Huge Fines On Arrival

[stevespiral]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

I think he's an English teacher in disguise!

Nah he is an ozzie customs official for sure..... Most of the ones I have met there would be proud of making so few spelling mistakes…. Probably took him 3 hours to compose the post…. Arrogant, thick, egotistical, dickheads.

My mate got pulled in to an office for 2 hours once at brisbane airport for having a cheeky sense of humour.

The immigration officer asked him “have you got a criminal record” to which he replied “no sorry I haven’t, I didn’t realise it was still a requirement to gain entry” must admit though the 2 hour wait put him off doing it again.

[stevespiral]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

how long was you in the job??? Obviously not long enough to learn how to spell customs or smuggle !!!!

<deleted>

I think you must be a liar.

[binnsy]

Is it just Fags and Booze that they are clamping down on?

[tropo]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

I think he's an English teacher in disguise!

Nah he is an ozzie customs official for sure..... Most of the ones I have met there would be proud of making so few spelling mistakes…. Probably took him 3 hours to compose the post…. Arrogant, thick, egotistical, dickheads.

My mate got pulled in to an office for 2 hours once at brisbane airport for having a cheeky sense of humour.

The immigration officer asked him “have you got a criminal record” to which he replied “no sorry I haven’t, I didn’t realise it was still a requirement to gain entry” must admit though the 2 hour wait put him off doing it again.

I'm an Aussie too but not a customs official.

If you ignoramuses had a close look at his supposed "spelling errors" you would notice that they are infact typos.

eg.

1. Cutoms. Ommited the 's'.

2. Saudages. 's' and 'd' are adjacent keys. Easy and common mistake.

3. Smoggle. 'o' and 'u' very close on keyboard.

4. Currupyion. 't' and 'y' are adjacent keys. Again a common error.

5. Customes. His only genuine spelling error.

Even the best typists make spelling errors and typos from time to time.

Now regarding the essence of his post....

He's clearly explaining that if you break the rules, don't get upset if you're caught. Nothing wrong with that.

The travellers were fined about 42K baht each. Not such a big deal for smuggling (yes, it's smuggling as they were not declared) restricted items into Thailand.

His post offered an interesting insight into the strange things that customs officers encounter in the course of their duty. ie. Live frogs, sausages.

Let's give these Newbies a chance to contribute rather than nitpicking a few spelling errors/typos.

Edited October 18, 2006 by tropo

[tartempion]

Years ago, I was strip searched (yes lads, strip searched) at Heathrow Airport for nothing more nefarious than wearing a real gold Rolex watch on my wrist.

I was marched into an airless room and kept there for what seemed like an eternity whilst the English Customs officer bulldozed me into a confession that I had not "paid tax" on the watch (the watch was a gift from an admirer) and I told him so.

He insisted that I owed Her Majesty's Government VAT for "importing the watch" into England with "a view to selling it for a profit". I had just come off a long haul flight and was tired and hungry. In the end, I agreed to sign a piece saying that I had not paid tax on the watch and was fined close to ONE THOUSAND POUNDS (a fortune, 20 years ago). This is one of several nasty experiences I had of living and working in England which explains why I do not chose to live there anymore.

Yes, racism is alive and well in the England I lived in for well over a decade.

Very bad experience indeed.

I landed at Luxembourg airport coming from Hong Kong on a Cargolux flight (the local cargo airline)

We were 6 passengers on board. The lady before me had a Hong Kong passoprt and was carrying a new camera. So the customs officer in front of me fined her for importing a camera into Luxembourg. I told the a**hole he could not do that since she had a hkg passport and would return to hkg with her holiday photos. So the man bugged off. The Luxemburgish customs are notorious to try to fine people flying (for free) on Cargolux airplanes.

Myself got fined for carrying a bangkok made suit.

[APK]

Hmmz, I normally take roll up tobacco from Amsterdam airport since the Thai equivalent seems to be made out of banana leaves.

According to custom regulations I'm only allowed to bring in 5 packages of 50 grams and at the airport I can only buy 'em in a box of 10.

It seems I have to buy a box of 10, give halve of it to my travelling partner during the stop-over in Tel Aviv, and get rid of every single (extra) cigarette before touch down.

Ah, well. That's life.

[stevespiral]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

I think he's an English teacher in disguise!

Nah he is an ozzie customs official for sure..... Most of the ones I have met there would be proud of making so few spelling mistakes…. Probably took him 3 hours to compose the post…. Arrogant, thick, egotistical, dickheads.

My mate got pulled in to an office for 2 hours once at brisbane airport for having a cheeky sense of humour.

