News Forum - Phuket police feel public backlash over arrest of foreign tourists in “scooter-gate”

[Thaiger]

Some members of the public have reacted with anger after Phuket police arrested a number of foreign tourists who were riding electric scooters. According to police in the normally busy tourist area of Patong, the tourists were charged with using unregistered vehicles on the road. Officers confiscated the scooters, threatening legal action against those who rented them out. However, photos of the bemused tourists being arrested quickly went viral, generating a backlash from netizens. Many wanted to know why the police hadn’t simply gone to arrest those running the scooter rental businesses, pointing out that the actions of the police […]

The story Phuket police feel public backlash over arrest of foreign tourists in “scooter-gate” as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Shade_Wilder]

"In addition, while the tourists were arrested for using unregistered vehicles, the police have confirmed it’s not possible to register electric scooters under the existing laws of the Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office."

Hmm...

They were arrested for unregistered riding of something that can't be registered.

Will they be arrested and fined for riding Unicorns next?

Just askin'

[JackMeOff]

And yet the police ignore Thai citizens driving motorbikes without a license or helmet?

Why they do this?

 

Because almost all Thai people cannot afford to pay and if cannot pay police "directly", or pay fine at station, the police don't bother them. But every foreigner can easily afford to "pay" police for "fine".

[Nivram]

Patong police made no money from foreign tourists during the lockdown because there weren't any.

They are trying to make up for the lost revenue now by stopping most foreign tourists on a motorbike even if they are wearing a helmet.

[Graham]

Just goes to show how thick they are, reminds you of the Keystone cops, I mean really, they didn't have the brains to think they might not get away with this without some backlash, must be really embarrassing for the establishment. 555

[Poolie]

11 minutes ago, Graham said:

Just goes to show how thick they are, reminds you of the Keystone cops, I mean really, they didn't have the brains to think they might not get away with this without some backlash, must be really embarrassing for the establishment. 555

I doubt 'the establishment' cares as much as you do, to be honest.

[EdwardV]

14 minutes ago, Poolie said:

I doubt 'the establishment' cares as much as you do, to be honest.

From this story, that might not be correct. 

[Stonker]

16 minutes ago, EdwardV said:

From this story, that might not be correct. 

The problem was that some idiots were abusing the police turning a blind eye and riding the scooters dangerously.

What option did the police have:

i) do nothing, and allow them to continue to drive them dangerously and the rental company to rent them out illegally

ii) give all involved a minimal fine and a warning, which they gave to everyone.

[Stonker]

49 minutes ago, Graham said:

Just goes to show how thick they are, reminds you of the Keystone cops, I mean really, they didn't have the brains to think they might not get away with this without some backlash, must be really embarrassing for the establishment. 555

So what, exactly, are you saying the police should have done when some people were reported as riding the scooters dangerously?

[Johnmc17]

Same police who tried to get me to give them 50,000 for a failed alcohol test even though i hadnt had alcohol for 2 days. Only when i insisted on them taking me to hospital for a blood test did they relent.

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, JackMeOff said:

Because almost all Thai people cannot afford to pay and if cannot pay police "directly", or pay fine at station, the police don't bother them. But every foreigner can easily afford to "pay" police for "fine".

Absurdly untrue.

The vast majority of Thais can afford to pay, and if they can't then the police are fully entitled to confiscate the motorbike until they do, as they frequently do.

The idea that the police "don't bother" Thais who can't afford to pay a fine on the spot is almost laughably uninformed.

[Stonker]

5 minutes ago, Johnmc17 said:

Same police who tried to get me to give them 50,000 for a failed alcohol test even though i hadnt had alcohol for 2 days. Only when i insisted on them taking me to hospital for a blood test did they relent.

Really?  You recognise them do you? Or was one of them your wife's cousin, who I recall you saying was also in the police?

[oldschooler]

Escooters illegal in public everywhere in the world. New Menace to society. Many pedestrians killed by these blasted contraptions up on sidewalks weaving through crowds at high speeds. Sad to see them appearing in Thailand. GOOD to see immediate Police crackdown here.

[AussieBob]

1 hour ago, Shade_Wilder said:

Hmm...

They were arrested for unregistered riding of something that can't be registered.

Will they be arrested and fined for riding Unicorns next?

Just askin'

Yes - of course they will be arrested and fined - did you not read the story - you cannot register Unicorns in Thailand.

[AussieBob]

And Phuket leaders wonder why they are seen as the worst scammers in Thailand. The future tourist numbers to Phuket are being affected every single day - they just do not seem to care. We are very unlikely to ever go there - Koh Samui and Phi Phi islands seem a better option to me. 

[Fundok]

29 minutes ago, Stonker said:

The problem was that some idiots were abusing the police turning a blind eye and riding the scooters dangerously.

