What language so you speak with the police?

[DannyAustralia]

I have bike and car driving licences and insist that my passenger use seat belts or wear helmet. Mostly for safety but also to avoid police interaction.

Got stopped twice but I asked my GF to do all the talking as I had 'trained' her to handle such situations. 

[DannyAustralia]

I have bike and car driving licences and insist that my passenger use seat belts or wear helmet. Mostly for safety but also to avoid police interaction.

Got stopped twice but I asked my GF to do all the talking as I had 'trained' her to handle such situations. 

[Wolf Cat]

Several years back I got stopped at a police checkpoint on the Darkside, they were doing breathalyzer testing and checking motorbikes for drugs. Another falang and myself were the only two foreigners and we both blew over the limit, the other 7-8 were Thais and I don't know if they blew positive or caught with drugs but all of us were put in the back of a pickup truck and driven to a nearby police box.  The other falang was shitting bricks and kept asking me and the police questions, popping up and down every few minutes,  I sat calm and told the guy to not panic as the cops will use that to their advantage, he didn't listen.  They were calling the Thais in first and letting them go after paying a fine, my Thai is well enough to hear the Thais were paying 500b. The other farang and myself were the last 2 and he wouldn't stop pacing and I know they were going to squeeze him good, and they did, 15,000b, on his way off the lot he whispered to me 15,000.  When they called me in, they said 20k, I said I can't, they said 15k, I said too much, I was calm and using my best Thai language, I told them I didn't have a lot of money as I'm retired military.  They tried their best to put fear in me, but I wasn't afraid, I even said if I have to stay the night in jail I will, finally they said 8k, I said the most I could pay was 5,000, they said ok.

The lesson here is don't panic if/when you get stopped.

[PattayaSuperman]

I got stopped and fined today for not having my license on me. 500 baht

I had it on my phone but it wasn't enough. I had to go to the police to pay the fine.

They were on second road and blocked one side of the traffic and were picking out people to control. I tried to ask him to pay him there but he refused it. Probably because there were more of them.

Luckily he spoke a little English because otherwise I wouldn't have understood what he wanted.

First he wanted me take a mototaxi, go pay the fine and come back for my bike. Then he said I could take my bike but I had to come back to show the proof of pay. Then he said once I paid it I could go home.

I am not mad at all, these are their rules and I have to obey them. And by the way there were several Asian looking people paying their fine at the police station too.

I would be curious though if anybody has had everything in order (international license, helmet) and still got a fine?

[jaykao]

I got stopped just walking in the street in bangkok last month, first time ever in Thailand.  No idea what was on their mind other than pester a foreigner day.  I just spoke English to reduce the what you doing in Thailand chit chat, even though my Thai is OK. Why complicate things? 
 
Anyway after searching my bag and person they went on their merry way.

[buksida]

9 minutes ago, jaykao said:

I got stopped just walking in the street in bangkok last month, first time ever in Thailand.  No idea what was on their mind other than pester a foreigner day.  I just spoke English to reduce the what you doing in Thailand chit chat, even though my Thai is OK. Why complicate things? 
 
Anyway after searching my bag and person they went on their merry way.

Was this the Thonglor police? They are notorious for stopping ppl walking along and extorting from them. They will get you for Viagra or zanex if you are carrying them. A few years ago they were doing urine test were almost everyone came up positive.

[jaykao]

1 minute ago, buksida said:

Was this the Thonglor police? They are notorious for stopping ppl walking along and extorting from them. They will get you for Viagra or zanex if you are carrying them. A few years ago they were doing urine test were almost everyone came up positive.

Could have been, not sure, it was closeish to that area, not far from Emporium, two on a motorbike.
 

[buksida]

^That will be Thonglor police, I think their jurisdiction goes from Asoke to Phrahkanong or may Ekkamai.

[jaykao]

5 hours ago, buksida said:

^That will be Thonglor police, I think their jurisdiction goes from Asoke to Phrahkanong or may Ekkamai.

Yeah, makes sense, had a suspicion some kind of shakedown might have been in mind but I had nothing questionable on me at all.  They were pretty friendly and pleasant really, though it's never ideal to be hassled and searched on the street for no reason at all.  

