Bangkok Cops Caught On Camera Extorting Mall Vendor

[Andre0720]

She is not selling counterfeit good, she was just a vendor.

Anyway, if she was, she would not post this video which reveal her identity.

It shows that police don't care about doing their job. You can sell anything including child porn as soon as you pay the police.

Would this argument hold up if the vendor was selling a child to a pedophile. If not, then it doesn't hold up here. The law isn't allowed to distinguish between the two.

Neither am I saying that the vendor should be hung drawn and quartered. This is about the behaviour of the police and I don't see anything that they have done wrong. Seems like bail was set, that her lawyer paid. She will have her day in court, her bail will be returned and she will probably get a small fine.

Reality check.

In Thailand, there is a big difference between selling counterfeit goods and the doings of a paedophile. Big difference.

Police concentrate on crimes with victims. They hardly consider that taking a few bahts from Bill Gates is a big problem, Or from Louis Vuitton for that matter...

I was offered counterfeit films of underage girls performing sex acts in Panthip Plaza.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

Just be more careful of the areas you frequent....

Edited January 26, 2013 by Andre0720

[khunken]

Interesting.

So what are those thousands of cases being heard at court houses all around the country on a daily basis all about, exactly?

More than interesting, fact. There are many more cases being decided by police than courts, and that is a perfect recipe for corruption.

Interesting statistic. Do you have a source for it?

In any case, no one is saying that there is a huge problem with police corruption in the RTP. No one is saying that the girl in question hasn't faced it in the past or might in the future.

All anyone is saying is that none of it was captured on that video clip. There's nothing there that deviates from standard, by-the-book criminal procedure.

I think you left out a 'not' in your second paragraph.

I owe you an apology. You are quite correct in saying that police can grant bail to an accused as a surety that the person will appear in court when the case is heard. They do of course have to issue a formal receipt, which is not shown in the video clip. So, I would say that the jury is out as to whether this is 'by the book' or extortion.

Edited January 26, 2013 by khunken

[I Like Thai]

She is not selling counterfeit good, she was just a vendor.

Anyway, if she was, she would not post this video which reveal her identity.

It shows that police don't care about doing their job. You can sell anything including child porn as soon as you pay the police.

Would this argument hold up if the vendor was selling a child to a pedophile. If not, then it doesn't hold up here. The law isn't allowed to distinguish between the two.

Neither am I saying that the vendor should be hung drawn and quartered. This is about the behaviour of the police and I don't see anything that they have done wrong. Seems like bail was set, that her lawyer paid. She will have her day in court, her bail will be returned and she will probably get a small fine.

Reality check.

In Thailand, there is a big difference between selling counterfeit goods and the doings of a paedophile. Big difference.

Police concentrate on crimes with victims. They hardly consider that taking a few bahts from Bill Gates is a big problem, Or from Louis Vuitton for that matter...

Exactly, but it is up to the courts to decide punishment, not the Police.The Police arrest suspects, then leave it to the courts..

[bristolgeoff]

if he is caught out they will move him else where quickly.nothing new really except caught on camera

[NewlyMintedThai]

Like I said: nothing IN THE CLIP constitutes corruption.

Can't say anything about what may have happened before or after.

[NewlyMintedThai]

She is not selling counterfeit good, she was just a vendor.

Anyway, if she was, she would not post this video which reveal her identity.

It shows that police don't care about doing their job. You can sell anything including child porn as soon as you pay the police.

Would this argument hold up if the vendor was selling a child to a pedophile. If not, then it doesn't hold up here. The law isn't allowed to distinguish between the two.

Neither am I saying that the vendor should be hung drawn and quartered. This is about the behaviour of the police and I don't see anything that they have done wrong. Seems like bail was set, that her lawyer paid. She will have her day in court, her bail will be returned and she will probably get a small fine.

Reality check.

In Thailand, there is a big difference between selling counterfeit goods and the doings of a paedophile. Big difference.

Police concentrate on crimes with victims. They hardly consider that taking a few bahts from Bill Gates is a big problem, Or from Louis Vuitton for that matter...

Exactly, but it is up to the courts to decide punishment, not the Police.The Police arrest suspects, then leave it to the courts..