The immigration officer asked him “have you got a criminal record” to which he replied “no sorry I haven’t, I didn’t realise it was still a requirement to gain entry” must admit though the 2 hour wait put him off doing it again.

I'm an Aussie too but not a customs official.

If you ignoramuses had a close look at his supposed "spelling errors" you would notice that they are infact typos.

eg.

1. Cutoms. Ommited the 's'.

2. Saudages. 's' and 'd' are adjacent keys. Easy and common mistake.

3. Smoggle. 'o' and 'u' very close on keyboard.

4. Currupyion. 't' and 'y' are adjacent keys. Again a common error.

5. Customes. His only genuine spelling error.

Even the best typists make spelling errors and typos from time to time.

Now regarding the essence of his post....

He's clearly explaining that if you break the rules, don't get upset if you're caught. Nothing wrong with that.

The travellers were fined about 42K baht each. Not such a big deal for smuggling (yes, it's smuggling as they were not declared) restricted items into Thailand.

His post offered an interesting insight into the strange things that customs officers encounter in the course of their duty. ie. Live frogs, sausages.

Let's give these Newbies a chance to contribute rather than nitpicking a few spelling errors/typos.

My point being that if I worked as a Gynaecologist I would know how to spell it..... Surely an ex-customs officer would know there is no E in customs????? Not a typo.... I still believe he is a liar; there can be no other logical explanation.... Didn't you notice his racist stereotypical undertones??? Pomies are the Whinging because they are the only people who ever have dirty shoes and Germans with sausages.... I wonder did he ever catch any Americans trying to smuggle hamburgers or Swiss with cheese, French with bread. He is talking <deleted>.

Why do people do lie??? To try and add credibility to their stupid comments maybe.

I wonder if in the future there will be some posts about mental illness and he will claim to be a retard… now that is much more believable.

maybe a bit strong but i don't like racists... he probably saw the frog thing on the reality tv show about customs.

Edited October 19, 2006 by stevespiral

[fat boy slim]

By the way you spell "<deleted>" like this

[stumonster]

The new luggage scanners are being put to use - I am sure the customs officers cannot believe their luck.

Hmmz, I normally take roll up tobacco from Amsterdam airport since the Thai equivalent seems to be made out of banana leaves.

you can buy Drum (imported) at the chemist between soi2 and 4 on suk - 195 baht a pack.

[Tammi]

Customs around the world can be real female genitalia when they feel like it!

Never heard this 'female genitalia' expression before. Please explain.

[PREM-R]

Customs around the world can be real female genitalia when they feel like it!

Never heard this 'female genitalia' expression before. Please explain.

Thai for Mr with a T on the end!!!!

[Pui]

So your friends bought 50 sleeves of cigs from England for there holiday and hopefully a few for you.

England might just be the most expensive place on the planet to buy cigarettes. Whilst Thailand has got to be one of the cheapest. 500 Baht for a sleeve of 200 Benson & Hedges.

England 5 GBP

Thailand 1 GBP

You might have mentioned this to your friends...

I can understand smokers taking cigarettes back to England but the other way? Doesn’t add up.

[Gluestick]

They probably made a stop somewhere before landing in Thailand.

Thai cigs do suck though.

[fat boy slim]

So your friends bought 50 sleeves of cigs from England for there holiday and hopefully a few for you.

England might just be the most expensive place on the planet to buy cigarettes. Whilst Thailand has got to be one of the cheapest. 500 Baht for a sleeve of 200 Benson & Hedges.

England 5 GBP

Thailand 1 GBP

You might have mentioned this to your friends...

I can understand smokers taking cigarettes back to England but the other way? Doesn’t add up.

They bought them in Dubai for seven quid a sleeve, also they were Embassy Regal Blue which you can't buy in Thailand. Well not the real ones anyway

[stevespiral]

By the way you spell "<deleted>" like this

No I don't, I spell <deleted> like this.... are you an english teacher

[Sing_Sling]

SteveSpiral - the whole point of it being a typo is that one knows how to spell the word but just mis-types it. That is a typo . . . completely separate issue to not knowing how to spell something.

[Asian Frog]

Just a provoc....

In any case, English is an International vector... Typos, orthograph, grammar are of no importance as this language has lost its soul...

A froggy

[Pomrakuhn]

[

But these excessive amounts have nothing to do with 'normal Customs behaviour' !

LaoPo[/color]

But these were excessive amounts of ciggarettes 10 times the allowance each person is taking the piss !!

[Pomrakuhn]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

how long was you in the job??? Obviously not long enough to learn how to spell customs or smuggle !!!!

<deleted>

I think you must be a liar.

Hey Mr Perfect I think you mean how long WERE you in the job

[stevespiral]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

how long was you in the job??? Obviously not long enough to learn how to spell customs or smuggle !!!!