What option did the police have:

i) do nothing, and allow them to continue to drive them dangerously and the rental company to rent them out illegally

ii) give all involved a minimal fine and a warning, which they gave to everyone.

As to the options, it would have sufficed to tell the tourists that the useage if those scooters is prohibited, seize the scooters and issue fines for those renting them out. How can they (=the police)  possibly expect a tourist to know that these scooters are illegal when they are able to rent them out?

[Poolie]

8 minutes ago, Fundok said:

As to the options, it would have sufficed to tell the tourists that the useage if those scooters is prohibited, seize the scooters and issue fines for those renting them out. How can they (=the police)  possibly expect a tourist to know that these scooters are illegal when they are able to rent them out?

In any jurisdiction, ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. 

[Fundok]

9 minutes ago, AussieBob said:

And Phuket leaders wonder why they are seen as the worst scammers in Thailand. The future tourist numbers to Phuket are being affected every single day - they just do not seem to care. We are very unlikely to ever go there - Koh Samui and Phi Phi islands seem a better option to me. 

Indeed it appears a rather - let's call it "unconventional" - approach to attract tourists. Nothing wrong with enforcing the law, but the Police should put into consideration that a foreigner who rents out a scooter is most likely not aware that this is illegal. Reckless driving - different story, that this cannot possibly be legal - neither in Phuket, nor the rest of Thailand nor anywhere in the world - should be obvious to every tourist even without knowing the road code of Thailand.

[Fundok]

Just now, Poolie said:

In any jurisdiction, ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. 

True. But if I can (seemingly) legally rent out a scooter I wouldn't suspect for one second I am doing something wrong. Like when I rent out a car say in Germany: my expectation would be that it is fit for use, has a proper licence, insurance, is equipped with two emergency vests and a first aid kit as prescribed by law, even without knowing exactly what the law prescribes. Ignorance is of course not an excuse, but over here those renters cannot be expected to possibly have known any better if they could rent those scooters without being warned by those renting them out. 

The only culprits here are those renting those scooters out.

[Stonker]

20 minutes ago, Fundok said:

As to the options, it would have sufficed to tell the tourists that the useage if those scooters is prohibited, seize the scooters and issue fines for those renting them out.

Which would have meant that anyone else was free to drive them just as dangerously and stupidly, with no deterrence at all.

Would that have "sufficed" in your country, if tourists there had been doing the same thing?

23 minutes ago, Fundok said:

How can they (=the police)  possibly expect a tourist to know that these scooters are illegal when they are able to rent them out?

Did the tourists ask?

[Poolie]

2 minutes ago, Fundok said:

True. But if I can (seemingly) legally rent out a scooter I wouldn't suspect for one second I am doing something wrong. Like when I rent out a car say in Germany: my expectation would be that it is fit for use, has a proper licence, insurance, is equipped with two emergency vests and a first aid kit as prescribed by law, even without knowing exactly what the law prescribes. Ignorance is of course not an excuse, but over here those renters cannot be expected to possibly have known any better if they could rent those scooters without being warned by those renting them out. 

The only culprits here are those renting those scooters out.

It sure doesn't seem so.

[Stonker]

1 minute ago, Fundok said:

The only culprits here are those renting those scooters out.

So if you rent your car out in Germany, would you check if you had valid insurance or just go by what you expected?

... and having rented it, would you feel entitled to drive it in a way that endangered and annoyed others, as these people clearly did, and then tell the Bundespolizei that it's not your fault and the only culprits are those who rented you the car?

[AussieBob]

17 minutes ago, Poolie said:

In any jurisdiction, ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. 

True - but in a true judicial system, people who are unwittingly tricked into committing a crime are deemed innocent unless it was reasonable to assume they knew the law - the perpetrators are the ones that are arrested and charged and fined.   They should have been arrested, charged and fined for riding dangerously and endangering others - but not for unregistered unlicensed uninsured etc.

I think I just answered my own point - "a true judicial system" 

[Fortuner]

Here we go again another tourist scam! This is a good example of how to ripoff tourist’s, charge the people behind the rental shop instead of harassing tourists.

[Stonker]

18 minutes ago, Fundok said:

Reckless driving - different story, that this cannot possibly be legal - neither in Phuket, nor the rest of Thailand nor anywhere in the world - should be obvious to every tourist even without knowing the road code of Thailand.

But that's why they were stopped and fined - what part of that can't you accept?

Fining them for driving an illegal vehicle was simply the easiest solution for all concerned, and had the lowest fixed penalty so it could be dealt with on the spot.  If they'd been charged with some other offence, such as endangering life or causing a public nuisance, they could have faced a hefty jail sentence instead and a prolonged court case.