Police: New Shake-Down Racket?

[loumaripol]

A letter in the Post today described police hanging around the Eastern Bus Terminal stopping tourists and searching their bags. The claimed to find porn on one person's phone, The writter also claimed that a friend was stopped exiting the Lotus on Rama IV and had his camera bag searched. The police claimed to find porn images on his memory card - he paid out of fear of worse accusations. Today my hair dresser said he saw the same sort of activity on Thong Lor. He is frightened to caryr his prescription medicine as a result.

Two questions:

1. Can anyone offer factual information on the authority of the police to search the property of random individuals (Farang from what has bee told to me)?

2. Are there anyother members aware of this?

Thanks and regards,

Lou

[DP25]

They've been doing that occasionally at the Ekkamai bus station and around Thonglor for years. Yeah it does happen and people do have to pay if they have fake viagra or something on them. Or even worse, a joint. Never heard about cameras being searched for porn, but it wouldn't surprise me as it is technically illegal so they could extort you for it. I have been randomly stopped before in Bangkok and searched but had nothing on me so they just let me go on my way.

[loumaripol]

Thanks DP. I am inclined to politliy refuse since they planting of evidence has been confirmed in the past. The shoplifitng scam at BKK for example. Basicly it is business as usual. Each individua;l has to make their own risk assesment.

[TheFishman1]

So like what new?

[Styx]

they check if farangs don't have fake viagra but the thing it's being sold all around nana doesn't bother them at all

[bigbamboo]

Certainly it is not beyond the police to plant stuff.

There was that case during the infamous Drug Crackdown where an injured victim was searched by police in his hospital bed and drugs were found on him. Bang to rights you would have thought, except that unknown to the police he had been x ray-ed on admission only a short while earlier..... and you can guess the rest.

Lucky escape.

[jamhar]

Thanks DP. I am inclined to politliy refuse since they planting of evidence has been confirmed in the past. The shoplifitng scam at BKK for example. Basicly it is business as usual. Each individua;l has to make their own risk assesment.

You need to pick your battles.

Chance that you can fight and win is minimal

Chance that you can get publicity and effect change is even less

The odds are that you'll bring a lot of greif on yourself, still end up paying, and have no effect on anything.

I say pay, move on, and live to fight another day.

Just being practical buddy, Not being disrespectiful or trying to bring you down.

[Livinginexile]

They've been doing that occasionally at the Ekkamai bus station and around Thonglor for years. Yeah it does happen and people do have to pay if they have fake viagra or something on them. Or even worse, a joint. Never heard about cameras being searched for porn, but it wouldn't surprise me as it is technically illegal so they could extort you for it. I have been randomly stopped before in Bangkok and searched but had nothing on me so they just let me go on my way.

Yes I have been searched twice coming out of the Ekkamai bus terminal, last time about 2 years ago.

They searched everything, checked passport, visa, even checked my camera.

I had a work visa at that time and my Thai wife was with me, she told me (through the police chatter to each other) they were looking for small amounts of ganga in tourist back packs. There was a couple of other guys being searched at the same time, looked like older long term residents, one of them was going off his tree! Not sure what happened as I left them too it.