Be wary of discarded cigarette ends at stations and airport tax-free shops in Thailand – officials are on the take and may demand large sums for trumped-up charges.
Anaesthetist Nurse Nils Georgsen has never smoked in his life – nonetheless officials at non-smoking Siam station demanded 10,000 baht (EUR 206) to release him, after accusing him of having being the owner of a cigarette butt lying on the platform.
“A railway official came by and pointed at a cigarette end on the platform,” says Georgsen who was escorted to the guard’s office and surrounded by station officers who demanded 10,000 baht to let him go.
“This was serious. They were very threatening. I tried to explain that I didn’t smoke. But there was no way out – they wanted money,” Georgsen says adding that he eventually managed to bargain the price down to 300 baht (EUR 6).
“Then I was allowed to go. That was the most important thing,” he says adding that he understands the reasons that give rise to the problem in that locals are poor and see rich tourists a mile off. “That does something to people,” he says.
Edited by Julian Isherwood
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