Bangkok Police Launch Sweep of Pattaya Bars

[britmaveric]

Bangkok Police Launch Sweep of Pattaya Bars.

PATTAYA: -- On Thursday evening a squad of 70 Bangkok-based police decided it was time they had a little sojourn into the fleshpots of Pattaya and spent some hours wandering about the various beer bar complexes and go-go bars as well as a couple of the more infamous soapy massage joints.

Accompanied by a frothing gaggle of media hacks, all armed with television cameras as well as the latest in still digital cameras, the upstanding men and women of the Bangkok police force visited the Sabailand Massage Parlour on Second Road, at the corner of Soi 3 if any of you are not quite sure where to find it. Here they interviewed a number of the more attractive and younger looking girls, asking them to produce their Identification cards in order to prove that they were all over the legal age to engage in activities involving water, soap and excitable men.

Satisfied with this, the police troop then moved onto a number of beer bars in the Soi 2 area and once again were compelled to chat with the more attractive and younger looking girls, checking identification cards and asking about the health and well-being of sundry family members and farmyard stock.

Then it was into a couple of the go-go bars where many members of the media were excited to find a large number of ladies who were wearing g-string bikinis. The flashbulbs of the cameras in the media scrum helped to really light up the dressing rooms and general area of the chrome pole palaces while the very professional police persons asked the girls to produce their ID cards. Most of the girls were forced to go into their lockers in order to show the plastic cards, explaining it was difficult to keep the card on their person when dressed in not much more than a pair of boots and a smile.

A senior policemen told one bar owner that the 2:00AM closing time should be enforced and that staying open later than this is against the law. The bar owner allegedly told the policeman that he paid a little extra money each month in order to stay open later, but the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon. He warned the bar owner to be wary of mafia types who tried to pass themselves off as policemen in order to extort money from law-abiding citizens.

-- Pattaya City News 2006-08-18

.

[Buckwheat]

"A senior policemen told one bar owner that the 2:00AM closing time should be enforced"

When did the bar closing times change til 0200 am.? Last I heard, it was 0100 am.

[dboy]

police, mafia , what one wears brown

[davethailand]

I'm hoping that story is meant in a sarcastic way (otherwise its the biggest load of crap i've read)

the upstanding men and women of the Bangkok police force

[wilko]

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

Love it!

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

[markokang]

well I liked your story and am happy to hear that you're giving our fine constabulary the hearing they deserve:)

[nikster]

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

Love it!

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

ROFL

[astral]

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

Love it!

Hillarious.

[Jeff1]

So all's well that ends....happy . Glad to hear it .

[Ling Kae]

I thought the girls were all bullsh!tting that they were visited. In the last 2 days they have toned it down quite a lot, it happens from time. Last night was the quietest Friday night I have seen in a long time and the Go Go's were pretty empty. It will be business as usual in a weeks time.

[I wonder]

entertaining and amusing well written OP..............

Edited August 19, 2006 by barnstormin

[yankeechief]

the Bangkok officer said whoever he paid the money to it couldn’t possibly be a genuine member of the constabulary, as this sort of thing was frowned upon.

Love it!

Hillarious.

Police corruption, unthinkable here in Thailand. I just got out of the bar business, and it is a different reason to pay every night.

[brahmburgers]

Of course the cops will cordon the youngest, cutest gals - rather than talk seriously with the bar owners or older girls. Similarly, cops here in Chiang Rai, whenever they do a "helmet and ID' stop - 95% of the people they detain are beautiful young girls - who are naturally giggly, nervous, compliant, scared, a bit angry, and perhaps willing to do a little tit for tat to avoid a 200 baht fine. Certainly tel#'s are occassionally garnered (am I jealous? yes). Incidentally, in 8 years of daily driving in the region, I have never seen a ticket written for driving thru a red light or speeding or driving on wrong side of the road or a pick-up overloaded with kids, or for any of the dangerous things that transpire continually here.

[kmart]

Your tax dollars at work,.....

Looks like the circus is back in town.

