"Special forces" and "Thetsakit" to enforce 2,000 baht Pattaya smoking ban fines from April

[jinners]

6 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

This is not going to end well if the thetsakij in Bangkok are any guideline. Give a Thai power, especially unregulated or uncontrolled power such as being proposed here, and it will be abused. Sorry apologists, but that is well proven and documented, not to mention backed up by lots of anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. Many Thai males love to push around foreigners, and this is the kind of job they will gravitate to. I don't expect that these people will be trained in any way whatsoever, just unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Can't wait for the stories to start flooding in.

Agreed, but it's not only Thailand where putting someone in a uniform elevates them to a position they feel is worth abusing. 

On the rubbish issue, the mess on the beaches is 99% due to the discarded bottles/take away containers/snack packaging. Much of which comes from the locals having BBQ's and a drink on the beach after dark. if they were educated and/or fined, the beaches would be in a far better state. Picking on cigarette butts may be making the headlines but it ain't going to clean up those beaches.

[ThaiFelix]

"Though 100,000 baht fines and the threat of jail time has been abandoned for now".....unbelievable.  How many times do they do this.  Its the old Thai tradition of making a decision, make it law, broadcast it, then after finally thinking about it, abandon it for now. 

 

Its no wonder there are so many accidents on the road or law breaking in general....no one knows whats going on anymore (or ever did).  I doubt there are many Thais who follow the news regularly, I try to keep up every day but still havnt got a clue what law is active and what is not.  I mean we have a helmet law, a no riding in the back of pick-ups law, no smoking on beach law etc etc that seem to constantly change.  Then on top of that it seems to differ from area to area what the law is.  I read a while back that the helmet law was to be strictly enforced...but only in bangkok??  Then I hear children are exempted??  How the f... is anybody supposed to know??

[spidermike007]

Does anyone find the term "special forces" to be somehow oxymoronic, when used to refer to the Thai armed forces? Special, as in more competent than the normal forces? Special is in smart, or willing to pursue real crime? 

 

Special forces around the world, denote men and women who have had special training, and are competent with hand to hand combat, a high level of proficiency with scuba, paratroop skills, defusing bombs, etc. Does any of that apply here? Many of us hold the Thai army in such low regard, it is hard to even imagine the special forces being special. 

[johng]

In the yearly Cobra Gold threads on here it's often stated that the Thai "special forces" are "on par" with their western counterparts.

 

I for one won't be "messing" with any of them !

 

 

[Somchai Logic]

Many people believe that only tourists are targeted and if Thais are in fact fined, they pay much less.

 

Yep, so the circle continues - no real deterant for the "Main Offenders" 

[khunPer]

19 hours ago, champers said:

The saga continues. Pets now included. Dogs will have to find somewhere else to take a dump... and have a smoke.

Are soi dogs pets..?

[Monkeyrobot]

Excuse me sir that will be 2000b for the cigarette and 4000b for the damage on the jet ski and an additional 10;000b for feeding the fish. Have a nice stay .

[kannot]

How about clearing up the disgusting RAT Plague!!

[kannot]

42 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Are soi dogs pets..?

Ive only ever  seen Beagles  smoking

[joecoolfrog]

11 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Why would anyone want to visit the beaches in Pattaya and Jomtien anyhow. Cigarette butts are the least of the concerns. This is a smokescreen to cover up the underlying issues of poor sanitation, constant flooding and a general two-thumbs up at Mr and Mrs Farang. I would rather smoke a packet of 20 than swim in the sea....Perhaps when the Thai's have their own house in order THEN they can berate the foreigners.

Addressing the problems takes conviction and effort , blaming and penalising farang is easy , its a no brainer !

[joecoolfrog]

10 hours ago, cookieqw said:

if you take a ride round the back steets of pattaya you will see garbage dumped all over the place, this is not farang doing it,  this is thais doing this

Well if no farang is involved and consequently no profit to be made , why would the authorities care ?

[Grumpy Duck]

Oh well ฿2000 is better than ฿100,000. But I don’t care. I have no plans to ever visit that place. So much negative news about the place. 

