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Police Stop & Searches Around Sukhumvit On The Rise

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Over the past few days reporting on police doing random stop / searches on tourists and expats in and around the Sukhumvit / Asoke area have exploded. The latest trend, in what has been a long running problem, seems to have went into overdrive over the past week if all reports are accurate.

A first hand account from two Europeans and insight from an eyewitness have appeared in the letters section of the Bangkok Post, Stickman mentions readers and businesses close to Soi Cowboy are reporting to him on what seems like a daily basis that cops have upped the ante. A Bangkok blog also ran a story sharing similar stories in a very exaggerated fashion so no link but take away their sensationalist version of events and it paints the same picture of what others are saying.

Police Stop Searches On Sukhumvit

Cops have been pulling this stunt for the past few years on Soi 22 and along Sukhumvit between 22 and Asoke during the day then at the corner of the Suk / Asoke intersection late at night as a traffic stop plus further down Asoke in a sub soi. It was said by the police that these daytime stop and searches were carried out to catch drug mules moving a stash and this was a common route. The night time checks were to catch anyone in possession of drugs.

So what has changed in the past week or so?

Firstly reports of pee testing are through the roof. People have been asked to provide samples in filling station toilets and at the side of the road. Random pee testing stories were few and far between in the past but not now.

Threats of fines for those without their passport are now a common complaint too. Also the targets seem to be anyone whereas before it seemed more aimed at expats so far as searches during the day went.

And the net has widened too as police officers appear to have teamed up with the tessakit (city officials famed for their 2,000 baht litter fines) further up Sukhumvit beyond Terminal 21 with stop / searches taking place around the mouth of soi 15.

Due to the negative publicity surrounding this new wave of “harassment” I don’t expect it to last long and some excuse will be made that officers misinterpreted instructions from above.

I should point out that these incidents are specific to this one small location in Bangkok and are NOT reported to be taking place at other areas popular with tourists.

I have been stopped at both traffic checkpoints I mentioned above and found the officers conducting them to be polite and professional. The first at Asoke intersection was about 18 months ago and other than sniffing my cigarettes and emptying my pockets the cop sent me on my way in under 60 seconds. The stop and search in the sub soi further down Asoke was a bigger operation with about 8 officers. This happened in May this year and all four of us in the taxi, including two Thais, were searched. The Thais had to provide ID too, me and my son didn’t. Again, we weren’t there for any longer than a minute or two.

Image via Twitter user @AmyAlexSmith

Stickboy aka Sticky Boy aka Mike McKay aka Mike McKwai, Wild Mike, Magic Mike, Mr Mike, and a fair few more best forgotten, is a party animal with hollow legs who loves music, current affairs, beer, food, causing trouble on Twitter, and making the most of life without worrying too much about what people think or say about his antics. You can send him stuff here - stickboybkk@gmail.com

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ThailandPlus Tracking App Now Mandatory For All Foreign Tourists

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ThailandPlus App

Foreigners who have been issued with a Certificate Of Entry to Thailand are now required to download the ThailandPlus app prior to their arrival, according to the Government Public Relations Department.

Announced last October, the ThailandPlus tracking application is intended to create confidence among foreign tourists about their health and safety while on holiday together with containing the spread of COVID-19.

ThailandPlus functions like the Mor Chana app using GPS and Bluetooth for track and trace in addition to linking with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to log information including certificate of entry details.

The whereabouts of all tourists with the app installed will be known throughout their stay and allow authorities to immediately alert visitors if they have come into any high-risk situations or environments.

Authorities said the application would not infringe on any users privacy and is intended only to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Thai embassies and consulates overseas will provide visitors with information about how to download and use the ThailandPlus app.

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Foreigner Found Hanged At Abandoned Phuket Hotel

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Foreigner Found Hanged At Abandoned Phuket Hotel

A 28-year-old Kyrgyzstan man was found dead at an abandoned hotel in the Thalang district of Phuket in the early hours of Saturday, according to police.

The body of the unnamed man was found hanged by officers from Thalang police station at around 1.30am after being alerted by his younger brother.

Local media report the man went out on Friday night and made a video call to his wife overseas before taking his own life.

His younger brother went searching for the man after he failed to come home or answer his mobile.

No foul play is suspected.

The body was sent to Thalang Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

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Chinese Man Caught Selling Machine Guns Over Instagram

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Chinese Man Caught Selling Machine Guns Over Instagram

A Chinese man was arrested after he was allegedly caught selling machine guns over Instagram.

Police raided the rented apartment of Wu Qiang, 37, where they reportedly found an arsenal of illegal weapons.

He was lead away in handcuffs from the home in Samut Prakan on Thursday afternoon (Feb 18).

Officers seized nine unregistered assault rifles, two explosives, and boxes containing 12,000 bullets after searching the place.

More than 40 assorted gun accessories including tools used to make weapons were also allegedly found inside the room.



Aside from the firearms, police said they found plastic packets containing a white substance identified as methamphetamine weighing 5 grams lying on the floor.

Wu Qiang had reportedly been selling the weapons online through an Instagram account that he managed.

Police Lieutenant General Kornchai Klaikeung said undercover cops had verified the reports about his online store before they conducted the raid.

He said: ‘This man was very good at selling with his Master’s Degree in Marketing. He made transactions smoothly and was hard to catch.

‘However, he still will not be able to escape the law. We are looking for other people who might be connected to his activity.’

Police are now investigating where the Chinese man allegedly received his supply from and to wh he had distributed to before.

All of the seized guns were taken to the police station to be held as evidence. Forensics officers were also examining the weapons to find fingerprints.

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