Thai Police and their rubbish policies

An English friend was In Bangkok, just about to get into a taxi with a Thai friend, when two Policemen came up and showed him an English Language magazine article. It was about the power that the Thai Police apparently have to impose on-the-spot fines for dropping litter.

They said he was guilty of such an offence and demanded 3000 Baht. My friend refused as he hadn't dropped any litter and (remarkably) there was none on the pavement. The Police said in that case they would arrest him. At this point his Thai friend whispered that it was not a good idea to argue with the Police but my friend continued to protest and began to tell the taxi to take him to the British Embassy.

The two Policeman then dropped their demand to 300 Baht and at the vigourous urging of his Thai friend he paid.

Wonder if they were real police.

Thailand needs to keep a check on this kind of nonsense if they want to keep the tourist industry.

[dab69]

wonder if any badges were shown, and where the nearest tourist police were at.

[jolyjacktar]

or the sex industry

wonder if any badges were shown, and where the nearest tourist police were at.

Badges!?!

ohhh, I just can't help myself.... :geek:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HaxURLFn6jU

I find this story a little hard to believe. In all of the years that I have been in Thailand I have never had a negitive contact with the police. I have been stopped for driving violations and slipped the officer a 100 baht, but everytime I have been stopped I was doing something that would have been a several hundred dollar fine in America: driving the wrong way on a one way street, speeding, etc. I have to think that these were not real cops but con men trying to rip off a tourist. I find that the regular cops in Thailand are pretty fair. Remember, they make a starvation wage, so the fines that they collect are the only way that they can live a decent lifestyle. It is an accepted part of this culture....like it or not.

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

negotiating from 3000 to 300 isn't too bad. He should have offered that straight off and everyone would have been happy.

Everyone won't agree but the sort of small time graft that operates isn't really that bad and is often the only way to survive.

besides-I've found cops are bent in every country..no worse in Thailand.

I find this story a little hard to believe.

I agree with Soi 10 Tom here, and have had similar experiences. The police can be accused of a lot of things, including corruption, but this story just seems too blatant and too extreme. On one occasion I was stopped by the Highway Police on Sukhumvit for driving for too long in the right hand (overtaking) lane, and asked for the normal 200 baht "fine"; since, on that particular occasion, I had not actually been in the right hand lane at all I explained this and asked exactly where I had been seen there. He laughed and asked what he could do, to which I replied he could let me go - to my surprise he did.

I've no doubt at all that it happened to my friend and his Thai companion.

Personally I've only had one experience of contact with the Police. I was the passenger in a car and we were stopped and the Thai driver reached for some notes to pay what he knew would be a fine. The Policeman was about to take the money when he saw a "Farang" in the back and promptly demanded more.

[TrongpaiExpat]

One of the security companies, Ranger Investigations, have brown uniforms almost identical to the real police. Then the real police put on regular jackets over their uniforms sometimes and don't look real at all.

Once in Chiang Mai I was stopped while in a tuk tuk by a guy on a motorcycle who said he was the police. The guy had no uniform and did not show a badge. He asked for id from the driver and my BF but ignored me. I could not believe that the driver and my BF just passed him ID's. There was a lot of talk the BF told me that he fit the description of someone wanted. The guy on the motorcycle told the tuk tuk driver to follow him. I kept telling the BF and the driver to call the police and confirm that this guy is real, but they would not. The tuk tuk driver followed him for a short while but when the motorcycle took a left the tuk tuk driver went straight laughing that he was a fake cop. The fake cop just drove off. I have no idea what would have happen if we had followed him.

Telling the driver to take you to the Embassy was a good idea but unless it's business hours, it would be closed. They could have asked to go the the local police office. That's what I would do but if I am with someone Thai they have a Thai way to deal with these situations and I would told to be quiet and some deal like paying him 300B would transpire.