British pensioners arrested and detained in Pattaya

[MM 6,562]

You have to shake your head at the ludicrous behavior of the 50 Army, District officials and Pattaya police who raided a bridge club and found no gambling occurring, so charged them with possession of more than 120 playing cards (as a group) based on an 81 year old forgotten law.

 

Clearly this bunch was a threat to peace and order!

 

This story should go viral in the international news...it would serve them right.

 

From Pattaya One http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/221251/british-led-card-room-raided-officials-south-pattaya/

British-led Card Room raided by officials in South Pattaya – UPDATE
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03 February, 2016
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The Army, Pattaya Police and District Officials, conducted a raid on a 2nd floor rented apartment in South Pattaya on Monday Night which was being used by a Bridge Club for foreign nationals.
Officers received a tip-off from an informant of a regular gathering of foreign nationals in a rented room above the Alto’s Restaurant & Bar in Soi 2 off the Thappraya Road in South Pattaya. The Jomtien & Pattaya Bridge Club meet 3 times a week and is a popular pastime for foreign nationals, mostly British, who live in Pattaya.
Over 50 officers stormed the premises and found 8 tables and 32 foreign nationals, consisting of 26 men and 6 women who were playing the popular card game “Bridge”.
No money was changing hands, however the officers scoured the law books and found an offense was being committed and therefore the alleged organizer of the event, Mr. Jeremy Watson aged 74 from UK was detained for further questioning.
The offense relates to Section 8 of the Playing Cards Act of 1935 which states that an individual is not allowed to possess more than 120 playing cards at any one time. At the Bridge event, considerably more than 120 playing cards were found by officers.
Computers, Decks of Cards and a book with results of the Bridge games were seized by officers as evidence.
The raid will concern other Bridge club organizers in Pattaya who assumed their gatherings were not breaking any of Thailand’s Anti-Gambling Laws.
UPDATE – 4 February 2016 – 10.00am
One of the card players contacted Pattaya One to update the story.
He revealed that ALL of the card players were arrested and eventually released from Pattaya Police Station at 03.00am after almost 12 hours in custody and paying 5,000 Baht Bail each. They will all appear in Court later on Thursday, even the 84 year old Dutch lady featured in one of our photographs from the scene.
The Bridge club was formed in 1994 and has never encountered a problem such as this. The players are believed to have been charged with gambling offenses, even though they claim no evidence of gambling was present. In addition because the playing cards did not possess an official government seal on the card boxes, this was another offense the officials added to the report of the raid.

[jacko 8,815]

I can only say absolutely pathetic.

Had the police any character they could have made light of this and had a laugh, as it is, they look ridiculous

[yogi100 1,925]

You have to shake your head at the ludicrous behavior of the 50 Army, District officials and Pattaya police who raided a bridge club and found no gambling occurring, so charged them with possession of more than 120 playing cards (as a group) based on an 81 year old forgotten law.

 

Clearly this bunch was a threat to peace and order!

 

This story should go viral in the international news...it would serve them right.

 

From Pattaya One http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/221251/british-led-card-room-raided-officials-south-pattaya/

 

 

 

"This story should go viral in the international news...it would serve them right."

 

The Daily Mail would love this one even though the publication is banned in Thailand.

[MM 6,562]

 

 

"This story should go viral in the international news...it would serve them right."

 

The Daily Mail would love this one even though the publication is banned in Thailand.

Send it on to them. It's a hoot!

[jacko 8,815]

Well I don't think I will put it on Facebook....

[MM 6,562]

Well I don't think I will put it on Facebook....

I did..that's where I got the story too.

 

And, I did send the link to the Daily Mail Facebook page (in a somewhat indirect fashion).

[jacko 8,815]

I did..that's where I got the story too.

 

And, I did send the link to the Daily Mail Facebook page (in a somewhat indirect fashion).

I see Thai Visa have posted it, via Pattaya One.

Some of the comments are fun.

Meanwhile the pick-pockets are working the song-taews freely.

 

He revealed that ALL of the card players were arrested and eventually released from Pattaya Police Station at 03.00am after almost 12 hours in custody and paying 5,000 Baht Bail each. They will all appear in Court later on Thursday, even the 84 year old Dutch lady featured in one of our photographs from the scene.

 

What a collection of Keystone cops!

Edited February 5, 2016 by jacko
typo

[Gawd Elpus 798]

Unbelievable

 

Dont they have any proper criminals to catch ? cunts

[yogi100 1,925]

It was probably the work of a prankster who contacted the plod and said they were running an illicit casino or gamling den

 

There'a a card school of Frenchmen who play nearly every day around a table in my hotel and no one has ever interfered with them. I don't know if they play for money or not but there is never any cash in view on the table.

