Heads up on police checkpoint

[monkeyboots]

Just for info...

A friend's Thai wife, daughter, Mum and cousin were recently driving up to Chiang Rai It was a trip for Mum on Mum's day and a break from BKK. They got pulled at a checkpoint not far from Chiang Rai. The cousin, twenty something young Thai man, was asked to get out and provide a sample though there was no reason given and no evidence of any wrong doing. He was a bit intimidated and nervous but provided one. The police then said they needed a larger sample and produced a jug of water and asked him to drink from that. Being surrounded by police and only being a naive young man, he did as he was asked. He then provided a further sample which they claimed was positive and said 60k and prison, or 10k and he could go.  They also made him sign a long document which admitted guilt without allowing time to read it. Heated argument ensued from his auntie and Mum with the BiB and finally 7k was paid and they were allowed to go.

 

Just a heads up. Not sure of the best way to deal with this but maybe a recording, audio/visual of some sort up on social media and sent to someone upstairs may be a start. Easier said than done though.

 

Cheers.

[naboo]

Did your friend get asked to stump up the 7k?

 

And was the 20 something young man really a cousin?

Edited August 14, 2014 by naboo

[monkeyboots]

Did your friend get asked to stump up the 7k?

 

And was the 20 something young man really a cousin?

 

That was the 'negotiated' settlement after much complaint from his mum and aunt. Yes, he was the cousin of my friend's wife and he was with his mum.

[jonwilly]

I have debated this subject on several occasions with long term Frang friends.

All have made 'contributions' to the Police. All where guilty of the offence.

I had lunch yesterday with 3, one here since 1960 a second celebrating 50 years in Thailand and the third who worked for JUSMAG as a not so young pup in the 60's.

None of us have ever been shook down for a non offence.

I have heard many/dozens of 'Well this guy I know was ripped off big time by the Police'.

I don't call strangers liers, too old for that but sympathize with anyone who genuinely falls foul of the law when innocent.

 

john

[roger1999]

If this sort of stuff really happened we would be hearing about it all the time.  

[iainiain101]

Did the police get a good look at his eyes and then ask for the sample? Edited August 14, 2014 by iainiain101

[elektrified]

I only hear about this kind of stuff on the Internet. None of my Thai friends (going back 25 years now that I can recall) have ever been shook down or paid a Satang in a bribe to a policeman.

[96tehtarp]

Thanks to the OP for the heads up.

 

I don't know anything about the 20 y/o cousin or his habits or character. However methamphetamine use is very popular in Thailand. Maybe he took a quarter tab for a long drive. Maybe. I don't know.

 

The OP mentions they gave him a second test to confirm the results of the first. Then he signed a confession admitting guilt.

 

Most of my experience involving police payoffs have involved guilt on one side or the other.

 

Did the OP have the opportunity to see the test results from the second test?

[worgeordie]

I have driven to Chiang Rai  many times,while my daughter was at

MFU Uni, for 4 years, and lots of times before that,and never once

have i ever been stopped at a check point,must kook at my face and

think he looks an honest guy ! and always wave me through.

 

In the daytime there are not many,if at all check points,but at night

they all seem to be working,looking for drug smugglers,most likely,

so in daylight hours they seem to get a free pass?

regards Worgeordie.

PS maybe more to this story,than is been told.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I have driven to Chiang Rai  many times,while my daughter was at

MFU Uni, for 4 years, and lots of times before that,and never once

have i ever been stopped at a check point,must kook at my face and

think he looks an honest guy ! and always wave me through.

 

 

They rarely stop white foreigners.

Checkpoints are looking for Asian illegal workers.

CR-CM is a people trafficking and drug smuggling route.

Edited August 15, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[onthedarkside]

I have driven to Chiang Rai  many times,while my daughter was at
MFU Uni, for 4 years, and lots of times before that,and never once
have i ever been stopped at a check point,must kook at my face and
think he looks an honest guy ! and always wave me through.

 
They rarely stop white foreigners.
Checkpoints are looking for Asian illegal workers.
CR-CM is a people trafficking and drug smuggling route.

Yes, there are few checks in the day time, different story at night. I remember one time I was stopped and the officer was less than friendly, gave me a hard time asking about why we were on the road at night. Thankfully my wife (Thai) got him to back off by explaining we had misjudged the time to go from CM to CR, and we were returning much later than we had planned.

[FolkGuitar]

Beer passes through me pretty quickly. So does tea.  But 'quickly' is a relative term.

But I've never had get ANYTHING pass through me in just a few minutes, no matter how much I drink.

It takes time for the human body to process liquids. It's not just a straight open pipe from mouth to urethra.

[true blue]

been stopped a few times on that route,was if i rember the last time there was a army take over,and once wanted to look at goods puchased in burma but only cursury,not been to chiang rai, in the last few years,it is a bit intimidating though the check points.

[heybruce]

Thanks to the OP for the heads up.

 

I don't know anything about the 20 y/o cousin or his habits or character. However methamphetamine use is very popular in Thailand. Maybe he took a quarter tab for a long drive. Maybe. I don't know.

 

The OP mentions they gave him a second test to confirm the results of the first. Then he signed a confession admitting guilt.

 

Most of my experience involving police payoffs have involved guilt on one side or the other.

 

Did the OP have the opportunity to see the test results from the second test?

 

The situation as described was clearly a police shakedown, so guilt on the part of the police is a given.  It is unclear, and perhaps the OP doesn't know with certainty, if the test results really were positive, or the penalties described were accurate.
 

[Thighlander]

I heard a farang complain they cut up his car seat looking for contraband at one of those checkpoints.  I've almost always been on the bus, and they've looked through my bag a few times; usually pretty polite.  Seen a black lab once or twice, but I don't think it was a real drug dog.  Holidays are why I have a home...always a lot of bad stuff happening out on the roads.  Used to only go to Oakland A's games on Tuesday nights, because they only seemed to really put the "web" out on weekends.  As long as you didn't crash; you were fine.  I know they had eye pupil charts 20 years ago in the States...the gung-ho cops used to love to make probable cause based on pupils.  They probably know, here, also.  They were even doing nose swipes in Tucson until the number of people being prosecuted was reaching critical mass, and the civil libertarians were able to get it ruled as unreasonable.  The positives were quite high; like 70%.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Thighlander