There will always be isolated incidents of corruption, ripping off, murder. But that hold true for anywhere.
How many tourists u think are scammed in New York city/Amsterdam?

Please the news stories about the tourists that got murdered by police officers in NYC and Amsterdam, or any you can find for any other ASEAN countries at any time in the past.

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:42 pm

Ronny wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:04 pm

hanno wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 6:04 am

Cruisemonkey wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 5:48 am Fake cops.

More likely fake story.

I have never, even been asked for money by either Thai police or immigration; not sure where all these supposed events take place?

Then you must be living under a rock and not paying attention, buddy. Hell, I just got back from the Immigration Department at Rangsit here in Bangkok today as I had to go get a proof of residency document in order to apply for an International Driver's License. No problem, right? Well, you see, the normal fee for this document is 100 Baht but the catch is you have to wait about 2 weeks for them to mail it to you. But hey, says the female immigration officer in a quiet whisper, we can pull a few strings and get it done today for you but it'll cost you 500 Baht. And she goes onto say that this is our little secret because she doesn't do this for just anybody but since I speak such clear and fluent Thai she would help me out. Isn't that great? So anyways, buddy, don't tell me there isn't corruption at the Immigration Department(s) because it's all around you. The problem is that you haven't been looking or you're so dim-witted you didn't notice it when it was in front of you.

LOL

Normal fee is 100 baht

certificate of residence is FREE , and u get them while u wait, at least thats the way it is here in Phuket
never ever paid for one

all my years here have never paid "extra" at immigration
nor have i ever paid anything to police
But than i know what is real and what isn't
and yes been driving cars and bikes, in fact i have been riding a Motorcycle with expired CA plates on it for the last 18 years and never had any trouble with police

Richard, you ain't got nothing on me when it comes to Thailand, ok? And I really don't give a flying (insert expletive) that you have never experienced "corruption" at the Immigration Department. Corruption is like a candy and they're many different flavors of it. Yesterday, the officer didn't FORCE to to pay anything but the made the option available. Sure, Phuket, if you simply go there to do the basic crap to get your visa or whatever then you're not gonna pay anything extra but if you want a "favor" for whatever reasons then all of the sudden a new world opens up to you. And let me tell you something too, Phuket, Not all corruption is bad. I have always thought it would be a cool as hell idea to know an immigration officer who could "pull a few strings" for you and I think I might have finally found one, lol. But once again, this is "optional corruption" and not "forced corruption" so no harm done, eh.

P.S. And as for the certificate being free, well, maybe in Phuket, buddy, but this isn't the first time you've said that you're able to get this or that done at the Phuket Immigration Department only for me to go to the Immigration Department at Rangsit and have them confirm what you said and then get those "I don't know what the hell you are talking about" looks from them.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=

vladimir wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:23 pm I got ripped off for 7000 baht by Thai pigs..I manged to recover 5000 of it by complaining to the Tourist Police.

Pigs be pigs everywhere, from NY to the far east.

Care to tell us how this went down?

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:18 pm

Ronny wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:04 pm Then you must be living under a rock and not paying attention, buddy.

If you are a resident in Thailand there will of course be extra annoyances and bureaucracy to deal with. That's a bit different from being blatantly kidnapped and robbed. It's not too difficult for anyone to pretend to be a cop, and besides that real cops can be sketchy as fuck too. Otherwise the story sounds weird.

I couldn't agree with you more. That's why it's imperative to learn how to spot bullshit when you see it. There's no way these 2 tourists should have voluntarily gone with this "policemen" to a secluded area and that should have been a major red flag. If a cop is gonna fleece you then he can do it at a police station or pretty much anywhere so there's no need for him or them to waste time taking you anywhere. And learn to speak the local language. If a cop sees that you speak Thai they become more defensive because your ability to speak Thai means several things to them and first and foremost, it means to them that you've been around town for quite awhile and they might not be able to bullshit you as easily as they could some tourist fresh off the airplane.

