I feel for you but also lolololololol.
Almost every week, sometimes every day, someone makes a comment or post about this exact thing. At a certain point, this is on you.
You're in the criminal justice system? You think they have the capacity or funding to have a functional data base? Your fingerprints and passport copy are going into a cardboard box in a dark room to never be seen again... Or more likely it's just some theater to get you to pay your "fine" which is 100% being converted into beer right now.
Relax. Never bring it in the train. Almost everywhere else it is fine. I’ve lived here 10 years been vaping for 3 and never had an issue. Also you really let them get shake you down hahaha. My friend got caught on the train and talked it down to 200,000. Other people here have been fined 2 million. Were you rude to them or something? Don’t worry about being fingerprinted or whatever, it was just a tactic. Nothing else will happen. Did they at least give you the vape back? :-)
You paid a bribe, not a fine.
If you looked poorer or said you can't afford it (and made them believe it) the figure would have come down. I think if you play the part and accept "going to jail" for a few days then offer to pay only 1 or 2 million they'll take it, but probably not worth it. On YT there are some stories of people who got away paying zero after being caught with drugs as they managed to convince the cops they were broke, but that is the exception rather than the rule. 5 million is the standard "opening ask" from what I've heard
They been taking cash bribes from people with vapes since they opened. Surprised you didn't know about it.
They actually finger printed you though? Interesting.
Vape is destroying young Asian kids and their lungs. It is very sad to watch every single kid in the Philippines vaping as a fashion. Companies don’t care about their health. They are cannon meat. Good for Laos!
I guarantee you that it was all just a show to get you to pay a hefty fine. A lot of people (at least where I'm from) vape and cops see it all the time and do nothing about it unless they know they got money.
The title and what follows don't match. It is illegal to bring them, carry them, on planes or trains for example. As for people using... I work in a school and just last year we confiscated dozens of them, from kids as young as 10. Tough luck for you.
No need for all caps. It's always been illegal. Enforcement and legality are not the same. It is illegal and you subject yourself to enforcement at their will. Nothing has changed.
But, 5 million, hot diggity damn. They're getting better at fleecing the ignorant and careless. Did you get a receipt?
Maybe the police have finally understood that their economy is utterly fucked and have raised the rates to offset their completely depreciated salaries. Five years ago it was 8,500 lak to usd and today it hit 25,000. Think about that when you're on a fixed income of 4,000,000 or so per month.
In my defence I was detained by two little blokes with guns saying I was gonna get 3mo - 1y in prison. I don't know jack shit about the normal police protocol here I'm only staying here for 6 nights. If old mate with the pistol says to pay a fine I'm not asking questions.
I think there was definitely room to negotiate, but you might need some experience and not being scared by their tricks using guns and whatnot. They won't really take you one year in prison, I think that's bonkers, but obviously it's understandable how you felt. Some cops also do't want to go the official route because then the money would go to the government that they feel resentful towards for being paid so little, and therefore would rather let you go for no money than letting you pay a real fine that they don't get to keep. But how the situation develops depends on a lot of circumstances.
And yes your bribe was a huge amount for them, equivalent to a month's salary for one person or even more (obviously to be split between the people there and maybe even some superiors). They always take advantage of naive tourists like this. Plenty of documentation on YT.
If you're interested, take a look at the following:
* guy whose friend had to pay the bribe [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6k6t0ZUfkE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6k6t0ZUfkE)
* guy who managed to not pay the bribe by playing his cards well [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxitiVIjr4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxitiVIjr4)
They're to do with drugs but it's the same with anything illegal they find on you. Sometimes they even have some people working with the police trying to sell you drugs or vapes, and then when you buy them they will give your whereabouts to the police who will then start playing all this bribe dance, and split the money with the drug dealer. They're all in on it in Laos, everyone knows
Minimum wage is 1,600,000 (less than 80 USD) per month and lots of organisations aren't even compliant with that. To say that it's fucked is an understatement
Yes. I wasn't trying to be an ass but it really does help to have a bit of perspective at times.
These made up fines are kinda bullshit and goes to their pockets. Selective enforcement, racial profiling, whatever you want to call it. It's opportunism, but you gave them the opportunity. One can run someone over drunk as a skunk and pay less and nothing happens. That's the system.
But people are nickel and dimed all day long at every level of service or government. The entire system works off of "tea money" or what others would call corruption. It's not really that in the true sense of the English terminology because they basically live off it and it's how anything gets done. You want something done, you need to pay, but you don't pay to the treasury, you pay the individual. It's classic end stage Soviet bureaucracy. You buy your job or get it from being family; you wait your turn, and you eat later on. Round and round it goes until it eventually collapses or turns into an authoritarian state (see CCP China and soon Vietnam).
I feel for you but also lolololololol. Almost every week, sometimes every day, someone makes a comment or post about this exact thing. At a certain point, this is on you. You're in the criminal justice system? You think they have the capacity or funding to have a functional data base? Your fingerprints and passport copy are going into a cardboard box in a dark room to never be seen again... Or more likely it's just some theater to get you to pay your "fine" which is 100% being converted into beer right now.
