Big money bribe

[Loptr]

I am wondering why you were so eager to go meet him in a hotel? Im assuming you were afraid and you did not know that not having a license is about as serious as not wearing a helmet around here.

The hotel bit is a bit strange, was he hoping they didn't have the cash ? Not a real cop ?

I have been asked to pull into hotel parking lots when making "official" payments for traffic offenses. No prying eyes as there are sitting on the side of the road.

[JetsetBkk]

Was this going to or from your hi so party event?

Neither. She was just on her way to the cheap grocers...

[taotoo]

Call your embassy, they can fix all this and get your money back.

[David48]

Call your embassy, they can fix all this and get your money back.

Classic advise ...

.

[Gsxrnz]

OP - you really need to get more streetwise about Thailand. Didn't you do ANY reading up about scams and the like before you came here? After the market affair I thought you would have taken the time to gain some street-smarts.

My son was here last year, same age as you, and he was in a range of situations with vendors and police similar to you and had no problem getting unstuck for the usual amount of tea money. After getting stopped 4 times for no licence he decided that getting a Thai license was the answer - got car and bike license the next day.

One of his friends broke a taxi drivers little plastic chair on Beach Road near W/S while drunk - sat on it for a joke and broke it. Police were called and 3,000 baht compensation was asked for. My son wandered around the corner and bought an old chair from another taxi driver for 500 baht (yeah, cheaper at Tesco I know), gave the taxi driver the chair, uttered many apologies in Thai and dragged his mate away.

My point being that your relative youth should not limit your ability to extricate yourself from a scam situation if you bother to EDUCATE yourself.

Suggest you stay indoors for a day and do some googling about how to survive here.

EDIT: Here's some pre-advice for your next scam. When you return your rental scooter be prepared for the 5,000 baht "damages" claim. Did you thoroughly inspect it before you hired it and make a big show of checking the rental sheet that should show all damages? Or take a video of the bike before you rented it so you can show the nice man that the damage was there before you took possession? Also, you better read up on how to handle a minor ding with another scooter, because I can see a situation where a 500 baht scrape will cost you 20,000 baht.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Gsxrnz

[DiNiro]

This police officer needs to be reported to his superiors

[David48]

OP - you really need to get more streetwise about Thailand. Didn't you do ANY reading up about scams and the like before you came here?

According to the OP, it's not her first visit to Thailand.

Imagine what happened on that first visit ...

101 stories left untold ...

EDIT:- placing the hyper-link

.

Edited June 20, 2013 by David48

[ThaidDown]

This police officer needs to be reported to his superiors

Agreed, 3,000 is a lot for one traffic stop and the officer may have skimmed more than acceptable before passing on the superiors share. He should not be allowed to get away with that.

[Gsxrnz]

This police officer needs to be reported to his superiors

Yes, he'll be in line for promotion with a 15/1 ratio improvement on one scam.

[2008bangkok]

No license is a 500 baht fine and that's it. No need to bribe, no deportation, no vehicle confiscation.Just for your information, if it happens again.

Just got unlucky this time round.

The max fine for not having your license on you is 2000 baht

[cgphuket]

Not personally, but plenty say they have. Just ask for a ticket and you will pay at the station, a few hundred baht. You won't get deported over a traffic offense whether real or made up by the copper. Certainly don't go down any alleys with them.

#1 don't carry your passport; carry a photocopy.

#2 pay a reasonable fine on the spot or go to the police station.

#3 Never go in an alley with a Thai criminal.. I mean police.

#4 Whenever possible (not always possible), don't stop, most cops are too lazy to chase you, they just wait for the next pigeon.

[Jasun]

The worst part of this story is that this cop will now be pulling over a lot more farangs thinking he can con 3000 baht out of them, and won't be too happy with the standard fine.

[martynsnowmans]

2. He probably thought that hamming up the drama and making things sound really serious would ensure he got a high amount..... unfortunately we are 2 young, white girls that stand out like a sore thumb

your lucky he did,nt want to do a full body seach for drugs , your friend would be naked in a flash

just to help the BIB ....

[DiNiro]

Shameless, theiving cowards, Thai police.

[topt]

Did the OP "mislay" her Aussie licence or an IDP?

Whichever she may want to consider getting a Thai licence if she is here a lot as my understanding is driving with a home country licence is not legal and the IDP is only valid for, I think, 3 months at a stretch.

If you lived in Thailand before you would of course be aware of this.....

[greg71]

Id say go home and reassess your time here,Thailand and you dont seem to be a good fit,would you ride a motorbike on the streets of Australia unlicensed?Go get a license or its that too expensive as well ,id hate to think of the fine you would pay if you hit a kid and killed them with no insurance etc.Common sense doesnt prevail here and your the perfect example

[joeaverage]

Why was your friend so eager to pay would be a better question.

i'll bet the 'friend' is in league with the police.

they have probably been planning .the heist for months.

this was far too well executed to be coincidence or bad luck.

And, if you dont mind my asking, what was your friend doing in an alleyway with such a vast sum of cash?

rings a few alarm bells to anyone who has been around the block like me.

Edited June 21, 2013 by joeaverage

[David48]

Why was your friend so eager to pay would be a better question.

i'll bet the 'friend' is in league with the police.

they have probably been planning .the heist for months.

this was far too well executed to be coincidence or bad luck.

