Fake ID easily attainable in Thailand

Fake ID's easily had in Bangkok

With the Malaysian Airliner missing, two Iranian men boarded on stolen passports on purchased tickets from a Pattaya travel shop, i thought this was interesting. It's scary what kind of official documents can be easily duplicated in Bangkok's Khao San Road. Check out this article:

Khao San Road fake IDs look like the real thing
Nirmal Ghosh
The Straits Times


file photo

BANGKOK: -- Khao San Road, crammed with budget tourists from across the world, has long been a backpacker hub for Southeast Asia.

The streets are lined with restaurants, guest houses, travel agents and shops selling cheap cotton clothes and souvenirs.

Police lounge at either end of the 200m street, keeping an eye on things.

Itinerant Indian "fortune tellers" and Nepali tattoo touts lurk and accost passers-by.

"You have a very lucky face," one Indian "fortune teller" told me.

Normally, the handful of vendors making fake identity cards are clearly visible. On Wednesday though, I had to hunt for one.

I asked a Nepali boy who was trying to find customers for a tattoo shop, and he took me to a man, who was this time positioned slightly back from the street at a discreet table with two stools.

He was a Thai man, in a blue shirt and wearing glasses. There was an air of edginess from the start.

"What country?" he asked me.

I told him I was Indian and he looked incredulous. But then he produced a large album - the kind used to hold business cards - for me to flip through.

In it there were well over 100 samples of identity cards, from driving licences to student passes to airline crew passes and many others. There was even an Interpol ID card and a Singapore identity card.

When I expressed surprise at the Interpol card he stared and said: "Are you Interpol? Are you Interpol?" But I laughed it off.

I chose a Singapore driving licence and a Qatar Airways crew card. They cost 800 baht each.

He informed me they would take an hour and a half to make. I gave him a couple of passport photographs I had brought for the occasion, and he said that for the airline card he could alter the photograph to have me in a suit and tie.

I asked him quietly if he knew anyone who could make a passport, and he said he did not. I asked him if he made Thai IDs and he said: "I don't do Thai."

This was something a law enforcement source had told me - the fake ID peddlers don't ever make Thai IDs, which is why police leave them alone.

It is also probable that they pay police, my source said - entirely believable given the environment and the trade they are in.

When I arrived at the appointed hour, the man again said: "Are you police?" I laughed and shook my head. Then he asked where I lived and what I was doing in Bangkok. He seemed satisfied by what I told him.

Then a young South Asian man who seemed to be helping him appeared and pressed a folded piece of paper into my hand. Inside were the cards.

In my hands were a spanking new Singapore driving licence and a Qatar Airways crew card. The only difference from the real Singapore licence was the absence of holograms. The fake ID vendors do not seem to be able to make cards with holograms.

Yet, on the face of it, the cards were startlingly realistic.

"If any enforcement officer just takes a quick look, or Googles these documents to compare them, they are unlikely to spot any problem," my law enforcement source said.


-- The Nation 2014-03-15

Holiday season finds roads in Thailand deadly!

 Thailand's roads once again deadly during the Holiday Season!

My friends, fellow ex-pats and tourists, please be careful this holiday season. The roads here in Thailand like anywhere else can be very dangerous especially during the holiday season. Please don't drink and drive. Check out the early statistics from "The Nation"

Road accidents kill 86 in first 2 days of holidays
Pongphon Sarnsamak,
Prasit Tangprasert
The Nation


Rescue workers tend to people injured in a car accident in Phitsanulok yesterday. Six people were injured in the crash after a speeding pickup crossed a traffic island and hit this sedan head-on.

BANGKOK: -- Police say 474 road accidents killed 86 people and injured 885 between Friday and Saturday, the first two days of the so-called "seven dangerous days".

The road toll is expected to rise further over the coming days.

Yesterday, the Road Safety Centre released statistics from road accidents reported on Friday and Saturday only.

Drunk driving and speeding were the major causes of accidents during the opening days of the festive period, according to Department of Probation director-general Ruenvadee Suwanmong-kol, who chaired yesterday's press conference.

Reports say 37 per cent of road accidents resulted from drunk driving and 23 per cent from high-speed driving; while 81.5 per cent of road accidents involved motorcycles. Most of the motorcycle casualties were not wearing a helmet.

Main roads were the site of 61 per cent of the accidents and 34.6 per cent occurred on village roads. Highways saw 34.3 per cent of all accidents, most of which took place between 4pm and 8pm.

Some 611,600 cars and vehicles were inspected at police checkpoints and 100,587 cases resulted in arrests. Infractions included 31,020 drivers without a licence, and 28,092 motorcyclists without a helmet.

Nakhon Si Thammarat had the highest number of road accidents and number of injured people, with 23 and 25 respectively.

Ayutthaya had the highest number of deaths from road accidents, with five cases. Only four provinces recorded no road accidents during this period: Chaiyaphum, Bueng Kan, Rayong and Samut Songkhram.

