"Shakedown in Chiang Mai" or just paranoid?

[FolkGuitar]

I don't think many would complain if a 'troll' button was added to complement the 'like' button.

Probably not necessary... There are some posters whose ONLY responses in ThaiVisa to various OPs have been to say 'troll.'

[Chiengmaijoe]

Personally I am not convinced that the story is true. Under normal circumstances I would agree that it was none of my business but if somebody posts something on an Internet forum then I usually feel free to pass comment. Otherwise, what's the point of posting anything here? Open your own website and publish stories there if you want a public platform to air your views and have no interest in discussing them.

@Cloudhopper - I can see what you are saying, regarding not looking for trouble when it's not necessary but if you truly believe that the policeman in question would seek revenge in this instance, surely he would be even more inclined to do so if he were made to lose face in a court case. (I'm not disagreeing that a dash cam could come in handy) The title of the thread is a question, and one that we cannot possibly answer without seeing the video footage. I'm not particularly fussed one way or another but it seems to me to be a waste of time to tell the story, ask the question and then refuse to show the footage.

First of all, whether you believe it or not is obviously not important to the OP, the topic was merely relating an incident where having a camcorder acted as a deterrent. The video itself wasn't important because even though he was there, the OP wasn't absolutely sure himself if it was an attempt at scamming, because they backed down. Posting the video may possibly have repercussions and wouldn't be conclusive, so why post it? Relating the story should be enough, right?

No! The problem that arose from his report was due to the fact that he assumed that people still have an imagination. Fortunately, mine is still intact, so I was able to quite clearly envision such a scenario , decide whether or not a camcorder was a deterrent in such a case, and whether these guys were out to scam. The answer is yes to both questions.

Case closed?

Edited October 10, 2013 by Chiengmaijoe

[beb]

If it's too dangerous to show a video of a non-event because of the possible repercussions from a bent policemen, how will anybody be able to use such a video against a bent policeman in court, when the stakes and therefore the possible retribution, will be much higher? Makes no sense at all.

I follow your logic but your missing one important point..... the camera acted as a deterrent, resolved the problem , and served it's purpose, but more importantly, whether it was in fact a shakedown was open to debate (hence the title) so other than satisfying the need of disbelievers on this forum it isn't necessary to post it. If it happened to me I too would make a point of not posting the video if only because it would annoy the idiots, and disbelievers, that this forum attracts so well. They cry that they don't believe it, but really they do, they just want to see the video. Well done for not posting I say.

Personally I am not convinced that the story is true. Under normal circumstances I would agree that it was none of my business but if somebody posts something on an Internet forum then I usually feel free to pass comment. Otherwise, what's the point of posting anything here? Open your own website and publish stories there if you want a public platform to air your views and have no interest in discussing them.

@Cloudhopper - I can see what you are saying, regarding not looking for trouble when it's not necessary but if you truly believe that the policeman in question would seek revenge in this instance, surely he would be even more inclined to do so if he were made to lose face in a court case. (I'm not disagreeing that a dash cam could come in handy) The title of the thread is a question, and one that we cannot possibly answer without seeing the video footage. I'm not particularly fussed one way or another but it seems to me to be a waste of time to tell the story, ask the question and then refuse to show the footage.

Hmmm, I think I consider forums like this to warrant the same courtesy that I would use in interpersonal interactions. As the saying goes, everybody is 10 feet tall when sitting behind a keyboard, but I really try not to forget basic courtesies.

So if I was sitting at a local bar or restaurant or whatever, and somebody relayed that story, I wouldn't even think to demand they provide me with proof. In the first place, I still don't see the value of making up such a story but more importantly, it would just be rude and jerky to do so. Now I've had people tell me some pretty tall stories over time and I've doubted the veracity of many, but it's been rare that I've thought it absolutely critical that I call them out and get to the bottom of it all. It's just not important.

[inthepink]

If it's too dangerous to show a video of a non-event because of the possible repercussions from a bent policemen, how will anybody be able to use such a video against a bent policeman in court, when the stakes and therefore the possible retribution, will be much higher? Makes no sense at all.