Correct. That is what is happening in the video. The cops have made an arrest and are releasing the suspect on bail until her court date. They are booking her. That's why they need to fingerprint her.

[Andre0720]

Exactly, but it is up to the courts to decide punishment, not the Police.The Police arrest suspects, then leave it to the courts..

Not always so.

In some instances, police administer justice. Very expedient. And hopefully mostly with justice in mind.

Happened to me. Police did not believe the lady who complained, and rightly so.

Perhaps the courts have better things to do....

[FDog]

More proof the RTP are corrupt, no shock, just the same shameful practice.

[NewlyMintedThai]

More proof the RTP are corrupt, no shock, just the same shameful practice.

There's been lots of proof over the years.

But this YouTube video doesn't contain any.

[LUSHGOAT]

This is bullshit my wife is Thai and she looked at this video and she said at no time did the police ask for money if the police were wrong ok but I hate people been accused in the wrong

[osiboy]

Except that she's not being "fleeced".

She is being told to come up with bail money to be released before having her day in trial, where she can try to convince the judge of her innocence.

This is standard criminal procedure everwhere.

horses for courses,.....50,000b is way too much for a vendor to pay, .........thats about 3 months profit for her no doubt , but she can jump on a motorbike with no helmet and get a 100b fine ?? crazy ! , the 50,000b was to secure her fake goods so she could sell them on at a different location no doubt ..............why is this news? , i thought it was the norm , didn't everyone !, TIT

Edited January 26, 2013 by osiboy

[NewlyMintedThai]

Selling counterfeit goods carries a maximum fine of 400,000 baht.

Bail is based on the possible fine the crime carries -- not the ability of the accused to pay.

And -- as I stated before -- if the bail is 50,000 all she really has to come up with using bail insurance is 5,000.

Has nothing to do with getting her stuff back. It is held as state's evidence until the conclusion of the trial.

[crazygreg44]

She is not selling counterfeit good, she was just a vendor.

Anyway, if she was, she would not post this video which reveal her identity.

It shows that police don't care about doing their job. You can sell anything including child porn as soon as you pay the police.

Would this argument hold up if the vendor was selling a child to a pedophile. If not, then it doesn't hold up here. The law isn't allowed to distinguish between the two.

Neither am I saying that the vendor should be hung drawn and quartered. This is about the behaviour of the police and I don't see anything that they have done wrong. Seems like bail was set, that her lawyer paid. She will have her day in court, her bail will be returned and she will probably get a small fine.

By golly, someone gets it!

the longer I think about it, the more convinced I get that NewlyMintedThai is 100% right !

[saroq]

Newly MintedThai post # 11

I don't see anything unlawful going on here, other than the shopkeeper selling fake merchandise.

Read the complete article that that is linked and accompanies the video clip and you might well come to understand the situation fully

Read it.

What part is giving you problems, exactly. Looks like "by the book" to me.

The problem seems to be that she was employed as a cashier to "man" the stall, it wasn't her stall, she's not the owner and it wasn't her merchandise that she was selling. This was backed up by the Mall management yet the police are charging her with the crime and not the Mall operators. Hope that clears things up.

[saroq]

Seems like a variation on the "unlicensed music" scam that the police have been running in major cities around Thailand for a number of years. Same MO, same threats, same demand for 50,000 baht. The deal seems to be that you pay the bail, go home, have your day in court, the so calls officials don't turn up because the charges are complete BS and the cops have to give you your 50,000 back. However, they usually try this late at night and threaten vulnerable women with being locked up overnight. They are absolute scum.

[Thongkorn]

They are not asking for Money. They are asking her to sign an inventory of the goods she is selling, she says its not her goods, and she is not the boss, she is asking the police to wait for her boss to come, because she does not want to sign the piece of paper, when she signs it she will be arrested and taken to the Police station and her finger prints taken.

[BrooklynNY]

I understand Thai language. The police knew that they were being recorded and they told those arrested people that there is a police CCTV camera recording in that area too. Those arrested people made a scene so that they could use it against the police but there was no conversation mentioned that the police extorted for bail money on the VDO. The police wanted to take the cashier to fingerprint but she refused (The one in black outfit who was talking on the phone). She described the situation in writing on the Youtube which her words against the police.

