Tourists warned about 'cigarette police'

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Tourists warned about 'cigarette police'

Published: 5/09/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Foreign tourists have been told to take a hard line with the thetsakij, or Bangkok's city inspectors, who have been accused of unfairly targeting them to issue fines for littering.

Manit Techa-apichoke, deputy director of the City Law Enforcement Department, said foreigners who feel they have been unfairly targeted by the thetsakij should refuse to pay the fines.

He said they should alert the nearest district office or police officer, so action can be taken against the inspectors.

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: Writer: Supoj Wancharoen; Position: Reporter

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Your comments

dek bahn nok

Discussion 71 : 12/09/2010 at 10:14 AM71
Its "That same old scam that just keeps going on and on and on and on...."
Paints a pathetic picture on the pavements of The City of Angels..
Mall Cops with a license to steal!
wes

Discussion 70 : 12/09/2010 at 08:04 AM70
If litter police accuse me of dropping a butt and want money when I don't smoke, they will get a knucle-sandwich.
zeitgeist

Discussion 69 : 10/09/2010 at 08:02 AM69
Any government employee that lies, cheats or scams should be held on lese majeste charges for disrespecting the Monarchy. This goes for any civilian scammer around Royal Palaces as well
same same

Discussion 68 : 09/09/2010 at 01:00 PM68
Go to the Police is he joking you would be scamed for even more money corruption is totaly out of control in Thailand soon the this country will best be avoided by all.
Vince

Discussion 67 : 07/09/2010 at 04:51 AM67
Each officer nailing 3 tourists per hour.
Thats 36 per hour x 2,000bt each.
WOW.
I guarantee, with this kind of money, the entrapment wont be stopped but increased.
Also, with fewer and fewer arrivals, I predict in increase in other type of scams, even violence to satisfy these punks.
Mot Dang

Discussion 66 : 06/09/2010 at 07:50 PM66
I'll say it again, you think there is a bit of garbage on the streets (in particular on Sukhumvit). Go take a look at the two garbage dumps in Washington Square (Soi 22). Both belong to so-called recycling business'. They truely represent the nature of the problem. No civil pride.
People are pretty good at declaring their national pride, but it doesn't go much further than that.
jwj

Discussion 65 : 06/09/2010 at 02:04 PM65
Now that the BMA Litter Entrapment scam has been exposed, other gov officials will be demanding their share.
Look for more aggressive action by the tourist scammers.
Jake Elwood

Discussion 64 : 06/09/2010 at 01:32 PM64
I like Ian Wensor's tongue-in-cheek suggestion of a Thai Elliot Ness. Wouldn't that be great, but who would be the right guy for the job? Maybe BP could run a competition and give prizes for the funniest nominations!
macmundi

Discussion 63 : 06/09/2010 at 11:12 AM63
This is just another way to divert fines to the police. They would just say littering should be enforced. So who will enforce it? Once again, the police wins. I said it over and over. Never let public servants handle money,except the city cashiers because they answer to an account balance. No one else, not especially the police!
Bill W

Discussion 62 : 06/09/2010 at 09:59 AM62
Throwing trash on the street is nothing new for Thais and targeting tourists/foreigners is nothing new either, so maybe a few more government agencies and the illustrious police force should get together to teach people to be cleaner (by example) and be more friendly (attract tourists) rather than make foreigners feel like second rate citizens. And enough with the fake smiles! Try and be abit more sincere!

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Tourists warned about 'cigarette police' | Bangkok Post: news