Confusion and Anger at Pattaya Bridge Club Raid

[elgordo38]

It is confusing When thais hold the bridge championships in Bangkok in April.

April fool!! I see the Bridge lady from Bangkok is throwing the BIB a little bone called stupidity.

[KhaoNiaw]

All those posters who are taking such great delight in bashing the police should pull their necks back in, read the report again and try to understand, as difficult as it may be for some of them, that there were no police involved in this raid.

I don't know what role they took but there are police officers in the video.

[elgordo38]

Any news of the lady who refused to sign the confession???

I do hope she is alive and well...

Getting an attitude adjustment under article 44..

She sounds like the type of lady if an umbrella was at hand she would give them an adjustment.

[elgordo38]

AP, as reported in the Guardian newspaper, says the blame lies with the military, not the police:

Police know that bridge is a sport because a similar case happened before, but this time it was military and district officials who initiated the raid and they probably didnt know, Chaiyut Assanaiyarat, the bridge leagues manager, told AP."

The police knowing Bridge was a legal card game and not being fond of the military may have let them walk into a trap of their own making. Maybe we are in for a period of TIT for TAT

[brewsterbudgen]

Funny that the police do not appear to understand the laws they are paid to enforce.

It was the army that initiated the raid. The police were just following orders.

[elgordo38]

Where are the UK diplomatic staff in this farce? My guess is not wanting to upset international relations instead of taking those concerned to task for treating its citizens in such a way...

Don't feel bad all these diplomatic donkeys are cut from the same piece of useless cloth. They all use the same rules "If you don't rock our boat we will not rock yours" They are a sham and a disgrace and a warehouse/dumping ground for political flunkies from all parties. Did you ever notice after an election and the WH changes hands that there is a mass musical chair movement in all the Embassies. The porkies all change but the trough remains the same. In all my years I have watched some of these jerks for decades move through the system collecting a paycheck and pension credits no doubt. Its all a payoff game.

[jerome2]

What about the massive number of vehicule without lights or too high the trucks overweight, the relentless hunting of the wildlife,the plastic everywhere and the yabaa.... instead of breaking the balls of thoses who bring money here

the lady who refused has more of theses than the men... by the way

Edited February 5, 2016 by jerome2

[Thaidream]

I am now concerned for the 31. Will this have any affect on their Visa status in Thailand? I certainly hope not. It seems so minor.

[harrry]

An indication of how high this extends is the fact the good lady from Bangkok had to go to Pattaya in person....a phone call was not enough apparently.

My guess is there will be hell to pay for that.

[Morakot]

Bridge is a testing game of mental aptitude and played for its own sake, this is beyond understanding in Thailand.

Unfortunately you seem to be right...

'Police did not find evidence of gambling when they raided Alto’s Restaurant and Bar on Wednesday and took the players into custody, but they seized computers on suspicion the players, 26 men and six women, might have been making electronic transfers of money.'

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1454652034

[stephenterry]

Bridge is a testing game of mental aptitude and played for its own sake, this is beyond understanding in Thailand.

Unfortunately you seem to be right...

'Police did not find evidence of gambling when they raided Alto’s Restaurant and Bar on Wednesday and took the players into custody, but they seized computers on suspicion the players, 26 men and six women, might have been making electronic transfers of money.'

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1454652034

Exactly. Electronic transfers of money is about as far-fetched as is possible when it's DUPLICATE bridge being played. Clearly, there is a complete lack of comprehension - a bit like DNA analysis - in these job-worths.

[Mister Fixit]

This made SKY NEWS WORLDWIDE !!!! If gambling is illegal why do they sell government lottery tickets at 80 baht a ticket which is drawn weekly and millions of Thais who play it have a chance to win millions of baht ( is that not gambling ) maybe that is why they call the kingdom " AMAZING THAILAND "

I think you mean 'hypocritical Thailand' ...

[balo]

"Regarding the law, Khunying Chodchoy stated that an amendment to the Gambling Laws in 1960 allowed for such games, where money was not changing hands, to be played without any form of license or authorization from the Police or Government."

That statement is interesting in itself. One would have to ask why this hadn't been cited earlier to the authorities by those arrested considering the length of time the bridge club has been operating and assuming those running the club knew (and you would expect this, knowing the rules, especially with anything to do with gaming here).

Perhaps it was cited, and that would be the reason why they dredged for the 'more than 120 cards' regulation. That said though, if bridge is legal, amended by law, how can the 120 card rule apply to a legalized game?

"Regarding the law, Khunying Chodchoy stated that an amendment to the Gambling Laws in 1960 allowed for such games, where money was not changing hands, to be played without any form of license or authorization from the Police or Government."

If we follow that law it would make it alright to play a game of poker also , no money on the table and people should be allowed to enjoy themselves with a card game. Maybe bring the Thai law book with you for the next poker game in Pattaya.