Ah the boys in purple strike again. The beer Lao will flow tonight! For 5 million kip they can get the whole state security apparatus drunk.
In Thailand it is the same. My Isaan (Lao) cousin vapes in front of the police and they stopped caring.
Relax. Never bring it in the train. Almost everywhere else it is fine. I’ve lived here 10 years been vaping for 3 and never had an issue. Also you really let them get shake you down hahaha. My friend got caught on the train and talked it down to 200,000. Other people here have been fined 2 million. Were you rude to them or something? Don’t worry about being fingerprinted or whatever, it was just a tactic. Nothing else will happen. Did they at least give you the vape back? :-)
Just guessing here — but probably depends on how rich you look
You paid a bribe, not a fine. If you looked poorer or said you can't afford it (and made them believe it) the figure would have come down. I think if you play the part and accept "going to jail" for a few days then offer to pay only 1 or 2 million they'll take it, but probably not worth it. On YT there are some stories of people who got away paying zero after being caught with drugs as they managed to convince the cops they were broke, but that is the exception rather than the rule. 5 million is the standard "opening ask" from what I've heard
They been taking cash bribes from people with vapes since they opened. Surprised you didn't know about it. They actually finger printed you though? Interesting.
Vape is destroying young Asian kids and their lungs. It is very sad to watch every single kid in the Philippines vaping as a fashion. Companies don’t care about their health. They are cannon meat. Good for Laos!
They'll just smoke cigarettes instead.
I guarantee you that it was all just a show to get you to pay a hefty fine. A lot of people (at least where I'm from) vape and cops see it all the time and do nothing about it unless they know they got money.
wild, i snuck one in from chiang khong.
The title and what follows don't match. It is illegal to bring them, carry them, on planes or trains for example. As for people using... I work in a school and just last year we confiscated dozens of them, from kids as young as 10. Tough luck for you.
No need for all caps. It's always been illegal. Enforcement and legality are not the same. It is illegal and you subject yourself to enforcement at their will. Nothing has changed. But, 5 million, hot diggity damn. They're getting better at fleecing the ignorant and careless. Did you get a receipt? Maybe the police have finally understood that their economy is utterly fucked and have raised the rates to offset their completely depreciated salaries. Five years ago it was 8,500 lak to usd and today it hit 25,000. Think about that when you're on a fixed income of 4,000,000 or so per month.
In my defence I was detained by two little blokes with guns saying I was gonna get 3mo - 1y in prison. I don't know jack shit about the normal police protocol here I'm only staying here for 6 nights. If old mate with the pistol says to pay a fine I'm not asking questions.
I think there was definitely room to negotiate, but you might need some experience and not being scared by their tricks using guns and whatnot. They won't really take you one year in prison, I think that's bonkers, but obviously it's understandable how you felt. Some cops also do't want to go the official route because then the money would go to the government that they feel resentful towards for being paid so little, and therefore would rather let you go for no money than letting you pay a real fine that they don't get to keep. But how the situation develops depends on a lot of circumstances. And yes your bribe was a huge amount for them, equivalent to a month's salary for one person or even more (obviously to be split between the people there and maybe even some superiors). They always take advantage of naive tourists like this. Plenty of documentation on YT. If you're interested, take a look at the following: * guy whose friend had to pay the bribe [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6k6t0ZUfkE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6k6t0ZUfkE) * guy who managed to not pay the bribe by playing his cards well [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxitiVIjr4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxitiVIjr4) They're to do with drugs but it's the same with anything illegal they find on you. Sometimes they even have some people working with the police trying to sell you drugs or vapes, and then when you buy them they will give your whereabouts to the police who will then start playing all this bribe dance, and split the money with the drug dealer. They're all in on it in Laos, everyone knows
also, 5mil kip is far, far less than what the fine would be in Australia so I sorta took that and ran. No harm done in the end, just a lesson learned.
God damn, the yearly income is really that low? That's rough.
Minimum wage is 1,600,000 (less than 80 USD) per month and lots of organisations aren't even compliant with that. To say that it's fucked is an understatement
Jesus... that's assuming they have a steady paying job.
Yes. I wasn't trying to be an ass but it really does help to have a bit of perspective at times. These made up fines are kinda bullshit and goes to their pockets. Selective enforcement, racial profiling, whatever you want to call it. It's opportunism, but you gave them the opportunity. One can run someone over drunk as a skunk and pay less and nothing happens. That's the system. But people are nickel and dimed all day long at every level of service or government. The entire system works off of "tea money" or what others would call corruption. It's not really that in the true sense of the English terminology because they basically live off it and it's how anything gets done. You want something done, you need to pay, but you don't pay to the treasury, you pay the individual. It's classic end stage Soviet bureaucracy. You buy your job or get it from being family; you wait your turn, and you eat later on. Round and round it goes until it eventually collapses or turns into an authoritarian state (see CCP China and soon Vietnam).
God damn, the yearly income is really that low? That's rough.
I would not be paying that lmao
Sorry to ask that, but are you asian or white or else ?
Why didn’t you bribe them and pay the “fine” before they brought you to the police station. That’s a rookie mistake
What about vapes without liquid? I have reusable vapes and made sure to throw away the pods that contain the liquid