British-led Card Room raided by officials in South Pattaya

[Psychic]

It was not against the law , Bridge is a recognized sport in Thailand. No money were involved.

The police did not do their home work .

No, I doubt it. Another member even mention a special section....Matbe thet "stretched" the law, but I'm convinced the action is backed by law.

Again I will ask, since you want to persist with this inane line of dialogue:

If playing organized bridge is against the law and it is sponsored by some of the largest corporations in Thailand,is it your position that the executives of these corporations be charged with sponsoring criminal activity?

I'd think carefully about your answer.

I can't agree with you, unless all facts are on the table and we have a statement by police.

At present we know only what is published so far.

But you said you were convinced the action was backed by the law?

I don't understand your equivocating.

[ttthailand]

Taking our seniors to jail for Playing Bridge ??? Unbelievable !!! Every time I read this crazy stuff it amazes me but it just keep on coming day after day week after week. It's like a bunch of stupid kids. What's next ?

Pros and cons of living in Thailand.... The cons are adding up quick but not one pro added in years. Maybe time to regroup and rethink this Thailand thing before they bust me for hitting a Like on Facebook or something most normal people do.

[SiSePuede419]

sport

noun

1.

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Where's the physical exertion?

I'd say Bridge is not a "sport", but a "game".

A game involving both skill and chance.

Sorry, you can't say Bridge (or any card game) does not involve " chance" or "luck".

Good luck with that, 555

[jamhar]

OK grandpa.

put down the cards

put up your hands

and back away from your walker,,,,, REAL SLOW!

Reach for your oxygen bottle and you're a dead man!

[tigermonkey]

So many on here are convinced that these aliens broke the law concerning by having more than 120 playing cars in one place, or is in it one persons possession. The BIB did not have them sign a confession to breaking this law, before releasing them. The were told to sign a confession that they had been gambling illegally. There is no indication that the BIB were concerned about 120 playing cards, nor about the fact that the card boxes had no customs stickers.

This is all about immoral farang gambling.

[Psychic]

sport

noun

1.

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Where's the physical exertion?

I'd say Bridge is not a "sport", but a "game".

A game involving both skill and chance.

Sorry, you can't say Bridge (or any card game) does not involve " chance" or "luck".

Good luck with that, 555

I tend to agree with you that bridge is not a sport, it was briefly considered as an Olympic event.

It is, however, classified as mind game in the same manner as chess. Which Thailand has hosted (one Night in Bangkok),

As such the format of duplicate bridge tends to remove the vast percentage of the luck factor as the same cards are played by everyone.

It is one of the worlds most challenging games. Both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are avid players.

Luck can play a part in any sport and in any game but tournament bridge is, by far, a skill oriented game.

I know..I've lost far too may events not because of luck but my own carelessness or stupidity. :-)

[brewsterbudgen]

Here's hoping there will be a fullsome, public apology and a generous donation made to the relevant bridge club.

[tigermonkey]

This news just hit the BBC news radio.

Said it was an "obscure" law banning more than 120 playing cards in one place.

555, this is great!

The RTP had the players sign confessions about illegal gambling before releasing them, This is not about the 120 card law..

[KunMatt]

Here's hoping there will be a fullsome, public apology and a generous donation made to relevant bridge club.

In a normal and decent country you could expect this to happen. What will happen in Thailand will be a bunch of excuses about how the police did the right thing, how Thai people are never wrong and probably some music slinging at the alien OAPs.

I honestly cannot remember the last international news item to come out of Thailand that made me proud to have an association with the country. It is a very, very different place compared to 10 years ago when I first visited.

[ukrules]

One lady refused to sign; she had the money but would not "confess" to a thing she had not done. She was detained and I have not seen her since.

I don't blame her, she did nothing wrong at all.

[ukrules]

50 old people who lead a peaceful life and spend lots of money..... None were wearing a vest and had tattoos I bet !!

if it is against law....what is the problem? Eveb old peple have to follow law. You don't agree?

It's not against the law. If you read about it you would know this.

[mrmicbkktxl]

While no money might have been on the Bridge tables and no money was being played for, playing for prizes is considered as gambling and that seems to be what occurred here. We can debate the seriousness of offences and the police numbers involved for ever but the reality is that Thai laws were broken and someone could have and should have checked beforehand.

What I find amazing is,whenever the police is catching thai people playing cards or or whatever else they charge them 200bt and let them go after 30 min.So why foreigner have to pay 5000bt and have to stay an eternity at police station?

[Emster23]

Are they going to go after fortune tellers outside temples who use tarot cards? Money exchanges hands there for sure. I guess could make argument not gambling as that implies some chance may leave with more money than came with.

I wonder how TAT might spin this....

Bridge requires skill and intelligence, so I doubt if Thai police are at all familiar with this game.

[sambum]

The money was for bail and will be returned.

I thought playing cards either for money or not was illegal. Someone should send this to the Daily Mail…they would have a field day with it. Don't you think that with all the crime going on in Thailand that breaking up a bridge club was one of the lower priorities. Who sets the priorities for the BiB anyway, if it politicians then we need to look at the quality of the politicians, and if it is the BiB commanders then we need to replace them.

I thought prostitution was illegal too.

Technically, but actually regulated under the law. Raids on girls soliciting and bars not following the regulations are frequent.

