fine of 200'000 bath demanded by local police from a bar boy

[brlumpet-old]

Hello everybody
I receive yesterday a line message from a Laotian bar boy from Pattaya I know, telling me that his sister, who works also in bars, has been arrested by the police and that they ask 200'000 bath of fine. I understand that they arrested her because she is not Thai.
They told the boy that the law is now stronger and the fine very high because of the new coronavirus. It seems a nonsense to me.
I guess that Police know very well that the siblings cannot have this amount. Do they hope that the boy get it from a foreign friend ? I guess that seeing that they cannot pay they will try to lower the fine. Anyway in my opinion it is corruption.
Anyway, in the meantime the boy is scared and he do not know where to go for help.

Did anyone heard this kind of practice from the local police of Pattaya ?
what could do the boy ? I do not know if tourist police could help a foreigner working in bars ? any other place he could go to get help ?

Thanks for those who have an answer.
I am no more in Pattaya now, I came back to Europe last week.

[Manforallseasons]

Normally they will try to shake down the bar owner.......The owner is the only one they might get any money from however not likely....200,000 no way....The police know that the girl has no money so this story makes little sense.

[Nirish guy]

I received a message from a Laotian bar boy from Pattaya.......... It seems a nonsense to me.

I think you've just answered your own question. Personally I would ignore and move on.

[goji]

Sounds like total nonsense.

Bars that facilitate prostitution are allowed to exist because they are a lucrative source of bribes.
I would imagine 50~80% of the staff at the gay bars are foreign and that a high proportion at the girly bars would also be foreign. This just gives an additional reason to collect bribes. However it doesn't mean the bar revenue is any higher, so there is not a bigger pot of money for the police to extort.
I doubt the police employ many people with a good grasp of basic economics.

[gerefan2]

Another dreamer briumpet. Just ignore him.

[pong]

Dont you all, admire these guys and their smartness? Now that the old story of the dead buffalo is known by everyone (though Laos must have many more of them being so old-fashioned vs tractors) they keep on inventing new heart-sobbing tales. Even those famous Nigerians with their marriage scams could not invent that!

[Ivory]

A couple of days ago, a boy I know for a long time wrote me the same story that he allegedly had to help out a friend who was taken to the police and now they are asking for money. However, the amount was more modest - 60,000 THB. He was very intrusive, telling me about this problem, so finally I had to block him. It looks like this is a new trend for withdrawing money from farangs.

[Zebedee]

In the light of the recent Police bar raids,is there a possibility that some of these reports might actually be true? Im not completely naive, but I would be reluctant to simply dismiss these stories out of hand.

[gerefan2]

In the light of the recent Police bar raids,is there a possibility that some of these reports might actually be true? Im not completely naive, but I would be reluctant to simply dismiss these stories out of hand.

It would be the bar owners who would be approached for money or "fined" as happened, allegedly, in BT recently.

[PapaBear]

I personally know 3 Khmer boys who told me they were nabbed in Pattaya and shook down by the police. Mostly they pay whatever they have left in their pockets, including their mobile phones. One boy paid 3000 baht, one 7000 and one 8000 baht. Plus they lost their phones. They had to borrow money from friends to return to Cambodia. They have no plans to return to Thailand ever.

Dozens of Khmer boys have returned to Phnom Penh in the past few weeks because of the clampdown by immigration police. Also, because they say there are too few punters left in Pattaya.

[Zebedee]

I personally know 3 Khmer boys who told me they were nabbed in Pattaya and shook down by the police. Mostly they pay whatever they have left in their pockets, including their mobile phones. One boy paid 3000 baht, one 7000 and one 8000 baht. Plus they lost their phones. They had to borrow money from friends to return to Cambodia. They have no plans to return to Thailand ever.

Dozens of Khmer boys have returned to Phnom Penh in the past few weeks because of the clampdown by immigration police. Also, because they say there are too few punters left in Pattaya.

If this is a new method of extortion I would imagine there will be a rapid decrease in available guys in the near future. The bar owners better have a plan B.

