How much is the actual littering fine?

[Monkeyrobot]

Most people who walk around sukhumvit have probably seen the Teksakit, the litter police , there sign reads up to 2000B max for littering and they tend  to hunt down the foreigners who drop cigarette butts on the ground. Has anyone ever been pulled up and if so what was the fine? 

[anotheruser]

I got stopped for it once. I had a bunch of Lao Kip and only 600 Baht on me. I told him in Thai it is all I had and he took it and that was that. He bitched at me like I am a terrible human being and I am thinking I am already paying you be nice to your customer.

 

Throwing the cig butt was wrong but it isn't like paying a bribe rectifies the problem. I would have no problem paying the entire 2,000 if it would go towards people to actually clean the streets.

 

So the 'fine' seems to be negotiable.

[lamyai3]

Under normal circumstances the fine would be the full 2000 unless you visibly had less cash in the wallet and no cards on you. Targetted scam, been going on for years.  

[impulse]

4 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Under normal circumstances the fine would be the full 2000 unless you visibly had less cash in the wallet and no cards on you. Targetted scam, been going on for years.  

 

It's only a scam if they fine someone who hasn't broken a law.  If they pocket the fine instead of sending it to the city coffers, they still haven't scammed the guilty party- just the people of Thailand.

[dinsdale]

4 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Under normal circumstances the fine would be the full 2000 unless you visibly had less cash in the wallet and no cards on you. Targetted scam, been going on for years.  

Yes. If you have your card on you they'll take you to an ATM. So hide it or leave it in your room. Don't carry too much cash. Never hand over your passport. They'll keep it 'til you pay up. Make sure you have a photo of your ID and visa on your phone. Best thing though is don't litter. When I'm in BKK I take a small tin and put my butts in that. If you throw your butt down the storm drain they'll do you for polluting the water. Never seen a Thai done. This seems to only apply to foreigners.

Edited May 6, 2017 by dinsdale

[gjoo888]

I was with a friend who dropped a cigarette butt on Sukhumvit once. All he had was 200 Baht on him at the time, and it was gladly accepted. And yes, they did try to get him to pay the 2000 Baht, before they took the 200 Baht. 

[tomwct]

It's a Tourist Scam, but it's also the way the police get spending money. I watched them one time on SUK and sure enough they got a European. I told the tourist offer 200 baht and you wanted a receipt or take me to the police station. The police shrugged them off and told him to go while staring at me. There were no receipts to be had.They wouldn't pull it on a Thai because that's part of Thai Culture to throw trash. Just get behind an un-airconditioned bus or train and the trash comes flying out the windows.

Edited May 6, 2017 by tomwct

[Estrada]

10 minutes ago, tomwct said:

It's a Tourist Scam, but it's also the way the police get spending money. I watched them one time on SUK and sure enough they got a European. I told the tourist offer 200 baht and you wanted a receipt or take me to the police station. The police shrugged them off and told him to go while staring at me. There were no receipts to be had.They wouldn't pull it on a Thai because that's part of Thai Culture to throw trash. Just get behind an un-airconditioned bus or train and the trash comes flying out the windows.

These guys are not Thai Police, they are BMA employees.

[e2x10]

not enough

[williamgeorgeallen]

aussie friend of mine finished a ciggy in bangkok and was looking for a bin to throw the butt. he asked a thai guy who was loitering near by where he could put it. thai guy said he did not know. my friend put the butt down the drain. the same thai guy then fined him 2000thb.  aussie guy said he disposed of it down a drain. thai guy said it would be 10 000thb for polluting a waterway. aussie guy paid the 2000thb and made a fast exit. i believe 2000thb is for a major littering offence like dumping a ute load of trash. of course the max is applied at every occasion when dealing with foreigners. almost seems silly to fine anyone for littering in such at a filthy country.

[ThaiWai]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

aussie friend of mine finished a ciggy in bangkok and was looking for a bin to throw the butt. he asked a thai guy who was loitering near by where he could put it. thai guy said he did not know. my friend put the butt down the drain. the same thai guy then fined him 2000thb.  aussie guy said he disposed of it down a drain. thai guy said it would be 10 000thb for polluting a waterway. aussie guy paid the 2000thb and made a fast exit. i believe 2000thb is for a major littering offence like dumping a ute load of trash. of course the max is applied at every occasion when dealing with foreigners. almost seems silly to fine anyone for littering in such at a filthy country.

I'm sorry..."a Thai guy loitering nearby" collected a fine??  

[williamgeorgeallen]

23 minutes ago, ThaiWai said:

I'm sorry..."a Thai guy loitering nearby" collected a fine??  

yea, thats how they operate. dressed in civies waiting in areas with no where to dispose of cigarette buts. makes me wonder if many of them are even cops.

[anotheruser]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

 

It's only a scam if they fine someone who hasn't broken a law.  If they pocket the fine instead of sending it to the city coffers, they still haven't scammed the guilty party- just the people of Thailand.

Which is a much more serious offense than the person who threw a cigarette butt. At least in a normal country it would be. 

[SiamBeast]

Here's a better idea: Not smoking.

[Aussieroaming]

i threw rubbish into a big container full of rubbish just past the poxy bugger collecting the cash thinking it was a bin and got nabbed. Ended up coughing up 1000Baht and that was about 6 years ago, never dropped a thing since. I was fuming, told my wife and she shrugged and said dont get wound up, they are just doing a job. Its not about the money, its about the fact that they do target foreigners. When i paid up i was in a line of foreigners waiting for my turn to pay. Total blatant rascism in my opinion because i have been past there plenty of times and never once saw a Thai being nabbed.

[robblok]

23 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Yes. If you have your card on you they'll take you to an ATM. So hide it or leave it in your room. Don't carry too much cash. Never hand over your passport. They'll keep it 'til you pay up. Make sure you have a photo of your ID and visa on your phone. Best thing though is don't litter. When I'm in BKK I take a small tin and put my butts in that. If you throw your butt down the storm drain they'll do you for polluting the water. Never seen a Thai done. This seems to only apply to foreigners.

Would it not be much easier... not to litter then to take all those crazy precautions ?

[DILLIGAD]

I live in Isaan and the amount of 'fly tipping' here shocks me. For a country so proud of its culture, some seem to think it's a rubbish dump.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

On 5/6/2017 at 8:42 AM, dinsdale said:

Yes. If you have your card on you they'll take you to an ATM. So hide it or leave it in your room. Don't carry too much cash. Never hand over your passport. They'll keep it 'til you pay up. Make sure you have a photo of your ID and visa on your phone. Best thing though is don't litter. When I'm in BKK I take a small tin and put my butts in that. If you throw your butt down the storm drain they'll do you for polluting the water. Never seen a Thai done. This seems to only apply to foreigners.

Would it not be much easier... not to litter then to take all those crazy precautions ?

[robblok]

2 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Your right.. my brain was half awake when i posted it.. sorry. My old mom also have a portable ashtray with her when she visits.

Edited May 7, 2017 by robblok

[MartinBangkok]

According to Thai-law the maximum fine for littering is 2000 Baht. So you can basically empty a truck load of trash anywhere and be fined maximum 2000 Baht (as long as you are not breaking any other laws at the same time).

 

Fining foreigners 2000 Baht for a cigarett-butt is a scam and abuse of power and of Thai law. 

 

If a BMA municipal inspector (Thessakit) tries it on you, ask politely for the mans name and ID. Then tell him, again politely,  to take you to the nearest police station. He will let you off immediately.

 

(turn a deaf ear to any stupid threats of increased fines at the police station)