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:03 am

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:18 pm

Ronny wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:04 pm Then you must be living under a rock and not paying attention, buddy.

If you are a resident in Thailand there will of course be extra annoyances and bureaucracy to deal with. That's a bit different from being blatantly kidnapped and robbed. It's not too difficult for anyone to pretend to be a cop, and besides that real cops can be sketchy as fuck too. Otherwise the story sounds weird.

bureaucracy Yes, every 90 days i need "report" as if i am parole, ( fuck i wish they would fix the 90 day report online) Evey year i need renew my 1 year extension.

annoyances No, no more than living anywhere ( i find more annoyances living in Cambodia,those dam beggars and motos everywhere in PP

Good point, I have only ever used the land border 2-3 times.

I have used the land borders at least 2 dozen times over the years ( not to mention the illegal entries) never any trouble on either side...
only bad time i had was last year exiting at Pailin with my Thai car and had no import papers allowing it into Cambodia. . The Cambodian customs wanted to charge me $20 and told me they would not let my thai car back into Thailand, gave him $5 and drove on....LOL

There will always be isolated incidents of corruption, ripping off, murder. But that hold true for anywhere.
How many tourists u think are scammed in New York city/Amsterdam?

Richard, for your "90 Days", you CAN mail them that, you know. You don't have to actually go to the Immigration Department.

Ronny wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:01 pm

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:18 pm

Ronny wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:04 pm Then you must be living under a rock and not paying attention, buddy.

If you are a resident in Thailand there will of course be extra annoyances and bureaucracy to deal with. That's a bit different from being blatantly kidnapped and robbed. It's not too difficult for anyone to pretend to be a cop, and besides that real cops can be sketchy as fuck too. Otherwise the story sounds weird.

I couldn't agree with you more. That's why it's imperative to learn how to spot bullshit when you see it. There's no way these 2 tourists should have voluntarily gone with this "policemen" to a secluded area and that should have been a major red flag. If a cop is gonna fleece you then he can do it at a police station or pretty much anywhere so there's no need for him or them to waste time taking you anywhere. And learn to speak the local language. If a cop sees that you speak Thai they become more defensive because your ability to speak Thai means several things to them and first and foremost, it means to them that you've been around town for quite awhile and they might not be able to bullshit you as easily as they could some tourist fresh off the airplane.

The bit in bold is why I think the couple are probably telling the truth. They don't look like the type to make a story like that up just to make a false insurance claim. Jesus, they just needed to say someone nicked it on a train etc.
Again, just as you say there is no need for cops not to have to pull that shit in Thailand, there was no need for them to make up that story to make an insurance claim. I give them the benifit of the doubt. Stuff like that does happen. I know of it happening in Africa. And I know of it happening here too. If I could search the CD archives, I may be able to find the report from, I think, 2010, where a group of police and their mates bought a load of AK's off a naval dude in Snvl, and went round robbing houses Cambodian style.

sigmoid wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:51 pm

There will always be isolated incidents of corruption, ripping off, murder. But that hold true for anywhere.
How many tourists u think are scammed in New York city/Amsterdam?

Please the news stories about the tourists that got murdered by police officers in NYC and Amsterdam, or any you can find for any other ASEAN countries at any time in the past.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/16/us/a ... meras.html

Last month " The officers body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident ". What a surprise !

Cowshed Cowboy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:23 pm

sigmoid wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:51 pm

There will always be isolated incidents of corruption, ripping off, murder. But that hold true for anywhere.
How many tourists u think are scammed in New York city/Amsterdam?

Please the news stories about the tourists that got murdered by police officers in NYC and Amsterdam, or any you can find for any other ASEAN countries at any time in the past.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/16/us/a ... meras.html

Last month " The officers body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident ". What a surprise !

Lol, yeah that was what sprang to my mind too. But it isn't a fairly regular occurrence like it is sometimes in the less developed countries. On the bus to Lamu is pretty risky getting near to Christmas time. Police working with ex-army shooting the bus to get it to stop so thry can rob it. You can fly from Malindi for $30 though.