Edited February 5, 2016 by balo

[Morakot]

How trumped-up charges led Thai police to raid expat bridge club

Oliver Holmes in Bangkok Friday 5 February 2016 06.41 GMT theguardian.com

Members of the Pattaya bridge club believe an unfounded accusation was behind the heavy-handed police raid that saw 32 players hauled into custody

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/how-trumped-up-charges-led-thai-police-to-raid-expat-bridge-club

Edited February 5, 2016 by Morakot

[balo]

On another foreign forum, one of the bridge players involved yesterday told his friends that he would stop coming back to Thailand and choose another holiday destination after this incident. He's been staying at the same hotel every year,

So the local economy will suffer from this, the hotel just lost a returning guest, the local restaurants , massage places etc .

Edited February 5, 2016 by balo

[Broken Record]

I bet, you can play it also for money. And with this, it´s clear for me.

Sorry can't take that bet, it's illegal.

[Mister Fixit]

You know, after this utter farce and the tribulations that some 60 and 70+ year olds have been put through, I would be delighted if there was a 'som nam na' moment, when all of these people decided to up sticks, sell up and take the boat over to Hua Hin and set up there.

What a wonderful slap in the face for the local officials, police and Army stooges that would be!

And how would it reverberate around the world again - 'Disgruntled pensioners decide to stick two fingers up to Pattaya and go elsewhere'.

On another note, how nice it would be if they all decided to issue a class action against those responsible for false imprisonment, harassment, and whatever else they could scrape up just to rub these fools noses in it as much as possible - with full publicity, of course ...

Edited February 5, 2016 by Mister Fixit

[stephenterry]

On another foreign forum, one of the bridge players involved yesterday told his friends that he would stop coming back to Thailand and choose another holiday destination after this incident. He's been staying at the same hotel every year,

So the local economy will suffer from this, the hotel just lost a returning guest, the local restaurants , massage places etc .

I bet you a pound to a penny he'll return, unless of course he's deported for this heinous crime. Bridge players are a breed that only gives up when they're brain dead.

[Mister Fixit]

Funny that the police do not appear to understand the laws they are paid to enforce.

It was the army that initiated the raid. The police were just following orders.

Yeah, just like they did in Nazi Germany ...

[stephenterry]

I bet, you can play it also for money. And with this, it´s clear for me.

Sorry can't take that bet, it's illegal.

For the nth time - duplicate bridge is a non-gambling game. Other versions of bridge, e.g. rubber bridge can be played for money, but these guys were playing duplicate bridge. Is that clear, starcatcher?

[brewsterbudgen]

Funny that the police do not appear to understand the laws they are paid to enforce.

It was the army that initiated the raid. The police were just following orders.

Yeah, just like they did in Nazi Germany ...

I hope you're not suggesting there are parallels with Thailand!!

[HomeinThailand]

likely to feature in the Olympic Games in the future,

.

Should make for some exciting viewing on the Television.

I wonder how Vegas will figure the odds?

[Mister Fixit]

Funny that the police do not appear to understand the laws they are paid to enforce.

It was the army that initiated the raid. The police were just following orders.

Yeah, just like they did in Nazi Germany ...

I hope you're not suggesting there are parallels with Thailand!!

As if I would possibly do such a thing ...

Just read the Wiki pages about Plaek Phibhunsonkhram in the 1930's and 40's.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Mister Fixit

[Traveller45]

Come on, it's over, no harm done. I am more worried about other negative repercussions. Experience like this might discourage other worthier efforts to bust REAL gaming dens and associated mafia outfits

[eggers]

It seems the Pattaya Police have too much spare time.

Perhaps, it would be far more productivity if they turned their collective minds towards reducing the country's horrendous road toll...

But then, they seem to prefer more menial matters!

Well, perhaps with an extra 50 officers on point duty as punishment, it will be......Then again, maybe not

Not as simple as an extra 50 police!!

Get real!!

Need to have purposeful laws & enforcement of same. Main deaths/injuries on motorbikes, ok, enforce.... comp helmets, passenger limits, speed limits, drink drive.

Got the idea??

[oldsailor35]

All the police who took part in the raid should have to do the next six months attending the "Moon" parties on Koh Phangan, see if they are capable of finding any drugs !

[kannot]

This managed to make the ABC radio this morning in a way that could hardly be painted as positive. I think the words Pattaya were in the same sentence as prostitution, corruption, and death of a foreigner.

Dosent Thailand have a strange law in that if you cause thailand bad publicity you can be charged. Perhaps this police officer should be charged for causing such bad publicity.

At the very least he should be given an award for outright stupidity.

They wouldnt have enough badges to go round!!

[cyberfarang]

And what do points make? A 5000 baht fine or jail time. They`ll be no Brucie bonus for the South Pattaya Bridge Club this time around.

[Galactus]

i believe law is law and police is right to take them. i am not sure why this is made a big deal.

if they are playing card games in Thailand, they have to follow the rules.

rules says that you cannot play more than 120 cards if they dont have government stamp on this.

so, police just did its job by checking foreigners playing cards in sin city Pattaya. There were many instances in the past foreigners opening hidden gamble houses caught by the police.

how can they know what those foreigners doing there?

moreover, you can also gamble with bridge! a simple search at google shows this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_3NT

so what?

[PankajAmrit]

Reminded me of the movie 2010 where the apes got crazy when they saw the monolit