Netizens ask: Are police above the law?

[SaintLouisBlues]

6 minutes ago, DM07 said:

C) It doesn't matter how I personally FEEL about a law! A bunch of them are quiet stupid! Nonetheless: if I break them, I'll be in trouble!

If you break them and get caught you'll (probably) be in trouble. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people break a law all the time. The prisons are not full, and the reason for that is that a proportion do not get caught. With some crimes eg. prostitution in Thailand, there must be hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of crimes, committed every day. They are not reported. Since not reported, no-one is ever caught unless there's a raid on a brothel. Recreational drugs are another area where thousands of crimes are committed every day. Shall I go on?

 

Keeping the law is optional

[DM07]

1 minute ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

If you break them and get caught you'll (probably) be in trouble. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people break a law all the time. The prisons are not full, and the reason for that is that a proportion do not get caught. With some crimes eg. prostitution in Thailand, there must be hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of crimes, committed every day. They are not reported. Since not reported, no-one is ever caught unless there's a raid on a brothel. Recreational drugs are another area where thousands of crimes are committed every day. Shall I go on?

 

Keeping the law is optional

Unless you get caught...which makes it NOT optional at all!

[SaintLouisBlues]

8 minutes ago, DM07 said:

Unless you get caught...which makes it NOT optional at all!

How does getting caught make it less optional? It is the punishment that is not optional, and even then ...

[fruitman]

4 hours ago, possum1931 said:

A question about this topic, can a lone policeman demand money from you by himself? Suppose you are riding on a part of the road on your motorbike where you should not be, and are stopped by a lone policeman, can you just ignore him and ride on? I honestly do not know the answer to this.

 

I guess not, i guess they have to be in a team at a checkpoint where they can write fines...

 

I have never seen them writing a fine when alone or together like 2 on a motocy. (without helmet of course).

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Yes more then a few times and yes i paid. 

I would like to know what the law says about this. It looks like any Thai policeman can accuse you of almost anything to line his own personal pockets.

Many times in my village I have often seen a lone policeman ignore underage and children with no helmets riding motorbikes. I can only imagine it is because the children will have no, or very little money.

Just a pity the Thaivisa lawyer is not available anymore.

[NoshowJones]

26 minutes ago, fruitman said:

 

I guess not, i guess they have to be in a team at a checkpoint where they can write fines...

 

I have never seen them writing a fine when alone or together like 2 on a motocy. (without helmet of course).

Well read Robbloks post #57.

[robblok]

13 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I would like to know what the law says about this. It looks like any Thai policeman can accuse you of almost anything to line his own personal pockets.

Many times in my village I have often seen a lone policeman ignore underage and children with no helmets riding motorbikes. I can only imagine it is because the children will have no, or very little money.

Just a pity the Thaivisa lawyer is not available anymore.

Possum, I have looked into this and it seems they are right, there is an English translation of the Thailands road code however this is not 100% correct so i let a Thai friend look at it and in Thai it really says that motorcycles have to stay there. The checkpoints I was caught up at were never lone police men but larger checks for just that offense. 

[impulse]

While I'm ambivalent about seeing a cop driving while talking on the phone, if that's all the netizens can find to gripe about, they're not looking very hard.

[NoshowJones]

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

Possum, I have looked into this and it seems they are right, there is an English translation of the Thailands road code however this is not 100% correct so i let a Thai friend look at it and in Thai it really says that motorcycles have to stay there. The checkpoints I was caught up at were never lone police men but larger checks for just that offense. 

I have been caught twice in Bangkok by lone cops and had to pay them 300Bt each time, no receipt, because of this I have refused to ride my bike to Bangkok anymore, if I find out I can just tell a lone cop to get lost if he wants money from me, then I will start riding to Bangkok again.

It is not the amount of money, it is the principle.

[NickJ]

Anything you do is illegal if there looking for money.

[George Graham]

7 hours ago, Johnniey said:

It's illegal to drink a bottle of water while driving there and eating a sweetie. Bloody ridiculous. Thank Buddha for the freedom we get in LOS, where police don't enforce silly laws like fining  people for driving while  eating a banana. 

