Walking Street Sweep Nets 30 Foreigners Without Proper Papers in Pattaya

[PattayaAl]

n o-one knows - where have you been the last few years????

If they still pay out foreigners - just one dictum and your rights are gone... how about your property? Have you read the general's paper on foreigners?

this little incident on Walking street does 2things - it gives an insight into the authorities attitude to foreigners and thew inconsistencies of enforcement - basically the is a law somewhere to back up any whim they choose....how about owning a house???

A foreigner could never own a house so not really sure what you on about?

A company could own a house and nothing has changed there.

This raid is nothing new or unusual , has been going on for years .

At least we were not urine tested for drugs as it would have been much worse, especially for those who just arrived and may still have some in their system

On Stickboy site it seems RCA was raided last night and everyone was urine tested, people smashed windows trying to escape and lots of injuries. Has a video of a semi-riot.

That's pretty unusual.

RCA caters to young Thai uni student , so urine testing is not all that unusual, trying to avoid it is also pretty normal considering the consequences of failing the test

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to Stickboy's site has been removed. Please understand Thai Visa is not employed as a tool to obtain information for Stickboy nor do we use material from his web site.

[jspill]

Was a nightclub/entertainment complex raided in Chiang Mai yesterday for same reasons.

Urine and passports.

After Zoe at Chiang Mai It then also happened at Onyx at RCA, Bangkok. A girl broke her leg in the stampede.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

When i was in pattaya last I carried a photo of my passport id page and photo of visa. Was stopped by tourist police and ask to show my documents. They didnt have a problem with it being my phone. Maybe others have different results. Nothing is uniform in Thailand. Its like Russian Roulette.ID RATHER PAY THE FINE THAN HAVE TO REPLACE A STOLLEN PASSPORT AND THE HASSLES THAT ACCOMPANIES IT.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere

[jspill]

RCA caters to young Thai uni student , so urine testing is not all that unusual, trying to avoid it is also pretty normal considering the consequences of failing the test

A stampede, broken leg, property damage etc. is not your run of the mill raid.

[PattayaAl]

RCA caters to young Thai uni student , so urine testing is not all that unusual, trying to avoid it is also pretty normal considering the consequences of failing the test

A stampede, broken leg, property damage etc. is not your run of the mill raid.

Again, RCA is full of young uni students. Urine failure would mean criminal record and very possibly uni expulsion.

RCA clubs are usually also very full.

In comparison, this raid in OP, 808 was pretty empty, no more than 100 people in total, target was the foreigners.

15-20 years ago, cops use to shut down Nana, block the entire soi 4 and test everybody. Was not a pretty site

[mcfish]

Some posters threatening to go live in Cambodia a total shit hole real 3rd world slum. The little stretch of cafes on the river it's only redeeming feature until the tuk Tuk guys drive you to the edge of insanity.

I will gladly take the 1:250000 odds of being asked to show a doc that I can produce within a whole day

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[dazzz]

Good! If they don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

Obviously not much brain matter if you have to wonder why they did not have their passports in a pattaya nightclub . Come on use your head a little but before you post or your brain will stop working

Edited February 21, 2016 by dazzz

[bbbbooboo]

I'm sure this is going to encourage more tourism?

[LannaGuy]

I think people need to bear in mind that sometime in the not so distant future Thailand is likely to have a massive authoritarian clampdown and an almost total suspension of tourism...the authorities know this and it looks s if they re getting prepared to clam-down on ALL threats to stability whether internal or external. We are going to see a progressive clampdown aimed at the media and all foreigners.

cum,

Well, according to Alex Jones, this will be happening soon in USA.

Didn't realise Thailand too.

Curious tho, as to how you know this.

huh? think a little bit?

edit: and, no, we can't discuss it on here

Edited February 22, 2016 by LannaGuy

[chiang mai]

Wheeee, a conspiracy theory, we haven't had one for, er, um, a couple of days!

[pstbkk]

Good! If they don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

DO YOU carry your Passport with you EVERY TIME you go out.

I DON"T, but i do carry a copy.

If you lose it then you have BIG problems.

Not that big to be honest. Just need to waste a few hours in your embassy and immigration.

I don't carry my passport all the time but always have a scan in my phone as well photo of last immigration stamp

[nakhonandy]

but when Deputy Commander Voravat said expats living here a Thai driving licensecan be used as identification or ( i.e not AND ) photocopy of your passport he knew that didn't he?so why say it?

Why do you make a drama from carrying a copy of your passport? Is it so difficult?

and whyare you so anxious to defend the glaring inconsistency of Thai rules and regulations which change like the weather ?

I don't think that it is a rule if some immigration officer say something. The law is the rule. I don't know any country where it is not mandatory that you must be able to identify yourself.

The UK for a start does not require this.

[pstbkk]

Someone with a Thai drivers license CAN identify himself, even more than someone showing a passport, because the driver license show more identity details than the passport. e.g.: His address in Thailand.