<deleted>

I think you must be a liar.

Hey Mr Perfect I think you mean how long WERE you in the job

I stand corrected, see that’s why you are an English teacher, you must get great satisfaction helping poor people like me getter a better understanding of my mother tongue.... Thanks for that

And may I just add good job sticking up for the racist illiterate probable liar.

Next time I post would it be ok if I e-mailed you first so that you can check my grammar????? Please.

Please correct me if I am wrong again, but aren’t you contradicting yourself by calling me perfect in a post pointing out my slight grammatical error??? Or was that a lame attempt on you behalf at being sarcastic??? you can do better than that surely.

[stevespiral]

SteveSpiral - the whole point of it being a typo is that one knows how to spell the word but just mis-types it. That is a typo . . . completely separate issue to not knowing how to spell something.

That was my point?????

[tt61]

Hrmmm....what does this have to do with the topic in which you are posting...?

[udon]

I haven't read all 8 pages.

One question.

Is luggage being xrayed on arrival or is luggage coming thru fast off the aircraft, has anyone noticed?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

Maybe an English teacher

[APK]

you can buy Drum (imported) at the chemist between soi2 and 4 on suk - 195 baht a pack.

I know, though at Koh Chang -where I prefer to stay- I pay 220 baht (still cheaper than in Holland).

The problem is they still taste like banana leaves.

[MiG16]

a lot of people have said it...but i will repeat it again....its as simple as:

DONT BREAK THE LAW!

or BREAK IT? then be prepared to face consequences.

CORRUPTION by thai authorities or not, thats a different story. also whether the amount of fine is excessive or not? Again a different story, that would not need to be debated if the law is not broken in the first place. ALSO dont forget that very often the law will specify a maximum penalty, meaning it is up to the discretion of authority to decide at which level they will impose the fine, as long as it does not exceed the maximum allowed by law.

its the same as all the pleas against capital punishment...I dont believe in it either, but those that are committing the offence, they know whats involved if caught smuggling drugs into some of the countries in south east asia. the only thing is they are risking it cos they think its a question of IF caught, rather they should look at WHEN caught.

I posted once earlier about many that seem to want double standard applied...as in laws of your country has to be respected by foreigners at all cost, but why is it then that you being a guest in this country should exempt you from our law? Also take note that the law of thailand are, as I recall without being an expert in the field, based on the UK system, and may have therefore adopted some similar practices.

by the way -- the post that called the other person a racist...Im not quite sure if that is really true. He was citing example...I do not recall he had said all germans smuggle in sausages or all english brought it what they did, or that all africans did the same. so whats the justification to use the word racist? Racism in general means one believes or implies in the superiority of one race/or ethnic group over the other. I dont think he was saying aussies are superior to the english. when in fact afterall u do come from the same race

now smile, be happy, respect the law, enjoy the non rainy days and happy long weekend.

[Pomrakuhn]

[

I stand corrected, see that’s why you are an English teacher, you must get great satisfaction helping poor people like me getter a better understanding of my mother tongue.... Thanks for that

And may I just add good job sticking up for the racist illiterate probable liar.

Next time I post would it be ok if I e-mailed you first so that you can check my grammar????? Please.

Please correct me if I am wrong again, but aren’t you contradicting yourself by calling me perfect in a post pointing out my slight grammatical error??? Or was that a lame attempt on you behalf at being sarcastic??? you can do better than that surely.

No big deal at all but the whole point of your post was to critisize his spelling for f*** sake !!

[Sam Drucker]

Just to follow up, I came into Thailand through Suvarnabhumi last week. Passing through customs seemed pretty normal to me, compared to my previous experiences at Don Muang. Was the original post possibly a result of spot enforcement?

[PanzerJohn]

Just to follow up, I came into Thailand through Suvarnabhumi last week. Passing through customs seemed pretty normal to me, compared to my previous experiences at Don Muang. Was the original post possibly a result of spot enforcement?

God knows.I'm scared to post here in case I get criticised for my spolling!.

[Jarrod]

I have seen the British blatant disregard for customs limits at the old booze run to France. Very sickening to watch. They seem to consider it a kind of game. When anyone knowingly exceeds a stated quota in Thailand or anywhere else they should not start complaining when they are caught. The fine seems entirely reasonable to me. Also do they expect that this quantity of cigarettes is only for personal use? I don't believe it and nor should anyone else. I would suggest they have a looming health problem as well as an attitude problem. There will be absolutely no doubt that they gave the authorities some lip. As a footnote, the British are the well recognised as the biggest bunch of complainers on the planet. Sometimes sad to be one myself.