Ruenvadee said the centre had ordered provincial authorities nationwide to help eliminate road accidents on main and secondary roads in the cities, especially near entertainment venues.

Police are urged to arrest those who drink and drive, drive at high speed, or ride motorcycles without a helmet.

The New Year holidays are associated with danger as millions of people hit the road on vacation or visits to home provinces.

Chutipong Sukarayotin, a player of the Thai national beach volleyball team, was driving to his home province of Udon Thani when he suddenly fell asleep behind the wheel in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday morning.

His car slammed into a telephone booth.

"The crash woke me up," the 21-year-old man said.

He said he left Bangkok at about 5pm on Saturday but with the traffic jammed, the trip took so long he became tired and fell asleep.

"Fortunately, I had my safety belt on and my car had an air bag. So, I've survived," Chutipong said. "But I've learnt a lesson now.

"I’ll never drive the whole night again."

Police have charged Chutipong with reckless driving and causing damage to the property of others.


-- The Nation 2013-12-30

Pattaya ferry captain confesses to drug use!!

The ferry that runs from Pattaya to Koh Larn capsizes as a result of the captain being on drugs!

This article from Phuket News states that the captain has turned himself in and confessed to being under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. here is that article below:

            PATTAYA: -- The captain of a ferry that capsized about 1,500 metres offshore from Pattaya on Sunday evening has turned himself in, telling police he was high on drugs while on his duty.

Saman Kwanmuang, 42, turned himself into police on Sunday night, hours after his ferry capsized while returning about 200 Thai and foreign tourists from a day trip to Koh Larn.

Pol Maj Gen Katcha Tatusatra, Chon Buri police chief, said the captain confessed to officers that he took some drugs before going to work, and that he and the crew lost control of the vessel as a result. He allegedly confessed the ferry wandered off course, and hit the rocks, breaching the vessel, punching holes and letting water pour in.

According to a report in Daily News, Mr Saman realised the problem, so he turned off all power so he could try to fix the water pump. He issued no warning to his passengers, supposedly so they would not panic.

However, after 10 minutes, so much water had flowed into the bottom deck of the two-deck boat that passengers had indeed begun to panic. Squabbles broke out, apparently because there were not enough life jackets to go around, the captain allegedly told police.\

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation confirmed on Monday that six people died - three foreigners and three Thais. Another 18 were treated for injuries.

The known victims were identified as Chuchart Chompoonak, 53, Aree Attayoko, 67, Nanthawadee Sopithapong, 44, and To Kin Man, 48. Authorities were still trying to verify the identities of a Russian woman and another foreigner.

Earlier reports of three Russian deaths proved wrong. The Russian embassy in Bangkok said only one Russian, a woman, was confirmed dead.

The injured were taken to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and Banglamung Hospital.

A team of 10 scuba divers sent out by Chon Buri governor Komsan Aekchai on Monday to investigate the sunken ferry reported seeing a crack on the boat's bow. They found no other bodies.
 

Mr Komsan said the vessel will be salvaged next month.

The Marine Department will investigate the cause of the ferry’s capsizing, but an initial investigation suggested the deaths and injuries stemmed from overloading and insufficient safety equipment, the department’s director-general Sornsak Saensombat said.

The Marine Department has already revoked the captain's licence.

The double-decker ferry sank about 5.30pm on Sunday, shortly after leaving Koh Larn with a full load of passengers heading for Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya. The boat’s water pumps broke down, the vessel was flooded and the engine stopped functioning, he said.

The passengers panicked and moved up to the top deck of the vessel, which then over-balanced, capsized and swiftly sank.


-- Phuket News 2013-11-05

Pattaya to become a safer place for tourists and ex-pats

Looks like the boys in brown and the local government are finally recognising the growing crime rate in Pattaya and deciding to take action. This will include safety nets, more tourist police in more areas as well as cctv cameras through out the city. Check out this article from Thai Visa

Pattaya sets up safety zones to reduce crime rates

PATTAYA, 27 September 2012 (NNT) - In the wake of increased crime rates in Pattaya district of Chonburi province, local police are pushing ahead with their plan to set up a safety zone project in the beach area and the Walking Street.
The Chonburi Governor and the Pattaya Mayor will together preside over the project opening ceremony at the Walking Street tomorrow, during which the safety zone project will be officially unveiled.

According to Superintendent of Pattaya police station Pol Col Thammanoon Mankong, the scheme is to provide tourists from around the globe who visit Pattaya each year with a greater sense of safety. He elaborated that a police patrol unit will be assigned to the safety zone on a 24-hour basis.

In a bid to reduce crime, the district police will set up police checkpoints, widen participation from tourist police units and other related agencies, enlist further cooperation of local communities and business operators, as well as monitor footage captured by CCTV cameras installed throughout Pattaya.

Pol Col Thammanoon said that by giving priority to tourist safety, the number of tourist arrivals will eventually be boosted, generating more tourism revenue for local businesses and for Thailand as a whole.