...or calling someone from Scotland a Scotlander.

[impulse]

18 minutes ago, NickJ said:

Anything you do is illegal if there looking for money.

 

There may be a kernel of truth in that statement, but it seems the vast majority of the rants about being fined come from posters who have violated a law they don't agree with, or violated a law that the locals seem to violate all the time without consequence, or violated a law they didn't know about or violating a law they've been getting away with violating for years.

 

The common theme is that they violated a law.

[George Graham]

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yet you feel free to comment on the motives of others you know nothing about. 

 

Or is it your assumptions are superior to those of us lesser mortals? 

Leave him alone, he's a Scotlander.

[Nemesis7]

in thailand you bet they are above the law. There is no law for them.

[kannot]

20 hours ago, Johnniey said:

Why are you so cryptic?

What is scary?

I didn't know he was playing with his phone. I thought he was speaking on it, perhaps getting important orders relevant to his job. This has nothing to do with Thais. I believe all countries' police should have phones to use whenever they want.

 

 

 

 

YOU are "unbelievable" ever  heard of "hands  free"

So far weve had you admit you were an alcoholic, you drive with one hand on the wheel and you use your  mobile phone whilst driving............

[Puwa]

The question is correct and important; the incident that sparked it arguable and trivial.

[kannot]

7 hours ago, Johnniey said:

A matter of opinion. I can do a simple thing like drive with one hand(automatic gears).

 

I know quite a few guys who drive after a beer,  something I find idiotic and never do  but they assure me it's fine.

 

I even know guys who take there kids on the back of a pick up during Songkran which I think is idiotic but they think it's fine.

 

Driving a motorcycle is 100 times more dangerous than driving a car on the phone but you see it's a matter of opinion.

no way are you in control with one hand on the wheel but of course i dont have an "open mind"..............or an empty one

[kannot]

5 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yet you feel free to comment on the motives of others you know nothing about. 

 

Or is it your assumptions are superior to those of us lesser mortals? 

otherwise known as "moderator syndrome"

[lvr181]

Lead by example, obey the law and setting standards has gone down the tubes. 

[William C F Pierce]

23 hours ago, Johnniey said:

Why are you so cryptic?

What is scary?

I didn't know he was playing with his phone. I thought he was speaking on it, perhaps getting important orders relevant to his job. This has nothing to do with Thais. I believe all countries' police should have phones to use whenever they want.

 

 

 

 

What is there to stop a police officer from stopping the car before answering it. Regardless of what country he is in or from.

[papa al]

On 12/19/2016 at 7:59 PM, Johnniey said:

Of course a policeman can use a phone whilst driving. Bloody netizens, get a life!

In states police can shoot totally innocent,

unarmed citizens and get off.

"I thought he was reaching for a gun."

They won't say 'sorry" to the family usually.

I follow this stuff as a hobby.

[PM for massive play-list.]

[Destiny1990]

Yes some people above the law here..How many examples do u need?

[honcho]

On ‎19‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 9:20 PM, fruitman said:

Yes they can drive against traffic without helmet as well. They can do whatever pleases them

especially the big boss police.... have to have their big boss cap showing their rank!

[fruitman]

Yesterday at the toll booth on the highway an officer looked at the stickers on our windscreen and pointed us to go to the checkpoint.

 

My wife steered left to them while another car didn't stop for us and almost crashed in our side.

 

While we stopped at the checkpoint the officer looked at the sticker and pointed us to drive off....

[yardrunner]

16 hours ago, impulse said:

While I'm ambivalent about seeing a cop driving while talking on the phone, if that's all the netizens can find to gripe about, they're not looking very hard.

well you have to start somewhere

[impulse]

2 hours ago, yardrunner said:

well you have to start somewhere

 

I'm more of a "pick your battles" kind of guy.  

 

Otherwise, the important stuff gets lost in the noise.   Lots of noise on that interweb thingy.

[bangon04]

On 12/20/2016 at 9:41 AM, alant said:

And lots more including riding motorbikes on motorways

and threatening other drunks with their service revolvers during an argument..... or running over foreigners in his truck to make sure they are dead... or..