What described on the Youtube is her words against the police.

http://www.youtube.c...&v=WXYKkN6FB3M#!

There are counterfeit goods (Fake brand name bags and watches) sold widely in New York China Town by Chinese and people from South Africa. Police knows and has done many arrests. I saw a few arrests while I was passing by that area that the police came with truck to load up those fake goods. The police arrested any people who were involved in selling fake goods to take them to the precinct to have them fingerprinted and they have to pay fines or imprisonment waiting for someone to bail them out.

The same arrest procedure should be done with the cashier who was selling the counterfeit goods in Thailand but that Thai woman refused to be fingerprinted and she claimed that the police asked for bail money on the spot. This conversation was not taken place on the camera.

Thai people who sell counterfeit goods should comply the same arrest procedure instead of complaining that they are poor people who work for money. The arrested cashier complained that she was not involved in any crimes, she was hired to be a cashier and has nothing to do with the counterfeit goods. Bullshit!!

Both counterfeit goods vendors and many police in Thailand are as bad.

Edited January 26, 2013 by BrooklynNY

[pedro01]

She was wrong in selling counterfeit goods as are many vendors and department stores are in Thailand.

However the police should be beyond reproach, this video proves yet again that the BIB are indeed rotten to the core a cancerous scourge upon the landscape of Thailand.

No wonder so many of these creatures go into politics it is of course the natural course to take for these despicable creatures.

The option to impose one's will on another is an option that position alone wrongly affords all too many individuals. Indeed this option to impose on, rather than work with, this option to impose on without any regard whatsoever for due process, becomes, in the hands of most, a license to harm, if not destroy the careers and lives of others.

http://www.huffingto...-power-corrupts

She was not doing the selling, she was only the cashier. The problem with counterfeit produce had already been resolved and they were waiting for the product to be collected, but the cops jumped in first, seeing some tea money of course. The cops cannot set bail, this has to be done by the court !

Cops can bail you out - happens all the time.

if it didn't the cop shops would be chokablock of people waiting for their first court appearance.

BTW - I speak from personal experience here. I was arrested, posted bail @ the cop shop and didn't actually ever see the inside of a court at all and this was a criminal offence (fraud). Prior to any court case, I paid the prosecutor a visit, explained the situation and she dropped it there & then.

Then I went back to the cop shop & got my bail money back.

[geriatrickid]

I gotta laugh. No one on this board would use a pirated copy of Windows or watch a pirated movie or read a pirated ebook or possess porn or even download them in torrents, but let some minimum wage Thai cashier get nailed for selling it and watch the indignation, hahaha.

I do not use pirated software for the simple reason of security. The people that develop those awesome infestations usually have downloaded black market software.

I have never purchased a pirated movie. No need. The prices are cheap for the higher quality legit copies.

[tragickingdom]

It is actually quite curious that no more cops on the take are caught on candid camera it is after all the rule not the exception.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Newly MintedThai post # 11

I don't see anything unlawful going on here, other than the shopkeeper selling fake merchandise.

Read the complete article that that is linked and accompanies the video clip and you might well come to understand the situation fully

Read it.

What part is giving you problems, exactly. Looks like "by the book" to me.

The problem seems to be that she was employed as a cashier to "man" the stall, it wasn't her stall, she's not the owner and it wasn't her merchandise that she was selling. This was backed up by the Mall management yet the police are charging her with the crime and not the Mall operators. Hope that clears things up.

Stall AT the mall. Not a cashier working FOR the mall.

EVERYONE who gets arrested tries to pass the buck. So the cops should let her off because she "claims" she's not responsible -- yet the so-called "responsible person" is nowhere to be found? Right.

It's not the cops' call. It's the judge's.

[Seismic]

It's about time that all guilty parties would be taking responsibility instead of shuffling around the blame. The seller in this case is not only a victim, but also a perpetrator by selling those fake goods in the first place (and being fully aware that they're fake), thus equally guilty as the police trying to extort "bail money". If you're selling fake goods you shouldn't be all too surprised that eventually "someone" is going to take that as a pretext for fleecing you one way or another - and it serves you right.