I follow your logic but your missing one important point..... the camera acted as a deterrent, resolved the problem , and served it's purpose, but more importantly, whether it was in fact a shakedown was open to debate (hence the title) so other than satisfying the need of disbelievers on this forum it isn't necessary to post it. If it happened to me I too would make a point of not posting the video if only because it would annoy the idiots, and disbelievers, that this forum attracts so well. They cry that they don't believe it, but really they do, they just want to see the video. Well done for not posting I say.

Personally I am not convinced that the story is true. Under normal circumstances I would agree that it was none of my business but if somebody posts something on an Internet forum then I usually feel free to pass comment. Otherwise, what's the point of posting anything here? Open your own website and publish stories there if you want a public platform to air your views and have no interest in discussing them.

@Cloudhopper - I can see what you are saying, regarding not looking for trouble when it's not necessary but if you truly believe that the policeman in question would seek revenge in this instance, surely he would be even more inclined to do so if he were made to lose face in a court case. (I'm not disagreeing that a dash cam could come in handy) The title of the thread is a question, and one that we cannot possibly answer without seeing the video footage. I'm not particularly fussed one way or another but it seems to me to be a waste of time to tell the story, ask the question and then refuse to show the footage.

Hmmm, I think I consider forums like this to warrant the same courtesy that I would use in interpersonal interactions. As the saying goes, everybody is 10 feet tall when sitting behind a keyboard, but I really try not to forget basic courtesies.

So if I was sitting at a local bar or restaurant or whatever, and somebody relayed that story, I wouldn't even think to demand they provide me with proof. In the first place, I still don't see the value of making up such a story but more importantly, it would just be rude and jerky to do so. Now I've had people tell me some pretty tall stories over time and I've doubted the veracity of many, but it's been rare that I've thought it absolutely critical that I call them out and get to the bottom of it all. It's just not important.

I don't think I have been discourteous and I haven't "demanded" anything. I have merely voiced my opinion that I find it hard to understand why the OP wouldn't show the video in question. If you told me this story at a bar I probably wouldn't believe you either. As to why anybody would make anything like this up....just how long have you lived here and how many expats have you met? (no disrespect to the OP intended but a large percentage of foreigners living in Thailand are full of it, hence many people's reticence to believe anything they hear or read without proof).

Edited October 10, 2013 by inthepink

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Well if we have learned ANYTHING for the future it's this.

If you claim to have photo/video or other evidence while making a controversial claim then be 100% prepared to offer some/any evidence or be wide open to be labeled a sociopathic troll.

When initially challenged the OP could have just claimed it was not actually captured or recorded but then proceeded to dig a deeper hole by bluffing the video could be posted on youtube.

If the OP story was a troll then it was not a well thought out strategy for credibility.

WTK zeroed in on zero risk middle ground of just posting a few non incriminating stills and all we heard was the sound of crickets.

I say it's rookie troll mistakes. Not thinking ahead.

[beb]

I don't think I have been discourteous and I haven't "demanded" anything. I have merely voiced my opinion that I find it hard to understand why the OP wouldn't show the video in question. If you told me this story at a bar I probably wouldn't believe you either. As to why anybody would make anything like this up....just how long have you lived here and how many expats have you met? (no disrespect to the OP intended but a large percentage of foreigners living in Thailand are full of it, hence many people's reticence to believe anything they hear or read without proof).

I've been here a couple of years but TV plays a pretty minimal role in my life. I don't really get too emotionally invested in the discussions here. I use it to get info from others and hopefully to relay good info that I come across.

I've watched the most mundane subjects (I remember one was about the price of sausage or something like that) turn into flame wars on TV where neither poster would dare back down because they were so invested in their particular position. I don't remember how that particular battle (the price of sausages at Rimping I think) played out but I'm sure it continued for pages and pages.

So maybe there are some ne're do wells coming here and making up blatant lies about something that happened just so they can convince everybody to go buy a dashcam. Maybe that's really what's going on. Maybe they aren't posting video because they made up a story, that isn't much of a story really when you think about it, just because they wanted to revel in the glory of tricking a bunch of rubes like me. Maybe they're cackling and rubbing their hands together right now and doing the math in their head about how many millions they're going to rake in because of the great dashcam scam of 2013. Maybe that's all happening right now.

[onthedarkside]

This topic is now just attracting negative posts - CLOSED

Apologies to the OP - I found your report quite useful.