"The money was for bail and will be returned". When they are old and grey? Oh, sorry they already are! When they were forced to confess to gambling before being released? One woman refused, and hasn't been seen or heard of since!

[PS2]

This news just hit the BBC news radio.

Said it was an "obscure" law banning more than 120 playing cards in one place.

555, this is great!

The RTP had the players sign confessions about illegal gambling before releasing them, This is not about the 120 card law..

And they were fluent readers in Thai so they all knew what they signed... ?

[brewsterbudgen]

One lady refused to sign; she had the money but would not "confess" to a thing she had not done. She was detained and I have not seen her since.

I don't blame her, she did nothing wrong at all.

She is likely to become a local celebrity. What a gal!

[Antifreeze]

This actually made the national TV news, even had the police video. A bunch of confused old folks playing Bridge.

Unclear what crime was committed, anyone know?

The offense relates to Section 8 of the Playing Cards Act of 1935 which states that an individual is not allowed to possess more than 120 playing cards at any one time. At the Bridge event, considerably more than 120 playing cards were found by officers.

I don't see the problem here except for the number of officers involved in the arrest. These people are criminals who broke the law. They knew they were committing a crime but obviously thought as affluent foreigners they were above the law or were too culturally insensitive to care. If you live in a country you should follow its laws and customs regardless of whether you agree with them or not. If you do not want to do that face the consequences or go somewhere else. I bet many of these would be the first to whine about foreigners in their on country flaunting the laws and refusing to conform to cultural norms.

What absolute rubbish, Thais gamble with cards all the time. In my GF's village, she will come home gleeful after winning 20 baht. Like prostitution, it happens everywhere in Thailand despite being illegal.

Playing bridge is not even gambling unless it can be proved money is changing hands based on point scores.

Whoever is running the BiB in Pattaya should either get a transfer to Mae Hong Son or a brain transplant.

[rudy h]

One lady refused to sign; she had the money but would not "confess" to a thing she had not done. She was detained and I have not seen her since.

I don't blame her, she did nothing wrong at all.

She is likely to become a local celebrity. What a gal!

More courage than her government!

[Alwyn]

more quality tourists....

[charmonman]

I have been living in or visiting Thailand for close to 30 years now, and I am well aware of what complete joke the Thai cops can be at times. Still, I am having trouble believing this actually happened. Is this satire or reality? Hard to tell these days.

And Thais wonder why they sometimes get so little respect from us farangs.

[sawadee1947]

Again I will ask, since you want to persist with this inane line of dialogue:

If playing organized bridge is against the law and it is sponsored by some of the largest corporations in Thailand,is it your position that the executives of these corporations be charged with sponsoring criminal activity?

I'd think carefully about your answer.

I can't agree with you, unless all facts are on the table and we have a statement by police.

At present we know only what is published so far.

But you said you were convinced the action was backed by the law?

I don't understand your equivocating.

It's not equivocatin by far.

I'm convinced. Yes. Unless you will give me facts that I'm wrong. At present there is a statement by some member of a bridge club, but no statement by police or army saying their action is based on this or that law. Or that there is some crime in it. Who knows? You?

I would advise you to wait until we know the whole story.

[SiSePuede419]

This news just hit the BBC news radio.

Said it was an "obscure" law banning more than 120 playing cards in one place.

555, this is great!

The RTP had the players sign confessions about illegal gambling before releasing them, This is not about the 120 card law..

Sounds to me its about having more than 120 cards in one place. IOW, small one table card games with single decks are OK.

This rule outlaws a casino-style poker table, since they routinely use 5 decks.

Are you accusing both the BBC and NPR of not checking the facts on this news? I'm sure they contacted a Thai attorney who speaks fluent English to confirm this law?

And yes, if you're in a country where "gambling" is not condoned, you better make sure when you're out in public, that you don't do anything that could be "misconstrued" as gambling.

Gambling is 100% legal in Las Vegas.

So is Bridge, 555

[khaowong1]

Unbelievable, just by God unbelievable.

[Tywais]

sport

noun

1.

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Where's the physical exertion?

Bit selective on finding your definition.

However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports,

[SiSePuede419]

One lady refused to sign; she had the money but would not "confess" to a thing she had not done. She was detained and I have not seen her since.

I don't blame her, she did nothing wrong at all.

She is likely to become a local celebrity. What a gal!

Maybe there's a silver lining in this...

I hope she writes a book about her experience. Especially about the conditions in jail. And the book is a best seller. And it embarrasses those in power to reform the horrible conditions in Thai jails/prisons.

Also hope she does not contract flesh eating bacteria from the floor she's sleeping on with other prisoners stacked in their like cordwood...

[Jip99]

This news just hit the BBC news radio.

Said it was an "obscure" law banning more than 120 playing cards in one place.

555, this is great!

The RTP had the players sign confessions about illegal gambling before releasing them, This is not about the 120 card law..

No............ it was about trying to save face!

[wotaplonker]

truly this one defies belief

[Jingthing]

Face.

Schmace.

The police are holding all the cards. Signed confessions? Sorted.

[anon7867763]

Pathetic, disgraceful, shameful, outrageous, ridiculous . Don´t these police have anything better to do ? The Pattaya police are now the laughing stock of the universe.

[vickersvc10]

This ridiculous story of incompetence by the Pattaya BIB made the BBC World radio news at 6PM today. It will be in every newspaper around the world tomorrow. Great publicity for Thailand, I don't think!