Your drivers license doesn't have your visa stamp. Which shows if you are here legally or not. That's what they are looking for.

But a visa stamp has nothing to do with identifying oneself.

A visa stamp is about legitimating, 2 different things.

True, but in such operations they are not looking only for your identification, but actually for your valid permit of staying here. When you are stopped at a vehicle check point they want to see your driving license and car/bike papers - in such places they won't worry about permit to stay normally.

Hmm not now in my opinion. Before, on vehicle check point the police ask me only for driving license. Since three months I was stopped four times when driving around Thailand and they always were asking about my passport. They did check immigration stamp and let me go.

[pstbkk]

Guys, maybe passport control on Walking Street at night is a bit over the top, I agree. But if you are at least average IQ and follow news here on this forum you can easily realize that police now has an order to kick out from Thailand all farang on overstay.

Personally I have never been on overstay. Police checked my passport maybe 15 times in last three years. I HAVE NEVER FACED ANY PROBLEMS. After checking my immigration stamp I was free to go.

If I would be on overstay that time, probably one of two solutions. Arrest or 'you pay now'

[mikosan]

but when Deputy Commander Voravat said expats living here a Thai driving licensecan be used as identification or ( i.e not AND ) photocopy of your passport he knew that didn't he?so why say it?

Why do you make a drama from carrying a copy of your passport? Is it so difficult?

No it's not difficult, but it's very stupid, especially on a night out in Walking Street, Pattaya. Not only stupid, unnecessary. The law does not state that you have to carry your passport, so why take the risk, with possibly the most valuable piece of documentation you possess whilst in Thailand, or anywhere outside of your home country for that matter? A copy will suffice if you must. I carry my Thai driving licence and leave my passport safely locked up in a safe. That is sufficient and best.

[jspill]

Snap out of it people. 30 out of many many thousands of tourists were detained and released, it's called collateral damage except there was no real damage. Pattaya is a hot spot for terrorist, criminal and mafia activity so this type of raid is an absolute necessity, or would you rather have the bib running up and down beach Rd chasing lady boys all night?

There's the 'they don't want us here' brigade, but there's also the 'come on it happens all the time, nothing unusual' brigade. Both are tiresome.

This recent spate is a bit different, on the same night 100 police with assault rifles raided a Chiang Mai club, not many criminals there, and Khao San, even fewer, and then RCA and a young lady broke her leg, others had broken bones and lacerations from the stampede and broken glass.

I'd rather they do proper police work instead. Raids of clubs are often just political power struggles related to money, at best just lazy police work to shake down people for bribes.

Stop and searches are still happening in BKK too, they slowed down a bit after all the negative press but are still going on.

As bkkcanuck8 said perfectly in post #50:

If you want to control illegal activities - then actually focus you attentions on that area put feet on the ground policing areas were it goes on - looking for actual criminal activity and not just rounding up a bunch of tourists to catch a few fish.

[spidermike007]

Good! If they don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

DO YOU carry your Passport with you EVERY TIME you go out.

I DON"T, but i do carry a copy.

If you lose it then you have BIG problems.

Not that big to be honest. Just need to waste a few hours in your embassy and immigration.

I don't carry my passport all the time but always have a scan in my phone as well photo of last immigration stamp

That is absolutely incorrect information. I know with the US, anytime you lose your passport it becomes a black mark on your file. Lose it again, within the next few years, and you are immediately under suspicion. Losing one's passport can be a very big deal, and should be treated as such. For these goons to even consider the expectation that we will carry our original passport around with us, on a daily basis is beyond comprehension. The only viable reason for this, is that we are no longer welcome here. That is the impression they are conveying to the world. Period, end of discussion.

A color copy of the main page, and the visa page should always suffice. Or a Thai drivers license. Always. Asking us to carry anything more than that is simply unreasonable, and makes the place feel closer to N. Korea, than the land of smiles.

[brewsterbudgen]

I'm sure this is going to encourage more tourism?

I doubt many tourists will even be aware of it. A Tunisia style ISIS attack would be different.

[pstbkk]

Good! If they don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

DO YOU carry your Passport with you EVERY TIME you go out.

I DON"T, but i do carry a copy.

If you lose it then you have BIG problems.

Not that big to be honest. Just need to waste a few hours in your embassy and immigration.

I don't carry my passport all the time but always have a scan in my phone as well photo of last immigration stamp

That is absolutely incorrect information. I know with the US, anytime you lose your passport it becomes a black mark on your file. Lose it again, within the next few years, and you are immediately under suspicion. Losing one's passport can be a very big deal, and should be treated as such. For these goons to even consider the expectation that we will carry our original passport around with us, on a daily basis is beyond comprehension. The only viable reason for this, is that we are no longer welcome here. That is the impression they are conveying to the world. Period, end of discussion.

