Bangkok security looks more serious in deadly bombing's wake

[webfact]

Bangkok security looks more serious in deadly bombing's wake

BANGKOK (AP) — Bangkok's laid-back, anything-goes vibe has toughened a bit in the aftermath of last month's deadly bombing in the heart of the city.

Security appears tighter, with a more conspicuous contingent of police, soldiers and plainclothes officers patrolling and guarding tourist areas and public places that attract crowds.

Private security has changed as well. Mall entrances have long had guards and metal detectors, but at some of them, shoppers routinely set off alarms without even needing to slow their stride. Now, security officers are actually checking bags. Most upscale hotels are using mirrors on sticks to check underneath cars.

One lesson learned from the Aug. 17 bombing at the Erawan Shrine, where 20 people were killed and more than 120 injured, is that Bangkok's security cameras need upgrading. City workers have been tackling that job at many intersections.

Footage from cameras at the shrine have led police to several suspects, whose faces are plastered on wanted posters, in newspapers and on highway billboards around the Thai capital. Two men have been arrested.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-03

[coulson]

Serious? Sounds satisfactory.......

[Anthony5]

Bangkok security looks more serious in deadly bombing's wake

With the emphasis on LOOKS.

[wabothai]

Now would hotels look under cars with mirrors on a stick for the next 20 years?

Police and army and plainly clothed patroling the streets for the next 20 years?

Wouldn't think so.

[Bangkok Barry]

I arrived in Bangkok the day after the bomb with a large bag and used the MRT. All I was asked to do was open it. Nothing inside was touched, and I could have had several kilos of explosive in there. A couple of days later they didn't even ask me to open it. Just waved a torch at it in their usual style. Children in an adult world. They haven't got a clue. Another time at Siam Paragon I watched several people walk in through the exit doors and thus avoiding the scanners. Did the security guards react? Did it snow in Bangkok last week?

[impulse]

I arrived in Bangkok the day after the bomb with a large bag and used the MRT. All I was asked to do was open it. Nothing inside was touched, and I could have had several kilos of explosive in there. A couple of days later they didn't even ask me to open it. Just waved a torch at it in their usual style. Children in an adult world. They haven't got a clue. Another time at Siam Paragon I watched several people walk in through the exit doors and thus avoiding the scanners. Did the security guards react? Did it snow in Bangkok last week?

And thank goodness for that. Otherwise, we'd be standing in security lines for hours to get on a 5 minute train ride or for a 30 minute lunch in the mall.

Tragic as the bombings were, they represent a minuscule increase in the risk of death for an average tourist (or local) who has to contend with traffic deaths, electrocutions, short balcony railings, irate taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, and a dozen other risks that killed more tourists (and locals) last month than all the terrorist bombs in all of Bangkok's history.

Strip searches and long lines may make us feel safer, but that's a high price to pay for a negligible decrease in my chances of dying this week in Bangkok- which are already negligible to begin with.

Edited September 3, 2015 by impulse

[how241]

Bangkok security looks more serious in deadly bombing's wake

With the emphasis on LOOKS.

Sad but true. It's usually about looks.

[taony]

I just see them sitting under tents eating takeout

[NCC1701A]

This is my serious face.

[NOC]

I needed to find a bathroom yesterday at about 10:30, so I walked in the back door of a mall, signed the book just like the other employees entering the mall, and found a toilet. They didn't ask me <deleted>.