[sanget]

What was not answered is "Did they find any scofflaws?" I saw the herd of boys in Brown and women too, but I thought it was only an attempt to extort,errr, make sure that the appropriate payment had been received.

[wolfmanjack]

Of course the cops will cordon the youngest, cutest gals - rather than talk seriously with the bar owners or older girls. Similarly, cops here in Chiang Rai, whenever they do a "helmet and ID' stop - 95% of the people they detain are beautiful young girls - who are naturally giggly, nervous, compliant, scared, a bit angry, and perhaps willing to do a little tit for tat to avoid a 200 baht fine. Certainly tel#'s are occassionally garnered (am I jealous? yes). Incidentally, in 8 years of daily driving in the region, I have never seen a ticket written for driving thru a red light or speeding or driving on wrong side of the road or a pick-up overloaded with kids, or for any of the dangerous things that transpire continually here.

I have been stopped many times. I drive to bkk twice a year and have never failed to get stopped by the airport trap. The last time was for having 2 small boxes in the back of my pickup truck. I paid my 200 baht and off i went. In 10 years i have been ticketed twice. The first time I was not guilty of anything wrong and I had to go sit at the station for several hours until the uniform had time to take my 400 baht. Then I had to listen to a lecture about how bad of a person I was for violating the traffic laws of thailand. This really pissed me off since i was not guilty of anything and something like 90% could not get an 80% on a test on thai driving laws. After that i realized paying 200 baht every time I was asked was a better deal than arguing with them.

The second and last time I was ticketed I did do what they said I did even though i did not know it was a problem. I tried to explain that i did know that it was illegal to change lanes a few 100 meters before the traffic light and if I had known I definately would not have done it in front of all of the police standing by the road. He would not take the 200 baht I offered and I had to pay the 400 baht and sign the ticket. Then he went and paid the fine for me.

[sabaijai]

"A senior policemen told one bar owner that the 2:00AM closing time should be enforced"

When did the bar closing times change til 0200 am.? Last I heard, it was 0100 am.

According to the current national sathaan bawrikaan (service establishment) code:

Bar license 1am

Live music license 1am

Disco license 2am

Massage parlour license 12 midnight

Restaurant license 24 hrs

[I wonder]

Of course the cops will cordon the youngest, cutest gals - rather than talk seriously with the bar owners or older girls. Similarly, cops here in Chiang Rai, whenever they do a "helmet and ID' stop - 95% of the people they detain are beautiful young girls - who are naturally giggly, nervous, compliant, scared, a bit angry, and perhaps willing to do a little tit for tat to avoid a 200 baht fine. Certainly tel#'s are occassionally garnered (am I jealous? yes). Incidentally, in 8 years of daily driving in the region, I have never seen a ticket written for driving thru a red light or speeding or driving on wrong side of the road or a pick-up overloaded with kids, or for any of the dangerous things that transpire continually here.

I have been stopped many times. I drive to bkk twice a year and have never failed to get stopped by the airport trap. The last time was for having 2 small boxes in the back of my pickup truck. I paid my 200 baht and off i went. In 10 years i have been ticketed twice. The first time I was not guilty of anything wrong and I had to go sit at the station for several hours until the uniform had time to take my 400 baht. Then I had to listen to a lecture about how bad of a person I was for violating the traffic laws of thailand. This really pissed me off since i was not guilty of anything and something like 90% could not get an 80% on a test on thai driving laws. After that i realized paying 200 baht every time I was asked was a better deal than arguing with them.

The second and last time I was ticketed I did do what they said I did even though i did not know it was a problem. I tried to explain that i did know that it was illegal to change lanes a few 100 meters before the traffic light and if I had known I definately would not have done it in front of all of the police standing by the road. He would not take the 200 baht I offered and I had to pay the 400 baht and sign the ticket. Then he went and paid the fine for me.

Ah yes the famous airport trap..........................see the pale hand and wave us over and if it's a national holiday coming up look out!!.........fotunately now some of the toll booths have gone and there are less chances for them.

[tuky]

Howard seems to be on leave, the recent stories written by the journo in Howards absence have been quite flowery and amusing.

