A few of the blokes had warned me of a scam going on in that particular town. The locals would wait until you rented a scooter and had a few beers at some local bar, then, when you scooted off home, they'd put three teenagers on a shittier scooter than yours and drive full speed into you. The cops would conveniently be nearby to handle the proceedings.
I ignored this warning as typical 'falang' fearmongering, but sure enough, a week into my stay this happened to me. I'd had a big Chang and puttered off home. Three kids on a crappy Vespa hit me out of nowhere. Cops come out. from behind a nearby building: 'You drunk Mister! You come to station and make right!' They sounded like some Hollywood- stereotype from the 80s. But they were real and extremely angry.
I was terrified. I had had a beer and driven my scooter (like everyone else in that town) but I had no idea what my 'rights' were. Ha! We went to the station and the officer demanded 40,000 baht to make it go away, plus some money for each of the three teenagers that were on the scooter. In the meantime, they had already gone to the hospital after the accident and returned, bandaged up, with hospital bills ready to go. They'd done this under an hour. All three presented the hospital bills to me meekly. I think they were another 60,000 baht.
Conveniently, 100,000 baht is the maximum you can withdraw from a Thai bank branch in one day. Around $3k.
I told them this was absurd. I 'knew my rights'. Typical American arrogance. After two hours of yelling at each other via Google Translate in their sweaty little station, they made me go back to my apartment and give them my passport, told me they'd be in touch and that I was not to leave Thailand.
Americans that travel a lot can legally have two passports. Not a lot of people know this. It's the same passport number but you can usually bank on the fact that if you get into trouble somewhere, it will take time for the various government departments to communicate with each other, and you have a window to clear the country.
I'd talked with a nice local lawyer girl after this happened and her advice was to get the hell out of Thailand. So that's what I did. I was gone within 48 hours, this time via a land border, which I assumed was insecure. I crossed into Cambodia, made my way to Phnom Penh, and then flew to Bali for a few weeks.
Stupidly, I returned to Thailand a month later. I thought somehow the problem would have 'gone away', as it was all a scam. Ha!
They grabbed me at the airport, after clearing customs. That's always the shitty part. They let you clear customs and grab your bag, thinking you are free. And then they grab you.
My passport number had been communicated to Border Police. They were as surprised as I was that I had returned!
The charges were now serious. In addition to injuring others on a scooter, I had tried to flee the country. A few other minor charges. Worst case: I was facing up to 3 years in a Thai prison. I would now be remanded until I had a chance to appear before a judge. There were a series of holidays going on, related to the new King's ascension, so the whole country was closed for at least a week. Bad timing on my part. I spent around two weeks in a Thai jail back in the town where the crime had been committed.
The Thai jail is not a place I'd want to return to. I was new so I had to sleep with my head directly next to the open toilet in the corner, my head getting kicked every time someone went to sh*t in the middle of the night.
I did meet a lot of nice Burmese guys in there, who insisted on sharing every single meal they had with me. They taught me how to sleep with a water bottle under your neck, as it helps your posture on the concrete floor. There was a Dutch man who'd killed his Thai wife. A few Americans and Australians recently nabbed on drug charges. Lots of Iranian guys. They were the most aggressive towards Americans. The common theme from everyone was, 'I was set up'. I began to doubt my own story.
Fast forward a few weeks later. I am out on some sort of conditional release. They have both passports this time. I have to check in every week to a 'parole' office and wait for my official trial date which is set 4 or 5 months in the future. I can't leave Thailand.
And before you ask, no, the embassy does nothing. You've watched too many television dramas. They only intervene in capital crimes or a crime that makes the US look bad. While I was in the jail, they told me to hang tight and let them know if I was being mistreated. When I got out they gave me a list of lawyers. I picked the one who bragged to me that 'Her husband was a high up police officer'. In any other country, this would have been a warning sign, but I figured in Thailand, it was a golden ticket.
I hang out in Thailand for a while. Avoiding scooters and bars. freaking out, obviously, but pretty powerless. No amount of American money could help me at that point. The government didn't care.
I ignored this warning as typical 'falang' fearmongering, but sure enough, a week into my stay this happened to me. I'd had a big Chang and puttered off home. Three kids on a crappy Vespa hit me out of nowhere. Cops come out. from behind a nearby building: 'You drunk Mister! You come to station and make right!' They sounded like some Hollywood- stereotype from the 80s. But they were real and extremely angry.
I was terrified. I had had a beer and driven my scooter (like everyone else in that town) but I had no idea what my 'rights' were. Ha! We went to the station and the officer demanded 40,000 baht to make it go away, plus some money for each of the three teenagers that were on the scooter. In the meantime, they had already gone to the hospital after the accident and returned, bandaged up, with hospital bills ready to go. They'd done this under an hour. All three presented the hospital bills to me meekly. I think they were another 60,000 baht.
Conveniently, 100,000 baht is the maximum you can withdraw from a Thai bank branch in one day. Around $3k.
Americans that travel a lot can legally have two passports. Not a lot of people know this. It's the same passport number but you can usually bank on the fact that if you get into trouble somewhere, it will take time for the various government departments to communicate with each other, and you have a window to clear the country.
I'd talked with a nice local lawyer girl after this happened and her advice was to get the hell out of Thailand. So that's what I did. I was gone within 48 hours, this time via a land border, which I assumed was insecure. I crossed into Cambodia, made my way to Phnom Penh, and then flew to Bali for a few weeks.
Stupidly, I returned to Thailand a month later. I thought somehow the problem would have 'gone away', as it was all a scam. Ha!
They grabbed me at the airport, after clearing customs. That's always the shitty part. They let you clear customs and grab your bag, thinking you are free. And then they grab you.
My passport number had been communicated to Border Police. They were as surprised as I was that I had returned!
The charges were now serious. In addition to injuring others on a scooter, I had tried to flee the country. A few other minor charges. Worst case: I was facing up to 3 years in a Thai prison. I would now be remanded until I had a chance to appear before a judge. There were a series of holidays going on, related to the new King's ascension, so the whole country was closed for at least a week. Bad timing on my part. I spent around two weeks in a Thai jail back in the town where the crime had been committed.
The Thai jail is not a place I'd want to return to. I was new so I had to sleep with my head directly next to the open toilet in the corner, my head getting kicked every time someone went to sh*t in the middle of the night.
I did meet a lot of nice Burmese guys in there, who insisted on sharing every single meal they had with me. They taught me how to sleep with a water bottle under your neck, as it helps your posture on the concrete floor. There was a Dutch man who'd killed his Thai wife. A few Americans and Australians recently nabbed on drug charges. Lots of Iranian guys. They were the most aggressive towards Americans. The common theme from everyone was, 'I was set up'. I began to doubt my own story.
Fast forward a few weeks later. I am out on some sort of conditional release. They have both passports this time. I have to check in every week to a 'parole' office and wait for my official trial date which is set 4 or 5 months in the future. I can't leave Thailand.
And before you ask, no, the embassy does nothing. You've watched too many television dramas. They only intervene in capital crimes or a crime that makes the US look bad. While I was in the jail, they told me to hang tight and let them know if I was being mistreated. When I got out they gave me a list of lawyers. I picked the one who bragged to me that 'Her husband was a high up police officer'. In any other country, this would have been a warning sign, but I figured in Thailand, it was a golden ticket.
I hang out in Thailand for a while. Avoiding scooters and bars. freaking out, obviously, but pretty powerless. No amount of American money could help me at that point. The government didn't care.
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