Problem is misterwhisper there is NO responsibility in Thailand, Not one person born in this land will man up and take responsibility for their actions (with a single major and a few minor notable exceptions). The people of Thailand will argue to the death that "its not their fault", "Its not their responsibility", Thai's have the most amazing sloped shoulder teflon feelings of any nation I have ever met. In general, most Thai's are so used to being spoon fed a version of life and are so grateful for the meagre droppings from the Pheu-yai's tables, that they will argue white is black as long as they think they are getting a few pathetic freebies from the "na ayutthayas" who rule them.

[QualityTouristNumberOne]

I gotta laugh. No one on this board would use a pirated copy of Windows or watch a pirated movie or read a pirated ebook or possess porn or even download them in torrents, but let some minimum wage Thai cashier get nailed for selling it and watch the indignation, hahaha.

hit the nail on the head my friend,

if hypocrisy killed half this board would drop dead on the spot....

what am I saying,half...more like 90%.

Edited January 26, 2013 by QualityTouristNumberOne

[ericthai]

Guys, you all got it wrong. cops are ok with people opening a business, whether the goods are fake or not. Every business needs to pay cops a certain amount of money per month. every business, even in shopping malls. so the lady must have decided that she is paying too much to them or she doesnt have enough money left over to live after paying them per month so she refused to pay them. thats when the cops do their job again and catch the illegalities.

not so hard to understand boys and girls

Where do you get your info? I have lived in worked in Thailand for more than 15 years. Owned several business and never had to pay an bribe or fee. My wife owns a shop in the mall selling clothing, same thing never had to pay any police. If you are operating an illegal business then yes, in most cases you do.

[ericthai]

Two things

- firstly if she has committed a crime the normal way to deal with this is due process of law.

Laws are made by governments and the legislative and carried out by the executive.

The police's job is to apprehend the suspect (repeat suspect) and then present the evidence to a judge or similar inna court of law.

It would appear here that the police have arrested, passed judgement and pronounced sentence or bail on this person who has not even been seen by a court.

separation of powers and responsibilities is the key to a good democracy - it looks here as if all the powers ae being executed by and at the discretion of one police officer or a handful of them.

- Secondly - whatever happens here it would seem that this woman has publicly rubbed up the police the wrong way......I hope the media keeps a close eye on what happens to her over the next few months or even years.........

Your due process is a little off. There are things called "bail schedule" where the suspect does not have to appear in court for a bail hearing. There is a set amount for each offence the police can collect that bail amount and release the suspect until their court hearing. So many people talking about what they think they know.

[ericthai]

Interesting.

So what are those thousands of cases being heard at court houses all around the country on a daily basis all about, exactly?

Those are the ones that don't have any money. Don't you know, the only ones in Thai prisons are the ones that cant pay.

I'm joking...somewhat. we all know how Thailand really works.

[Jimjim]

Many of you just don't get it. She was the cashier, not the owner of the shop.

The owner should be the one to be held responsible.

[chainarong]

Could be a good time for a Kodak come back.

[saroq]

NewlyMintedThai wrote: Stall AT the mall. Not a cashier working FOR the mall.

EVERYONE who gets arrested tries to pass the buck. So the cops should let her off because she "claims" she's not responsible -- yet the so-called "responsible person" is nowhere to be found? Right.

It's not the cops' call. It's the judge's.

My reply: You need to read the whole article. The management etc. confirmed that she was not responsible and that she was not the owner of the stall or merchandise being sold. The comments following the story indicate that she is just the cashier. You're right that if she knowingly sold pirated goods then she's guilty, that's not in dispute. The problem is that no attempt was made to hold to account the people who owned and stocked the stall/shop with fake goods. The Mall management could have been easily found by the cops if they bothers to look for them but they didn't they just decided to lay all blame on the cashier. It's easy to say she's guilty so throw the book at her but what employee on a minimal wage is going to say to her boss I'm not selling these, they're fake? You can take a hard line but as another TV poster pointed out how many TV members would find themselves charged with a similar crime with their computers were checked for pirated or illegal content? It seems that the reaction of many of the Thai netizens was that a little understanding by the cops and an at least minimal attempt to arrest the person/people responsible for actually providing the fake goods for sale would have been a more appropriate response.

Edited January 27, 2013 by saroq

[chooka]

People are reading to much into this.

Looks like your average Thai Board Meeting to me. Company directors getting together to discuss the future direction of the corporation.