A color copy of the main page, and the visa page should always suffice. Or a Thai drivers license. Always. Asking us to carry anything more than that is simply unreasonable, and makes the place feel closer to N. Korea, than the land of smiles.

Ok, I have european passport so I don't know how it is with US.

I did lost my passport once and another time was stolen. Both in Thailand. I had no any problem to get 3rd one.

[Jonmarleesco]

Good! If they don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

What I wonder is why you interpret 'not having their passports' as not having a passport. I don't often carry my passport with me, since I see no good reason to risk losing it.

[HooHaa]

Good! If o poolthey don't have a passport you got to wonder why!

Perhaps because they left it in the hotel to void losing it during a night out?

Nah that can't be it.

Edited February 22, 2016 by HooHaa

[HooHaa]

but when Deputy Commander Voravat said expats living here a Thai driving licensecan be used as identification or ( i.e not AND ) photocopy of your passport he knew that didn't he?so why say it?

Why do you make a drama from carrying a copy of your passport? Is it so difficult?

and whyare you so anxious to defend the glaring inconsistency of Thai rules and regulations which change like the weather ?

The rules have remained constant for the 20 years I have been hers, it is the enforcement that is sporadic.

[GeorgesAbitbol]

It happened as well at RCA recently with 12 people wounded, strangely no coverage in the news

Edited February 22, 2016 by GeorgesAbitbol

[lkv]

It happened as well at RCA recently with 12 people wounded, strangely no coverage in the news

Nothing strange, RCA mostly has a Thai crowd, can't have Thai people doing bad things on the news right now. The only format allowed is when they are being generous and kind to foreigners, forgiving us for being bad foreigners

Plus, Thai people getting hurt in a raid doesn't create the best image does it?

Neither does with foreigners, but that affects the international image more, and that hasn't been too bright anyway in the last 12-24 months.

Edited February 22, 2016 by lkv

[spidermike007]

Not that big to be honest. Just need to waste a few hours in your embassy and immigration.

I don't carry my passport all the time but always have a scan in my phone as well photo of last immigration stamp

That is absolutely incorrect information. I know with the US, anytime you lose your passport it becomes a black mark on your file. Lose it again, within the next few years, and you are immediately under suspicion. Losing one's passport can be a very big deal, and should be treated as such. For these goons to even consider the expectation that we will carry our original passport around with us, on a daily basis is beyond comprehension. The only viable reason for this, is that we are no longer welcome here. That is the impression they are conveying to the world. Period, end of discussion.

A color copy of the main page, and the visa page should always suffice. Or a Thai drivers license. Always. Asking us to carry anything more than that is simply unreasonable, and makes the place feel closer to N. Korea, than the land of smiles.

Ok, I have european passport so I don't know how it is with US.

I did lost my passport once and another time was stolen. Both in Thailand. I had no any problem to get 3rd one.

Glad you did not have problems. For an American, if your passport if lost or stolen more than once, you are often times suspected of having sold it. A very paranoid government, I admit.

[brewsterbudgen]

It happened as well at RCA recently with 12 people wounded, strangely no coverage in the news

Raids on Thai clubs are common and not very newsworthy!

[ttthailand]

The irony in all of this is that the persons caught up in the Immigration Police

dragnet have all been the subject of, essentially, racial profiling!

I do, however, think that the concept of racial profiling would be lost on the

Thai authorities.

Racial profiling is done for a reason. If you have information about a gang of blacks selling drugs on Soi 3 does it make sense to waste your time checking out Japanese or old grand mothers? If you know ISIS is planning to blowup something don't it make sense to look for people who fit the image and not check everyone. If people belong to a group who is being profiled perhaps they need to make changes in their group's behavior and not blame others for trying to protect themselves. This PC talk is one reason this world is getting so screwed up. Call a spade a spade not a heart or club.

[ttthailand]

If you carried your passport every day it would be damaged very quickly or lost. There should be an official card you can get that fits in your wallet that states your visa status and date for renewal. Charge 100 baht and have on official stamp. Nice way to make money for the Government and a way to help prevent lost or stolen passports.

[soc]

The irony in all of this is that the persons caught up in the Immigration Police

dragnet have all been the subject of, essentially, racial profiling!

I do, however, think that the concept of racial profiling would be lost on the

Thai authorities.

Racial profiling is done for a reason. If you have information about a gang of blacks selling drugs on Soi 3 does it make sense to waste your time checking out Japanese or old grand mothers? If you know ISIS is planning to blowup something don't it make sense to look for people who fit the image and not check everyone. If people belong to a group who is being profiled perhaps they need to make changes in their group's behavior and not blame others for trying to protect themselves. This PC talk is one reason this world is getting so screwed up. Call a spade a spade not a heart or club.

Call a spade a spade & you'll get the PC Crowd breathing down your neck!

Not just TVN, but everywhere.