Large scale handgun purchase under police welfare scheme approved by PM

[Craig krup]

It's a pretty serious bit of kit. Reason suggests that you spend dough - or force others to spend it - in ways that produce the best outcome. There's no point in buying the absolutely best tank for a Third World army if they can't afford to fuel it or train in it, and there's no money left to feed the crew or arm the infantry.

If Thai cops had working radios and petrol to make them mobile it would impact more on crime. The chance of them using a pistol in the kind of "me against an armed civilian" confrontation is pretty low. They might need to be armed when they're responding to a call of someone going ape on yaba, or an armed robbery. But then an American 12 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot is the best tool, and if you bought a lot of them you could get them for peanuts.

Handguns are of limited usefulness, and forcing poorly-paid cops to buy a gun that they'll probably never use, can't afford to practise with, which will be of limited use in a "all hell breaking loose multiple offender armed robbery" incident, and which they might lose (and be shot with) in a struggle, is a bit silly. Being obviously unarmed but having a radio that can cause a serious armed response will actually keep you safe. It changes the calculation of the offender.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Craig krup

[JAG]

J

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

Oh I expect it does if your Somyot! Or anyone else involved in the purchase. Edited September 19, 2015 by JAG

[tuanku]

I feel safer already!

[Time Traveller]

Would everyone stop complaining about the thai police. Did you really think anything was going to change with the "good" military government in control of the country?

[whaleboneman]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

you forgot to include the "cake boxes"

[stoneyboy]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

70,000 including the tax and import duty, which is going to be over 100% of the cost of the gun. Guns are highly taxed and regulated in Thailand, they are very expensive here.

This is basically just allowing the police to buy the guns tax free.

A lot of farang don't seem to realize this, but ALL police in Thailand pay for their guns and ammunition out of their own pocket. There is no standard issue firearm they give officers. Police end up going in to debt to to buy a gun and some of them recoup that money from corruption. Lower gun prices for the police are a good thing for everyone.

I would suggest that a government and police force that can arm their police officers without incurring personal cost would be a far better solution per se.

I've never heard of so much lunacy until I came to live in Thailand.

Still it makes me smile a lot.

[pitchag]

150,000 Swiss-made Sig Sauer automatic pistols... from manufacturer in the United States.

I didn't saw that.....Maybe they hold Swiss slave labor in USA who make pistols.....

Are they really automatic? Don't want to see a Thai policemen with an automatic pistol....there will be some collateral damage....

Not automatic pistols but semi automatic

Automatic = pull trigger and multiple shots ( machine gun)

Semi Automatic = One trigger pull one shot

Hi Capacity holds many rounds in magazine, not more powerful

[Guest]

Couldn't they just bought fake guns from China and save a whole lot of cash and still look good?

Nah, because they couldn't sell the fake guns as easy on the black market.

they might keep the Sigs, but there will be 150,000 used guns on the market, the ones they are using now! there will deffinately be a spike in shootings when this takes place.

[pitchag]

And the public have requested the general purchase 60 million bullet proof vests to protect them from the police.

The request was denied because a vest is regarded as a weapon and the peasants should have removed themselves from the line of fire. It would be unfair to the owners of these new guns to have their bullets trajectory altered by such a vest, appearing to have missed the target and causing loss of face!

If they are trrained anything like the Aussie Queensland police I would stay well clear of any gun fights, I used to watch them at our gun club and could not believe that they missed the target at 7 mts, they shot our baffles and target holders up so bad we had to put thick timber to protect them. One police woman I saw aiming her gun, closing her eyes and turning her head away while pulling the trigger and she had passed through the Police Academy

[duckmandon]

"Swiss-made Sig Sauer automatic pistols for official and personal uses by police officers."

Now what would a police officer need an automatic pistol for personal use? Should be like most countries that at the end of your shift your weapon is signed into the safe & the next day at the start of your shift the weapon is signed out again. We can now look forward to more guns on the street which will be sold by the corrupt police. There will be no register on who is in posession of the guns that were purchsed or the old guns supplied to the police. Still going backwards.

[HenryB]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

If you buy 10 in America nearer to 18,000 Baht per gun plus sales tax

In all cases less than 20,000 a gun

I am sure their is a mistake in the Article

[MaxLee]

What a sufficiency of economy at the cost of the taxpayer

[Don Mega]

"Swiss-made Sig Sauer automatic pistols for official and personal uses by police officers."

Now what would a police officer need an automatic pistol for personal use? Should be like most countries that at the end of your shift your weapon is signed into the safe & the next day at the start of your shift the weapon is signed out again. We can now look forward to more guns on the street which will be sold by the corrupt police. There will be no register on who is in posession of the guns that were purchsed or the old guns supplied to the police. Still going backwards.

Most countries the police are supplied hand guns.

[marcosss]

• Why should a policeman/woman/officer have to purchase a gun??? should it not be issued with the job?
• should they not be kept at a secure place when the police are off duty like a police station armoury?
• What happening to the old guns?
• what happens to the guns when the policeman/woman/officer, leaves, sacked, retires or goes to prison?

I guess that these are questions for the Thais, when we as farang start to feel unsafe or that we are no longer welcome, we pack our things & go elsewhere. Meanwhile we can ask the question & comment from a perspective of what we perceive as superior wisdom, but the cold reality is that these comments and questions only circulate among the handful of same people who have absolutely no say in the running of, or the future of Thailand. Whatever happens, we will get to see it first hand, much better than a ten second news item on the TV in Boston.

