Letter from Bangkok: Thai police crackdown on smuggling and gambling ring

The fabled Thai police struck again upon discovering a ring of foreigners, mostly British but including some Swedes and Australians, engaged in organized gambling and smuggling. The startling news has hit the bridge playing community hard for what the Thai police raided was a bridge club in Pattaya whose members were largely elderly Europeans who had retired in Thailand. The police believed that this was a gambling ring. Of course bridge can be played for money, very big money sometimes. In the drawing rooms of Dhaka there are bridge games where the losers pay the winners—i.e. gambling. But the bridge club raided by the Thai police was engaged in the form of the game which is a competition scored in points in a complicated comparison of how players have handled the same situations. This raid took place in Pattaya, one of the important tourist sites.  
The police frustrated by their realization that there was no gambling going on then turned to the playing cards. In Thailand all playing cards must be stamped by customs. If you bring a pack of cards into the Kingdom without paying the tax and getting the cards to be stamped one by one then you are guilty of smuggling and face a sentence of up to three years in jail. Well 120 cards without the tax paid stamp were found. [There were probably 1500 cards being used]
Gambling is a major industry in Thailand even though it is illegal. Before the military coup one MP took videos of a gambling casino which was remarkably closed down secretly before the police could conduct a raid.  The Thai press at the time claimed that illegal gambling was controlled by the police. Apparently the police in Pattaya thought someone was running a gambling den without their permission!!
Finding 120 playing cards without the customs stamp, the police declared a clear violation of Thai law. So beware! Do not bring playing cards into Thailand unless you go through customs and get the stamps. I learned this once when I brought in to Thailand a box of 20 packs of cards. I checked with customs and they told me how much to pay [not much] and then I waited three hours while the 1000 plus cards were stamped!  
There is something sinister about all of this. The Thai police just provided the evidence for the case of two Myanmar workers at a beach resort where they were accused and convicted of murder and rape of two English visitors. This controversial case is based on the use of DNA evidence and features the police laboratory losing the samples after the tests were completed, preventing any independent checking. Those reporters who doubted the police case alerted their readers to the involvement of local bar owners. The Thai police seem to be on an anti tourism adventure with unconvincing management of a high profile murder case and arresting a group of old people having fun.   
With a faltering economy the short term improvements depend on reviving tourism. Indeed this is happening with a large number of Chinese tourists visiting a country that has close links with China from immigration and business. These Chinese tourists are not big spenders but there are a lot of them. The tourism industry was suffering from a reduction of tourists following the collapse of the Russian currency, the weak economic performance of Europe and Japan, and the disaster of the military regime with the negative publicity that has filled the western press. Arresting a lot of elderly Europeans is no way to promote tourism.  
But it is a deeper problem. It is a trait of Asian autocratic military regimes that they develop a sense of their own power and infallibility. Common sense is tossed in the trash. Such behavior is not the intention of the military junta but it develops as a consequence of excessive unregulated power. It is a phenomena always found within this type of government.  
Quickly swept under the table, a modest fine paid will end this comical incident. The junta has tried to gain control over the police exposing many senior policemen as corrupt. But it is hard to control the lower ranks who want to enforce their rights to benefit from such activities.
There have been various waves of Americans and Europeans retiring or working permanently in Thailand. The first wave came after World War 2 when persons who had been fighting in the area came to live permanently.  A large gay community of Americans came escaping the repression and sometimes criminal prosecution that they faced in the United States. The second wave came during and after the Vietnam War. This provided a mixture of professionals who found the atmosphere amiable and persons happy to live in the relaxed environment of cheap access to drugs and sex.
In recent years the number of persons coming to retire has increased dramatically from Europe, the US and Japan. Low cost airfare, low cost of living, warm weather, a plenitude of golf courses, excellent medical facilities combined to bring thousands.  
Now it looks more uncertain that such retired persons are really welcome.  One such incident does not mean much but another would cause a lot of soul searching. These retired persons bring in two to three billion dollars so there is a lot at stake.