 

[songsingha]

I've only ever been waived through the Thai checkpoints and I've ridden a LOT in Thailand. As others have mentioned, they don't seem that interested outside tourist areas in Pattaya and Phuket, in my experience. My Thai is good enough, but I like the "kaw-tohd, khap. Phum poot pah-sah Thai nid noi, khap." approach.

I did get chased by Police in Phnom Penh once, he was coming towards me and did a U-turn. A rang the the neck out of the crappy Yamaha Nouvo I was on, left, right, left, right..  I got told not to stop in Cambodia, so I didn't.

Later in Siem Reap, a copper tried to sell me his Police badge, ha ha.

Also a few years ago in Vietnam, near Vũng Tàu, I was with my two brothers and a mate, Highway cops had the radar out and clocked me going way over, but they weren't  interested in me (or my other older brother) as I had the GoPro on. My other brother and mate got the shake down. They got them down to 100,000 VND each after starting at something ridiculous.

[particle]

On 16/03/2022 at 22:38, buksida said:

 

Once I negotiated B50 in Bkk, the cop then pulled over a Thai couple who agreed to B100. When we paid they looked shocked and unimpressed.

Dual pricing in reverse?

[poseidon5566]

"What language so you speak with the police"

Speaking Thai to the Thai police men and women is normally the best language to choose. A number can speak English tho 

[Micky2]

On 02/04/2022 at 21:08, jaykao said:

I got stopped just walking in the street in bangkok last month, first time ever in Thailand.  No idea what was on their mind other than pester a foreigner day.  I just spoke English to reduce the what you doing in Thailand chit chat, even though my Thai is OK. Why complicate things? 
 
Anyway after searching my bag and person they went on their merry way.

Have had the same stunt pulled a few times, once when walking and a couple of times when riding a m/c. A bit wary of the old drugs up their sleeve trick as they slowly searched, so grabbed the bag and emptied it on the ground, in full view of a number of bystanders. They didn’t like it, but not much they can do, except for one time one said “Farang very bad man”.

As to language, I am fluent in Thai, and my mother tongue is English, but I don’t generally speak to them at all. Just flash my licence if stopped, blow if requested (no worries, gave up drinking a few years ago) and carry on. Same, same in my home country too. 

[kingofsurf]

Been living in Bangkok and Pattaya for about 11 years as a sexpat.

Mainly for safety, I've only ridden cheap bicycles bought from Big C.

One big advantage is Thai cops never stop someone riding a bicycle. I've ridden or walked my bicycle past many police checkpoints in Pattaya, and the cops barely give me a glance.

Another big advantage is I can ride my bike and park in places a motorcycle cannot, like sidewalks, etc.

Of course the big disadvantage is that I hardly venture anywhere beyond Beach Road and Third Road. I mainly ride along Buakhao Road, where traffic doesn't move at lethal speeds.

So I am confined to a narrow boring world where the only thing I do for fun is fuck. 

But I am still alive. That's the main thing.

Edited February 5 by kingofsurf

[Sofa King High]

Stopped twice last month.

First in front of Ambassador NaJomtien where I've maybe made it through 1 out of 10 times without being stopped. Clear violation of "driving while white" I just stared blankly. Don't think I said a word the whole time. They sent some white guy over to take my license and he's all suspicious. Seems convinced it's fake. Calls the Thai copper over who okays it and he doubles down asking Thai copper if he's sure 😆 Yes, he's sure.

Second time no helmet. Hit a red light and I make sure to get all the way opposite the police box and tucked behind a songtaew. Here comes a copper out of nowhere on foot. Motions me aside and he's got me dead to rights.

Cop: "Where you come from?"

Me: "I come from America."

Cop: "You have driver license?"

Me (switches to Thai): oh yea, just a sec. It's in my wallet.

Cop (loses his mind): How do you speak Thai like that? You working here?

Me: I'm retired

Cop: RETIRED?!?! How many wives have you got? You like Thai ladies?

Me: No, no, no wives. Newly single.

Cop: OK, well, just make sure you're wearing your helmet from now on.

From now on I'm going mute if I'm in the right and Thai if I'm in the wrong 😆