And, if you dont mind my asking, what was your friend doing in an alleyway with such a vast sum of cash?

rings a few alarm bells to anyone who has been around the block like me.

You haven't really read the OP ... have you ...

.

[soi41]

Why was your friend so eager to pay would be a better question.

i'll bet the 'friend' is in league with the police.

they have probably been planning .the heist for months.

this was far too well executed to be coincidence or bad luck.

And, if you dont mind my asking, what was your friend doing in an alleyway with such a vast sum of cash?

rings a few alarm bells to anyone who has been around the block like me.

I the quoted post is anything to go by, you need a few more rounds around the block!

On the the other hand, what better way to start a new day, than with a good old fashion conspiracy theory.

[joeaverage]

jesus, are you people immune to irony?

read some of the responses to danish man robbed in pattaya and see if my post rings any bells.

god save me from the obtuse and literal minded.

perhaps an idiotic smiley would have helped you along

[Eesat]

I am wondering why you were so eager to go meet him in a hotel? Im assuming you were afraid and you did not know that not having a license is about as serious as not wearing a helmet around here.

My very first question to Captain Somchai would be "Why on earth do we have to meet you at a hotel?"

My first question to,your friend would be"Why on earth are you paying this corrupt fool such an extortionate amount of money?"

My first question to myself would be"<deleted> am I doing sitting down an alleyway with the most corrupt civil servants in South-East Asia,who have been known to shoot tourists before no questions asked,with someone who is greener than an Isaan rice-planting?"

[Eesat]

I think that you know deep down, having stayed here the length of time that you have and the fact that you have done some work in Thailand that the fine was well over the top.

I like reading your stories ...

.

No I don't know 'deep down', I know on the surface! As said my friend just whipped out all the money she had and handed it over. Which obviously was my money because I can't let her be responsible for cop bribe when I was driving. And think of it from her perspective; she is 19 and from the USA. If the cops tell you to do something in the US its wise to co-operate.

Oh, I have about 101 other strange stories but I'm not about to publish all those on TV.

When can we expect to see your book in print,"How to be the world's most clueless tourist."?

Or should we wait for the next series of "Locked Up Abroad",from The Bangkok Hilton,when someone asks you to just carry a bag through customs for them?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

You have a very steap learning-curve ahead of you, if you are going to enjoy your time here!

What you and your friend did, was just plain stupid!

Nope I wouldn't have handed over 3000 baht. My friend did without my agreeing.

Yes I did meet him at the hotel as I presummed I could pay him a less than 500 baht bribe and be on my way.

She paid, her problem, not yours.

PS

Single or couple of girls, don't go anywhere with a policeman.

Sex is considered an easy alternative to a bribe.

Meet him at a hotel, I'm thinking he was after sex with one of you.

Edited June 21, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[pattayadingo]

i paid out 1,000 Baht.

That was for a dual offence - speeding and no car drivers licence on me (I'd left it at home).

Maybe I could have got it for less but that would have meant going to the police station in Bangkok in an area I did not know. To me it was easier and more convenient to pay on the spot.

Apart from that it has usually been 200 or 400 Baht for traffic offences ranging from running an amber light to no helmet on a m/c.

[David48]

You have a very steap learning-curve ahead of you, if you are going to enjoy your time here!

What you and your friend did, was just plain stupid!

Nope I wouldn't have handed over 3000 baht. My friend did without my agreeing.

Yes I did meet him at the hotel as I presummed I could pay him a less than 500 baht bribe and be on my way.

She paid, her problem, not yours.

Attention to detail Sir ...

She wrote...

Needless to say I was responsible for the 3000 baht so had to give to my friend when we got home. I consoled myself by thinking that a fine in Australia would have been a lot more.

[Payboy]

He said I was driving in a lane where only buses are allowed.

Which part of Sukhumvit Rd is that?

[Beetlejuice]

Really?

Firstly, the OP says he has his own motorbike, which to me suggests he stays in Thailand long term. So why is he driving on an Australian driving license? And why is he renewing or obtaining a copy of the license he alleges he misplaced, in Australia?

The OP says the policeman said; he was going to fingerprint him, take him to immigration and would probably be deported. What, for a minor traffic offence? Immigration would have laughed this clown out of the office. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would fall for that. I think even a naive tourist fresh off the boat would question this.

My questions for the OP:

How long has he and his friend been staying in Thailand?

And if he owns his own motorbike, why does he not have a Thai driving license?

Whereabouts would you find somewhere to sit in a back lane way?

Is there more involved with this, than the OP is letting on? Because this story simply doesn`t make sense.

Edited June 21, 2013 by Beetlejuice

[David48]

Firstly, the OP says he has his own motorbike, which to me suggests he stays in Thailand long term. So why is he driving on an Australian driving license? And why is he renewing or obtaining a copy of the license he alleges he misplaced, in Australia?

BJ ... also ... attention to detail please!

2. He probably thought that hamming up the drama and making things sound really serious would ensure he got a high amount..... unfortunately we are 2 young, white girls that stand out like a sore thumb.

[justben]

You guys are very harsh. So the OP isn't naturally streetsmart, so what... I'm sure in due time and many bahts later she will eventually learn. Live and learn right?

[David48]

You guys are very harsh. So the OP isn't naturally streetsmart, so what... I'm sure in due time and many bahts later she will eventually learn. Live and learn right?

You know the OP lived in Thailand previously?

So this is not the first visit.

.