[cbrib 354]

Glad they busted them. Pattaya is a much safer place now with those outlaw miscreants off the streets

[Bushcraft 2,581]

The lunatics are in charge of the asylum. What an appalling overkill and lack of judgement to storm these premises mobhanded and then even arrest people peacefully playing Bridge, the king of card games and a huge source of pleasure for many.

[aj 62]

this just shows how bad the bib need tea money. i exspect it to get worse as low season

continues.

[Gawd Elpus 798]

 

 

"This story should go viral in the international news...it would serve them right."

 

The Daily Mail would love this one even though the publication is banned in Thailand.

and so they did .....

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3431265/Thai-police-raid-nets-32-foreign-bridge-players.html

[MM 6,562]

Some great takes on this story....

 

Voice of America

 

 

ABC Australia

 

New York Post

 

The Guardian

 

and over 100 more citations...it has definitely hit all the major news outlets.

 

And yet, the BIB are still adamant that they were justified in fining and detaining them.

 

The PR fallout from this will be horrendous.

[nus01 305]

what a pack of fools

 

From MM limnks above there is still one lady in prison as she is refusing to sign a statement that she was gambling.

 

The backlash should be huge , yes its all a big laugh at what a pack of corrupt imbeciles they are but the reality is a huge number of British Citizens have been arrested put in custody and coerced into signing confessions for crimes they didn't commit. Their should be a massive consular response to this

[Gawd Elpus 798]

I'd like to see these evil Bridge players, publicly flogged in just their underwear. They asked for everything they got, peddling their filthy card games, and corrupting Thai society

[harro1 256]

I find it amusing how they tip off the media to attend their big busts. They probably regret doing so this time.

[gs joe 1,776]

Unbelievable

 

Dont they have any proper criminals to catch ? cunts

 

What next maybe they will go after the smoker and the monger ,

 

Joe

Edited February 4, 2016 by gs joe

[gs joe 1,776]

I'd like to see these evil Bridge players, publicly flogged in just their underwear. They asked for everything they got, peddling their filthy card games, and corrupting Thai society

I can see the movie now "A bridge to far ,"

[MM 6,562]

I can see the movie now "A bridge to far ,"

Too!

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[capdagde 1,954]

It was probably the work of a prankster who contacted the plod and said they were running an illicit casino or gamling den

 

There'a a card school of Frenchmen who play nearly every day around a table in my hotel and no one has ever interfered with them. I don't know if they play for money or not but there is never any cash in view on the table.

 

Less cards in a French pack......

 

Excerpt from DM (top quality journalism): "Pattaya, a town on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast, has long had a reputation for being a haven both for foreign criminals and ex-pat retirees."

 

Guilt by association if I ever saw it.....not funny.

 

BTW, if the video showed the "storming" of the bridge club, the Oxford English Dictionary should be bringing charges....

Edited February 4, 2016 by capdagde

[Fatboyfat 361]

It's been on the BBC website for a while now, and it has now made the BBC World Service TV bulletin!

[atlas2 4,329]

That 'Sir' Barry kenyon looks like he'd be up to mischief.

 

If I was the Headline writer I'd have fun........."Bridge of Sighs comes to Thailand'

"British Bridge Players meet their Waterloo........

[Gawd Elpus 798]

When you think about it, it is quite preposterous in a City like Pattaya which is rife with prostitution, drugs, and alcohol, to target a group of pensioner playing cards for pleasure, saying that they are cracking down on illegal and immoral behavior. One might understand a raid on a gambling den, but they clearly do not understand the game of Bridge, and associate a pack of playing cards with gambling and march in wearing jack boots.

 

There is an amusing side to it of course, but only for onlookers. The authorities are actually quite serious about it.

 

The story has gone viral and the world must be laughing at the Thai Authorities for their shear stupidity. It is the kind of thing one might expect in North Korea but not Thailand. How long is it going to be before free elections take place and get rid of these muppets ?

 

Typical Thai loss of face,that once they had realized no money was changing hands they slapped an old law made in the 30's about card ownership.instead of just admitting that they had made a mistake. For a country which has such strict gambling laws, you would at least have thought that they understood that not all card games are played for money. I guess Bridge is not widely played as a card game in Thailand.

 

Oh well, I guess its Backgammon from now on, or perhaps bingo. Ping balls are not illegal Isn't the Lottery, a form of gambling ????

 

What a load of absolute bollocks

Edited February 5, 2016 by Gawd Elpus

[Fatboyfat 361]

It was probably the work of a prankster who contacted the plod and said they were running an illicit casino or gamling den

 

I would say that is most likely the case. If it was one, his future might also be in jeopardy, if they know his ID.