[lvr181]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Does anyone find the term "special forces" to be somehow oxymoronic, when used to refer to the Thai armed forces? Special, as in more competent than the normal forces? Special is in smart, or willing to pursue real crime? 

It really means that those people were considered "special" by their mums. 

[anon789561]

4 hours ago, johng said:

In the yearly Cobra Gold threads on here it's often stated that the Thai "special forces" are "on par" with their western counterparts.

 

I for one won't be "messing" with any of them !

 

 

thai "special forces" "on par" with european and yank forces? doubt that very much. but i won't be messing with anyone either ; )

[soalbundy]

Any more news about the fight on corruption? Did the poor get their money back?, Oooops sorry off topic, this is all about 'task force cigarette butts'

[kannot]

3 hours ago, lvr181 said:

It really means that those people were considered "special" by their mums. 

in the UK "special needs" has  a  whole new meaning, usually "backwards" in mentality.

[mikebell]

On 14/03/2018 at 10:49 PM, poanoi said:

i also believe thais can be trained to throw litter in a trash can

They can't train Thais to use car signals: push down to turn right; oh never mind.

[torrzent]

Fantastic news. I hope they eradicate the anti-social and unhealthy evil that smokers represent.

[morrobay]

29 minutes ago, torrzent said:

Fantastic news. I hope they eradicate the anti-social and unhealthy evil that smokers represent.

Yes from the beach to 3rd road.

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, torrzent said:

Fantastic news. I hope they eradicate the anti-social and unhealthy evil that smokers represent.

 

They could do it swiftly and painlessly with nitrogen gas.

[lvr181]

10 hours ago, kannot said:

in the UK "special needs" has  a  whole new meaning, usually "backwards" in mentality.

You're quick  

 

Or were you just clarifying for thoe whose first language is not English? 

[pattjock]

There is not a single ashtray to be found anywhere along the sidewalks of Pattaya. Most cigarette buts end up in the street drains and the city are allowing the contents of the drains to end up in the sea. All these buts will float and end up on the beaches around Pattaya.

 

Will the city fine itself for this serious offense???

[essox essox]

why is there NO SPECIAL force to enforce the laws of the road???

[JSixpack]

53 minutes ago, pattjock said:

There is not a single ashtray to be found anywhere along the sidewalks of Pattaya. Most cigarette buts end up in the street drains and the city are allowing the contents of the drains to end up in the sea. All these buts will float and end up on the beaches around Pattaya.

 

Will the city fine itself for this serious offense???

 

Switch to pipes & cigars--should be nothing wrong w/ a cigar butt. Organic. :)

[Jiggo]

23 hours ago, hobobo said:

Will the Special Forces be modelled on the US Green Berets or the SEALs, or the UK's SAS or SBS?

Was going to say Boy Scouts....but that will be disrespectful to Boy Scouts... 

[ostyan]

On 3/14/2018 at 8:25 PM, snoop1130 said:

Thaivisa notes that "thetsakit" officers in places like Bangkok have been key in fining tourists 2,000 baht for dropping butts in tourist areas like upper Sukhumvit

I hope the immediate next step will be fine for Thais for the same and the same 2000, undecided punishment for splitting all over and the same for throwing garbage through windows of the trains.

 

[Sydebolle]

The longer the more this place develops a „Stasi“-Charakter; latter was the secret people‘s police in the German Democratic Republic, where everybody was spying on everybody. Unlike Thailand the GDR was neither known as a chosen player in exports and tourism. 
Looking forward to the first reports on the encounters between the Chinese quality tourists and the volunteering helpers knocking eachother‘s brains out 

[morrobay]

23 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

They could do it swiftly and painlessly with nitrogen gas.

You forgot the carbon on that : CN , cyanide

[lamyai3]

On 3/14/2018 at 8:25 PM, snoop1130 said:

The move is likely to ignite fears that unscrupulous officers may attempt to extort tourists.

 

But to soften the blow the local authority plan some nice dances and yoga showcasing the wonderful Thai culture on April 2nd. 

So whole you dig out your 2000 baht, they'll perform your choice of a downward dog or the ramwong. 

[essox essox]

people WHO pay....will they be issued with a receipt???