The writer is a noted economist

Letter from Bangkok: Thai police crackdown on smuggling and gambling ring

The fabled Thai police struck again upon discovering a ring of foreigners, mostly British but including some Swedes and Australians, engaged in organized gambling and smuggling. The startling news has hit the bridge playing community hard for what the Thai police raided was a bridge club in Pattaya whose members were largely elderly Europeans who had retired in Thailand. The police believed that this was a gambling ring. Of course bridge can be played for money, very big money sometimes. In the drawing rooms of Dhaka there are bridge games where the losers pay the winnersi.e. gambling. But the bridge club raided by the Thai police was engaged in the form of the game which is a competition scored in points in a complicated comparison of how players have handled the same situations. This raid took place in Pattaya, one of the important tourist sites. The police frustrated by their realization that there was no gambling going on then turned to the playing cards. In Thailand all playing cards must be stamped by customs. If you bring a pack of cards into the Kingdom without paying the tax and getting the cards to be stamped one by one then you are guilty of smuggling and face a sentence of up to three years in jail. Well 120 cards without the tax paid stamp were found. [There were probably 1500 cards being used] Gambling is a major industry in Thailand even though it is illegal. Before the military coup one MP took videos of a gambling casino which was remarkably closed down secretly before the police could conduct a raid. The Thai press at the time claimed that illegal gambling was controlled by the police. Apparently the police in Pattaya thought someone was running a gambling den without their permission!! Finding 120 playing cards without the customs stamp, the police declared a clear violation of Thai law. So beware! Do not bring playing cards into Thailand unless you go through customs and get the stamps. I learned this once when I brought in to Thailand a box of 20 packs of cards. I checked with customs and they told me how much to pay [not much] and then I waited three hours while the 1000 plus cards were stamped! There is something sinister about all of this. The Thai police just provided the evidence for the case of two Myanmar workers at a beach resort where they were accused and convicted of murder and rape of two English visitors. This controversial case is based on the use of DNA evidence and features the police laboratory losing the samples after the tests were completed, preventing any independent checking. Those reporters who doubted the police case alerted their readers to the involvement of local bar owners. The Thai police seem to be on an anti tourism adventure with unconvincing management of a high profile murder case and arresting a group of old people having fun. With a faltering economy the short term improvements depend on reviving tourism. Indeed this is happening with a large number of Chinese tourists visiting a country that has close links with China from immigration and business. These Chinese tourists are not big spenders but there are a lot of them. The tourism industry was suffering from a reduction of tourists following the collapse of the Russian currency, the weak economic performance of Europe and Japan, and the disaster of the military regime with the negative publicity that has filled the western press. Arresting a lot of elderly Europeans is no way to promote tourism. But it is a deeper problem. It is a trait of Asian autocratic military regimes that they develop a sense of their own power and infallibility. Common sense is tossed in the trash. Such behavior is not the intention of the military junta but it develops as a consequence of excessive unregulated power. It is a phenomena always found within this type of government. Quickly swept under the table, a modest fine paid will end this comical incident. The junta has tried to gain control over the police exposing many senior policemen as corrupt. But it is hard to control the lower ranks who want to enforce their rights to benefit from such activities. There have been various waves of Americans and Europeans retiring or working permanently in Thailand. The first wave came after World War 2 when persons who had been fighting in the area came to live permanently. A large gay community of Americans came escaping the repression and sometimes criminal prosecution that they faced in the United States. The second wave came during and after the Vietnam War. This provided a mixture of professionals who found the atmosphere amiable and persons happy to live in the relaxed environment of cheap access to drugs and sex. In recent years the number of persons coming to retire has increased dramatically from Europe, the US and Japan. Low cost airfare, low cost of living, warm weather, a plenitude of golf courses, excellent medical facilities combined to bring thousands. Now it looks more uncertain that such retired persons are really welcome. One such incident does not mean much but another would cause a lot of soul searching. These retired persons bring in two to three billion dollars so there is a lot at stake. The writer is a noted economist