said - articulating the law to a Policeman may be met with a distasteful response. Its simply easier to let them get on with searching us and getting on our way.

I've no issue with being searched, but I won't let a Policeman place his hands in my pockets. I also have a friend who was searched recently, he said the officer was very polite, showed him his empty hands, asked my friend to empty his pockets and then patted him down. Then the Policeman thanked my friend and said 'have a good day'... the Policeman spoke English. I don't imagine any decent member of society taking offence if a search is carried out in this manner.

Thank you for this insightful and informative post!

[Mario2008]

Police seems to be allowed a search, but not in public. You can request to go to a police station.

http://www.chavalitfinchlaw.com/publications/AR_127.pdf

[siampreggers]

Very easy for a small bag of powder to slipped in and then taken out during such searches. You in trouben now, go monkey hout long time.

As Thaksin said, there's nothing under the sun that the RTP can't do.

That includes torture and murder of thousands of people btw.

[Morakot]

Police seems to be allowed a search, but not in public. You can request to go to a police station.

http://www.chavalitf...ions/AR_127.pdf

Good post. Doc attached again.

AR_127.pdf

[richard_smith237]

Very easy for a small bag of powder to slipped in and then taken out during such searches. You in trouben now, go monkey hout long time.

As Thaksin said, there's nothing under the sun that the RTP can't do.

That includes torture and murder of thousands of people btw.

That's the very same barstool paranoia that suggests a Westerner is always in the wrong in a car accident etc...

Does anyone know anyone (first hand) who has been stitched up by the Police planting something at a search ????

[siampreggers]

Yes, a number of people.

(I am including searches of business premises)

[robblok]

Very easy for a small bag of powder to slipped in and then taken out during such searches. You in trouben now, go monkey hout long time.

As Thaksin said, there's nothing under the sun that the RTP can't do.

That includes torture and murder of thousands of people btw.

That's the very same barstool paranoia that suggests a Westerner is always in the wrong in a car accident etc...

Does anyone know anyone (first hand) who has been stitched up by the Police planting something at a search ????

No first hand knowledge and while i can pee in a bottle without it showing any drug use I would still worry about police planting evidence. I have seen many good police.. but it can't be denied there are bad ones too. I just find it scary

[Semper]

a simple search takes seconds and your on your way.

Ever heard of 'planting evidence'?

Edited August 22, 2012 by Semper

[transam]

a simple search takes seconds and your on your way.

Ever heard of 'planting evidence'?

Yeh we know that, my mrs tells the lad, never let your bag out of sight if the BiB stop you.

It's part of living or holidaying in LOS, nobody in the near future will change that BUT, there are enough daft farangs out there with stuff in their pockets, in the holiday spots, to nick.

[Sateev]

Of course, if you had nothing to hide you could let him check your pockets and you are on your way.

That's just a long way of agreeing with necronx99 "Yes they can and no, it's not really.'

The "nothing-to-hide" argument is a slippery slope in terms of personal rights and freedoms.

Which for practical purposes don't exist in even in your own Western country, let alone Thailand, which is NOT a democracy, and has very little respect for the rule of law.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Sateev

[Luccin]

Very easy for a small bag of powder to slipped in and then taken out during such searches. You in trouben now, go monkey hout long time.

As Thaksin said, there's nothing under the sun that the RTP can't do.

That includes torture and murder of thousands of people btw.

That's the very same barstool paranoia that suggests a Westerner is always in the wrong in a car accident etc...

Does anyone know anyone (first hand) who has been stitched up by the Police planting something at a search ????

Happened to me about 2 years ago at the Ratchada-Praram 9 intersection. It was 5 am and they were randomly controlling cars (no roadblock or anything). They shined the flashlight in the car and asked me to get out of the passenger seat. They had me empty my pockets (asked politely) and were joking around. A policeman then slipped his hand in my pockets and produced a straw which was cut off. I was informed that it contained drug residues and that I was in trouble (2 of his colleagues were there to testify of the finding). I was escorted to the little police booth on the side of the road and the game was on. Complained (a lot), but they did not really care. After about 90 minutes, I gave up and was forced to contribute to the police fund. The "donation" started at THB 50K, which I brought down to THB 15K. They were nice enough to show me where the nearest ATM was and were very thankful once the matter was settled and I was allowed to depart.

It is in your right to (politely) decline having a policeman put his hands in your pockets (pulling the inside of the pockets out is fine). It also helps to have a good lawyer on speed dial to prevent them from bending the rules. If it seems fishy, just place the call and hand him the phone...

[CharlieH]

Never fails to amaze me why people debate what is or isnt the law etc, it doesn matter what you think or what it "says" anywhere, what matters is the guy/gal (officer) you are dealing with on that occasion and what he or she wants to "enforce" but one thing is for sure, as a non-thai you are on very dodgy ground so be very careful and the simplest answer is don't be there, or remove yourself from it at the earliest possibility. Smile ,roll with it, and leave quickly.

If your clean etc and nothing to hide no problem, if your not, you deserve all you get. BUT you may be just unlucky and get an individual who will extract money, so negotiate, pay and leave.

Edited August 22, 2012 by CharlieH

[Sateev]

A few days ago I posted in a topic describing the plan to curtail daytime police checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the traffic jams tey invariably cause. It was said that checkpoints could only be set up after 9PM from now on.

My take was that it was tantamount to breaking the cops' ricebowls, and such nefarious tea-money hunts no longer being avalable to them, the slack must be take up somewhere else. Missing the multitudes of 100 baht notes from hapless moto drivers, the cops might just start looking for bigger game...

Could this be the beginning?

[geminiman]

I was stopped and searched Wed. morning at 9:00am. I'm walking to the gym when 2 middle aged cops on a scooter pulled over and said "search your bag". I gave one cop my bag while the other cop asked to see what was in my pockets. Nothing in my pockets but my wallet, phone and some pocket change. My gym bag contained gym cloths, water bottle, padlock and a small clear unlabled container of protein powder. They asked about the protein powder but seemed satisfied with my answer. They did not ask me for my passport or ID. They didn't even look in my wallet? A strange experience but not a bad one really. It almost seemed like they were just doing there job?