Like the guy that found the bomb, he was apparently sitting around comtemplating life and the price of kao pat gai.

It is a refreshing change.

[ray23]

This was the same thing that happened in Udon around the first of the year. But this not being Pattaya it had a tremendous effect here, about 60% of what was here is gone. What is here is now hidden very well just like it used to be and they are not farrang friendly. Don't suppose that helped thier tea money much, but they didn't seem to care.

Udon got busy because of a Stickman report, funny to see how disappointed people are who come here looking for Pattaya action, just not here. For this Issan guy Pattaya is a wonderful place to visit from time to time just like Vegas was in the states. I doubt they will have the same effect there nor did they intend to.

[libya 115]

Howard seems to be on leave, the recent stories written by the journo in Howards absence have been quite flowery and amusing.

Like the guy that found the bomb, he was apparently sitting around comtemplating life and the price of kao pat gai.

It is a refreshing change.

I have noticed that the latest news reports on Pattaya News Channel have been more than 'flowery and amusing': They have been sarcastic and disrespectful in the extreme (To Thai authority).

Now, this does not bother me, and some sarcastic news reports have made me smile, but one must remember that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, and I feel that if a 'smart Thai' were to 'cotton -on' to these sarcastic daily news reports then somebody, somewhere, might well end up in hot water.

[deminister]

The police must have been understadably upset about the payments, all the men in brown being it military, police, immigration or government workers, are all standup people. The never ectort any money, all donations are on a volunatry basis.

[jobsworth]

Why is it that they always target the pretty girls?

They are not underage.

Then the pretty girls get frightened and run away.

This leaves a vacuum and the seasoned old pros replace them.

This leaves a vacuum and the ladyboys are quick to move in.

Then the ladyboys are replaced by homosexuals.

This is why Pattaya has become a mecca for homosexuals.

Is this what they want to achieve?

[jobsworth]

Could someone please explain to me what is the "airport trap".

About a year ago I went to Bangkok to buy 2 wooden doors.

I hired a pickup truck and driver to transport me and the 2 doors to my condo in Pattaya.

They were well roped down and hanging slightly over the back.

Maybe this is an offense.

Sure enough we got stopped just after the toll booth on the expressway near the airport.

The police spoke only to the driver,

who then passed him a 100 Baht note wrapped in a tourist brochure.

I would not have done this.

The driver would not explain the problem to me but only smiled.

Is it an offense to carry goods in a pickup truck?

Or am I missing out on something.

[jdinasia]

Why is it that they always target the pretty girls?

They are not underage.

Then the pretty girls get frightened and run away.

This leaves a vacuum and the seasoned old pros replace them.

This leaves a vacuum and the ladyboys are quick to move in.

Then the ladyboys are replaced by homosexuals.

This is why Pattaya has become a mecca for homosexuals.

Is this what they want to achieve?

perhaps they want you to be more comfortable?

<what's with the gay baiting in a thread that has nothing to do with gays?>

[mrbojangles]

What i don't understand is, why do the Bangkok police have to come to Patters? Doesn't this undermine the local BIB? It would be like the Police in Manchester (UK) going to Birmingham and saying "you are doing a &lt;deleted&gt; job, so we're gonna take over". It just wouldn't happen.

[Charma]

It was the BKK Police day out. Last year they went to Butlins, but not too much action there!

[britmaveric]

Elections are coming I think it was more for show - hence all the reporters with them. Didnt nick anyone either.

[davethailand]

Elections are coming I think it was more for show - hence all the reporters with them. Didnt nick anyone either.

One cafe and one bar were hit with 30 day shutdowns for underage customers.

Age checks are still being carried out.

[jdinasia]

What i don't understand is, why do the Bangkok police have to come to Patters? Doesn't this undermine the local BIB? It would be like the Police in Manchester (UK) going to Birmingham and saying "you are doing a &lt;deleted&gt; job, so we're gonna take over". It just wouldn't happen.

It is common practice here ... an 'elite' group of police that check on the efficacy of local police or step in when the local police may be implicated