[retarius]

I read earlier that the catalogue price for the Sig Sauer 0n the internet is less than $300 ie less than 15,000 baht. The talk of 70,000 is nonsense....I just wonder what will happen to the 3000 per gun extra that is being charged over the list price.

[gandalf12]

I am missing something but this states te guns are apart from anything else for personnal use and can be passed down in the family. Why would you want a gun for personal use? Please dont say because th criminals have guns, we know they do. This is condoning people, not on duty can have guns. What kind of message does that send out?

[TPI]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

Sorry mate, the price in the LOS is retail plus 200% tax! Wifes M60 (Ladysmith .38 sp, 5 shot) cost over ฿100K 3 years ago. I know that the BiB don't pay tax on their pistols or ammo but ฿18,000 is really cheap! Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you for about ฿69-70,000!!

[TPI]

Come on people.............................we know where all the old guns will end up ........................in their hand luggage on their next free overseas trip on Thai Airlines.

[Shawn0001]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

Sorry mate, the price in the LOS is retail plus 200% tax! Wifes M60 (Ladysmith .38 sp, 5 shot) cost over ฿100K 3 years ago. I know that the BiB don't pay tax on their pistols or ammo but ฿18,000 is really cheap! Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you for about ฿69-70,000!!

http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp

Tariff code for semiautomatic pistol: 93020000005 - check the Thai import tariff for yourself, search for Import Tariff, enter the number then select ALL from Duty reduction menu - you will see that importing from some countries has an exemption from duty, from some you pay 30% and others 40% - all will also be subject to an additional 7% sales tax regardless of whether the item is to be sold or not.

Sorry, but Thai customs are a more reliable source than you saying what your wife paid.

[Basil B]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

Sorry mate, the price in the LOS is retail plus 200% tax! Wifes M60 (Ladysmith .38 sp, 5 shot) cost over ฿100K 3 years ago. I know that the BiB don't pay tax on their pistols or ammo but ฿18,000 is really cheap! Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you for about ฿69-70,000!!

"Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you..." Lets hope it aint pointing at you...

What is worse is the reports of drunken (off duty) police waving a loaded pistol around...

Feel much safer in the presence of British armed police officer than any Thai, any day...

[Shawn0001]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

Sorry mate, the price in the LOS is retail plus 200% tax! Wifes M60 (Ladysmith .38 sp, 5 shot) cost over ฿100K 3 years ago. I know that the BiB don't pay tax on their pistols or ammo but ฿18,000 is really cheap! Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you for about ฿69-70,000!!

"Just wait awhile some will turn up in a bar near you..." Lets hope it aint pointing at you...

What is worse is the reports of drunken (off duty) police waving a loaded pistol around...

Feel much safer in the presence of British armed police officer than any Thai, any day...

recruitment.jpg

That's because the armed ones are well trained, give the average British copper a gun and I would be scared, remember when they tasered that blind man in the back because he was carrying a white stick?

www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/oct/17/police-taser-blind-man-stick

[keithcresswell]

Surely the price of handguns in Thailand will come down when 150,000 second hand guns come on the market.

[maidee]

how many on the side jobs (collecting) will they have to do to sponsor this ?

[speedtripler]

Reg price is over 70,000 Baht for a sig, NOT!!!! but now only 18,000.

So if the BIB are buying them with their own money and are for on duty and off, and considered personal property, then will this cost the government how much?

Top wack retail price is 25,000 Baht in the US, add on the 30% import tax and that is 32,500, still less than half what they claim they are paying, it just does not add up.

i was under the impression expensive guns would be a luxury item classed along with hi powered motorcycles and such

and these are taxed at 200-250% so maybe thats how they arrived at the sum of 70,000ish

its not like theres many shootouts anjyway ,i su8ppose chinese or russian made revolvers could be got a lot cheaper in bulk

but they dont have enough secks appeal

aussieinthailand : it will cost the govt nothing ,since the guns will be sold to offiecrs and anyone who cantt afford it outright can pay it off monthly

so it seems like a good deal

Not according to Taric, it is a 30% import duty and then the standard 7% sales tax.

Not many shootouts? There are about 20,000 gun murders per year. Thailand has the third highest rate of murder by firearms in the world at 33 per 100,000 people, only South Africa and Columbia have a higher rate.

gun murders and police shootouts are hardly the same thing .....police here dont even respond to emergency calls until maybe the next day

if anyone even answers the phone

i tried to report a screaming woman ( neighbour ) one night in a bkk police station but they were not in the slightest bit interested

cop at the desk gave us a 4 digit number to call

nobody answered that

[speedtripler]

Surely the price of handguns in Thailand will come down when 150,000 second hand guns come on the market.

the 70,000thb sig pistols will be kept by cops obviously because thais love anything new and shiny but how many

will sell or keep their old revolver ?

shouldnt they have to hand in a gun to avail of the new discounted gun scheme ?

this would leave more guns for new cops and less "lying around" in pawn shops

or with jealous mia nois having a spare gun in the house .......

[Don Mega]

Surely the price of handguns in Thailand will come down when 150,000 second hand guns come on the market.

the 70,000thb sig pistols will be kept by cops obviously because thais love anything new and shiny but how many

will sell or keep their old revolver ?

shouldnt they have to hand in a gun to avail of the new discounted gun scheme ?

this would leave more guns for new cops and less "lying around" in pawn shops

or with jealous mia nois having a spare gun in the house .......

Why should they hand in their own personal property ?