I received this story from an upset vaper who prefers to remain anonymous. It simply amazes me how something like vaping, one of the most important health advancements in our lifetime when it comes to combating cigarette related disease, is under such furious attack.
I continue to believe the attacks are due to vaping threatening big pharma, big tobacco and big revenues. Our health be damned.
Just unreal…
I was just released from the police station a few minutes ago and needed to vent this…
I was pulled over earlier today after buying some food at a local take-away Indian restaurant. It was a routine alcohol check point. I didn’t drink anything so wasn’t really worried at all. When the cops looked at me he immediately pointed at my MOD (Cuboid) that I had put on the “dash” of my motorcycle. They briefly explained to me that something was wrong by pointing at my device and saying “No, cannot, Thailand cannot” and guided me to a small mini police booth. I had my 4 year old son on my right arm and my bag of Indian food in my left hand being startled and surprised about what was happening… Thought I would get away with a warning or a small fine, driving without helmet or no license is only 400 baht (about 12$) but this was not going to be the case…
Inside this mini office I was told to sit on a small bench where a few other guys were looking really miserable. An officer was sitting in the middle of the small 2×4 meter room behind a steel desk with a small table next to him where they had setup an alcohol check. People who were brought in sat there and take a breath test. If the test was positive they had to sit on the bench with me. After about 10 minutes I was told to talk to the cop taking the breath test which I did. His English was a lot better and he explained to me that E-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand. I knew this already but I thought that playing dumb was my best chance of surviving this and was already thinking of how much money I would offer him to walk out and enjoy my dinner. I had my 4 year old son with me so I thought that would strengthen my case being “a good dad” and not consuming alcohol nor cigarettes…
Boy was I wrong! The guy didn’t really listen to my case (I didn’t purchase the device in Thailand and was unaware of it being illegal in Thailand which In all fairness was a lie, I knew it was illegal but I not wanna smoke real cigarettes), instead he asked me if I had a lawyer and that I should call him. My heart was pounding in my chest as I literally was speechless… Lawyer??? I said I didn’t have a lawyer and I was simply buying some food. He said to call up a friend to help me as I was not gonna be let out until Monday (in 2 days) where I had to appear in court to listen to the charges and the sentence… He already explained to me the sentence for possession of e-liquid and/or devices was 5 years maximum and re-selling was 10 years maximum… My heart nearly pounded out of my chest listening to this story and all kinds of things were going through my head. I had seen documentaries of Jail in Thailand and trust me this is NOT a place where you want to spend more than 5 minutes, let alone 2 nights! He wasn’t interested in anything I had to say and told me to wait on the sofa until they would pack up their checkpoint and I would then be transferred to the local Jail WITH my son. Monday I would then be transported to the Court where my case was being heard….
Unable to say anything and with my mind going crazy on me I just sat there and had no choice then to let it all happen…
I tried to talk to another officer over there in Thai (I speak nearly fluent Thai) trying to get out of the situation by offering a “fine”. He wasn’t having any of it… I just sat there waiting for about 30 more minutes (which felt like 6 hours) with my son who was crying (no air conditioning, fan or water) in this miniature room which was over 40 degrees C. I waiting until it was more quiet with all the people being brought in being submitted to the breath analyzer so that I could talk to the “main guy” again. There were at least 20 people who tested positive for alcohol and were sent on their way with a fine of under 20$… The ridiculous thing is that they are intoxicated, pay the fine and are being sent of ON THEIR BIKE again… Drink and drive, go right ahead we got your money already!
When it was quiet I walked to the guy in charge and offered my apologies in Thai which normally gains respect. The guy appreciated it and kind of looked at me with eyes that I recognized.. He knew what I wanted to do and was waiting for me to do it… I told him I really did not know and that I respect Thailand and its laws. I asked to be allowed to take care of my son and if I could be excused with a fine. “I can make it a good fine for you sir?” were my exact words… His reply was “Maybe,….” And he pointed back to the sofa where I was told to sit again…
After another 20 minutes or so he stood up and walk towards the door and looked at me giving me a small nod of the head.. I knew what this meant and I followed him out. He asked me for the keys of my motorcycle and I gave it to him. They turned the thing inside and out looking for anything illegal. Drugs are a common good in Thailand but I haven’t smoked weed in over 25 years… (Hey, I’m dutch… of course I smoked weed when I was young!) They didn’t find anything and he then guided me back inside to the sofa.
He made some phone calls and came back to me asking me to step outside. Outside we stepped into the darkness again where other bystanders could not see us and offered me a 50.000 baht deal (nearly $1500 USD) that I was supposed to pay on the spot and I could walk away. If I refused I was being transported to jail and sent to court on Monday. I tried to negotiate it down explaining to him that I just paid my son’s tuition fee (30.000 baht) the day before and that I didn’t have that amount in my bank account at the moment. (Which is entirely true! Today is the first day of the summer break in Thailand!). He told me to call a friend and to give it to him in cash within 30 minutes as his shift was ending in 30 minutes and that the deal was off the table once his shift ended… I accepted the deal and was sent on my way ON FOOT. They kept my bike as collateral. I had 30 minutes to find friends to borrow me 50.000 baht, get back to him and pay my way out….
Lucky for me I have some friends that had no problem lending me that money hearing a very short version of this story. I took a taxi, met with him, collected the cash and rushed back to the officer who was really happy to see me. Again he took me to the side of the building where I handed him the cash inside an empty pack of cigarettes… I knew it was a bribe so I tried to be “as professional as possible” about it… I really felt like I was some mobster doing this.
He accepted the money and I asked for my bike and my device. He told me the bike was impounded and gave locations to my taxi driver to drop me off there and just walked off. I wasn’t getting my device back.
Arriving at the impound they did a VERY THOROUGH search on me and my bike. They then asked me for “Picture! Video!” At first I didn’t understand. I thought they wanted to check my identity to see if this was really my bike. They kept asking for “photo or video”. These guys did not speak English AT ALL… I finally got it, I knew what they meant. They wanted to make sure I didn’t video the whole bribe thing or took pictures of the officer. I gave him my phone which he then checked and was satisfied there weren’t any videos in it. I then stepped on my bike, and was sent off on my way home…
Phew!
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