[Nirish guy]

, telling me that his sister, who works also in bars, has been arrested by the police and that they ask 200'000 bath of fine..

Of course we are also all missing another possible cause of such a large "fine", that being the very large bag of Yaba tablets that were found / placed in her apartment when she was being arrested ! It has been known......:-)

[me2]

Of course we are also all missing another possible cause of such a large "fine", that being the very large bag of Yaba tablets that were found / placed in her apartment when she was being arrested ! It has been known......:-)

known by whom and when?

[Mancs]

2018
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2131219/thai-policeman-sacked-accused-framing-and-extorting

[Nirish guy]

known by whom and when?

Thank you Mancs for the quick link to save me going searching.

Me2 I'm not sure if you're new to the whole Thailand thing or not, so I'll take your question at face value....

So, ALLEGEDLY it has been suggested and isn't unheard of that some (rogue?) police offices may in the past ( and currently ?) have planted narcotics ( usually yaba pills) on people and in their luggage during searches for many different reasons in order for them to achieve whatever their particular goal they desire.

This being whether that be simple corruption and them then being able to ask for fine ( bribe ) which might then enable the person to either walk away or to get a lighter sentence maybe, or perhaps for other more local reasons where they / their superiors simply want someone "off the scene" as they're maybe interfering in police officers own "business dealing' ( and I'll leave the rest of that to your own imagination.)

There's plenty on google about all of the above, so feel free to search if you're interested.

Hope that helps.

[goji]

2018
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2131219/thai-policeman-sacked-accused-framing-and-extorting

When Thailand decides to get serious about corruption, they need either life sentences or execution for officials requesting or taking bribes.

IF Thailand ever decides to get serious about corruption.

[christianpfc]

I once knew a Myanmar boy who was in Thailand without passport for work and had to pay 10 kTHB when caught by police. That would be a monthly salary? But boys or girls who work in bars can be expected to have a higher monthly income, so police asking for 20 k or more would not surprise me.

However, 200 k is absurd. No matter how much it is, it's not your (OP's) problem, ignore.

[BOY69]

Money boys will tell all sort of stories to extract money my last Vietnamese boy who had been with me a week in Thailand lately told me he returned to Vietnam and is not working because he has to take care of his mother who returned from hospital probably to check if I can send him money but I saw his profile at Grindr he's selling his services as usual in Vietnam. So it's better to take all money boy is saying very suspiciously.

[Brad the Impala]

Taking care of his mother and selling his services are not mutually exclusive activities, particularly if both are taking place in Vietnam.

[latintopxxx]

oh how i long for the simpler days of times gone past when all we had to contend with was ...buffalo die...send baht...

[BOY69]

Taking care of his mother and selling his services are not mutually exclusive activities, particularly if both are taking place in Vietnam.

Of course not but he lied to me he said he is not working because he needs to take care of his mother and need money when I saw that he is working as money boy on Grindr.

[dinagam]

Of course not but he lied to me he said he is not working because he needs to take care of his mother and need money when I saw that he is working as money boy on Grindr.

He's only asking for money, there is no threat of blackmail or coercion. That's the easiest part. It's good to hear that he's taking care of his mother beside looking after the needs of gay men and possibly women clients.

[Zebedee]

My God! A lot of the boys are struggling to survive and we have farang "outraged" by the their little antics to try and get some extra money. Many of these antics are easily seen to be what they are and therefore no threat to the Farang,yet their response is near hysterics.
If a farang is retired on a fixed income I understand they have to watch the pennies, coupled with the poor exchange rate and increased cost of living I'm sure many would be feeling the pinch. But these issues are not the fault of the boys. The boys are not your enemies.
If tourists come to Pattaya and are constantly complaining about the boys prices ...i.e the going rate....then them "tourists" really need to ask themselves can they afford to come to Thailand? I think not, you don't have the money accept it .

[latintopxxx]

...oh good Lord...that would be a very sorry state of affairs if one one cannot afford to party in Pattaya...