Migrants home after Thai jail for unwittingly bringing one too many cartons of cigarettes

[geovalin]

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Two Cambodian migrant workers were repatriated on Tuesday evening after spending more than a month and a half in a Thai jail for unwittingly bringing one too many cartons of cigarettes into the country.

Cambodians Ngar Ros, 39, and Phea Tan, 22, were arrested in June while carrying three cartons of cigarettes each across the border to find work in Thailand, Sin Nam Yung, deputy director of migrant worker coordination at Poipet town, said yesterday.

“They were sentenced to 48 days in prison by Sa Kaeo provincial court after they realised that they are legal workers and had the light pink cards issued by Thai authorities, and had brought cigarettes in over the legal limit to use themselves while they worked in that province,” she said, adding that Thai law only permits visitors to bring in two packs of cigarettes.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/migrants-home-after-thai-jail-stint

[ezzra]

Seriously? 48 days jail for having one carton of cigarettes over the limit? what is this? N. Korea here?

have the judge gone mad or his GF jilted him the night before? try to do this in Bkk and see what happened....

[4evermaat]

TiT

[khwaibah]

Ask the farangs that get busted at the Buriram crossing and Chong Chom for this and have paid upwards of 50,000 baht fine.

[kamahele]

Wow, that's harsh.

[z42]

And yet the girl who killed 9 people driving illegally and recklessly didn't spend even 1 second in jail. Simply shows that the notion of karma and justice are very much lies

[SOTIRIOS]

...that is bloody insane.....

[lee b]

wow its the first time ive heard this. A bit steep for 3 paks of cigs.

[Baerboxer]

And yet the girl who killed 9 people driving illegally and recklessly didn't spend even 1 second in jail. Simply shows that the notion of karma and justice are very much lies

Demonstrates very clearly who your family is and how much money there is dictates how you will be treated.

A sort of economy, business and first class approach to the law.

[mercman24]

non - smoker myself , someone told me fags were cheap here ??

[ggt]

While Thailand slowly implodes with political unrest, economy in free-fall, drought, rice production declining, tourist going elsewhere, value of Thai baht declining, separatists killing folks in the South...Thailand feels the need to set an example by jailing migrants for having too many cigarettes...why not just take the excess cigarettes and fine them a few hundred baht and then spend time on more pressing matters...This is Thailand...

If you watch a Thai Soap Opera or two...you will start to see the Thai mentality emerge...true Thai relationships shrouded by cinema...intense everyday drama, solving all problems by emotional outbursts...unconscionable acts of violence...you can not make this stuff up...reality in Thailand is more interesting than any science fiction movie...

[Happy Grumpy]

Lucky guys.

Obviously there weren't any murders that needed solving that day.

[Tomtomtom69]

Although I'm no smoker and have absolutely no problems with harsh penalties against smuggling of cigarettes or smoking of tobacco products in areas where it is not allowed, I know for a fact that smuggling of cigarettes (or alcohol) into Thailand is the easiest thing in the world IF you travel by car.

As anyone who has ever travelled across the border by car should know, Thai authorities rarely inspect vehicles coming in, particularly not Thai registered vehicles returning from a trip to a neighboring country. If inspections are made at all, they are very cursory.

Obviously the workers who got caught didn't arrive by car nor did they have enough money to bribe their way out.

Still, despite my staunch anti-smoking stance (I would, for example out of principle vehemently refuse to carry any cigarettes for anyone, even if the amounts are within the duty-free limit) although I barely even know any smokers to begin with - I still think that 48 days jail is a bit much. A 2000 Baht fine would have been enough.

Still, maybe this harsh penalty will get these guys thinking that perhaps smoking is risky in more ways than one.

[Tomtomtom69]

Ask the farangs that get busted at the Buriram crossing and Chong Chom for this and have paid upwards of 50,000 baht fine.

Buri Ram crossing to Cambodia? I didn't know that there's a legal international crossing there.

Chong Chom is in Surin, which I just went to, and then the nearest crossing in a westbound direction is Aran/Poipet.

Unless of course a new crossing has opened up that I didn't know about. Please fill me in if that's the case.

[snooker4eva]

FARCICAL! Lady boys who do muggings in pattaya are regularly fined 1000 by AND THEN BACK OUT ON THE STREET?

[jacko45k]

It appears they were unable to pay the fine! (Which is actually a ridiculous amount, meant more as a pocket liner justification.than deterrent).

These are how the rules are applied in Thailand, an actress or Hi-So would have been treated well.

A day or 2 in jail as a lesson I could say was deserved, but 6 weeks for a minor offence reeks of racism.

[stoli]

Seriously? 48 days jail for having one carton of cigarettes over the limit? what is this? N. Korea here?

have the judge gone mad or his GF jilted him the night before? try to do this in Bkk and see what happened....

I agree that this is wrong, but read the article again. 2 Packs vs. 3 Cartons. Jail time should not have happened. Forfeit was the correct response. All countries enforce their allowable laws, though. In most countries, if you can't pay the fine, you will do some time. Even your home country, correct? Even if you do not live in North Korea.......

[hugh2121]

While Thailand slowly implodes with political unrest, economy in free-fall, drought, rice production declining, tourist going elsewhere, value of Thai baht declining, separatists killing folks in the South...Thailand feels the need to set an example by jailing migrants for having too many cigarettes...why not just take the excess cigarettes and fine them a few hundred baht and then spend time on more pressing matters...This is Thailand...

If you watch a Thai Soap Opera or two...you will start to see the Thai mentality emerge...true Thai relationships shrouded by cinema...intense everyday drama, solving all problems by emotional outbursts...unconscionable acts of violence...you can not make this stuff up...reality in Thailand is more interesting than any science fiction movie...

Would need a total lobotomy to watch that crap.