PATTAYA, Thailand – Pattaya City Hall has suspended six people from duty while investigating allegations that tourists were asked to pay 2,000–3,000 baht in cash for alleged offences near Bali Hai Pier, without official receipts. The case emerged after tourists, tour operators and guides complained about people wearing clothing resembling Pattaya City special-affairs uniforms at the Bali Hai area. According to the complaints, tourists were taken into a tent and accused of offences including riding motorcycles with excessively loud exhausts and smoking, before being asked to pay cash.
Some complainants said they were not given official penalty documents or receipts. A media investigation later found personnel carrying out checks in the area and recorded an incident in which a tourist placed cash on a table in front of officers. However, it has not yet been established whether the money represented an official fine or payment for another purpose, or whether the personnel involved had the legal authority to collect it.
Pattaya City Permanent Secretary Kiattisak Sriwongchai said on August 10 that City Hall became aware of the allegations on August 9 and immediately ordered an investigation. The preliminary inquiry found that six people were involved in the incident at the Blue Plaza area of Bali Hai Pier at about 9 a.m. on August 9. Three were Pattaya City personnel, including two municipal officers and another officer seen in photographs. The remaining three were outsourced workers hired to assist with maintaining order in the area. All six have now been ordered to stop performing their assigned duties temporarily while the investigation is conducted.
Kiattisak said the city has taken two immediate steps. The responsible department has been instructed to prepare a report for possible criminal proceedings if evidence of wrongdoing is found, while a fact-finding committee has also been established under the relevant regulations.
Such an investigation would normally take up to 60 days and can be extended twice. However, Pattaya’s administration has ordered officials to accelerate the process and aims to complete the investigation within about two weeks. The three outsourced workers will also be referred to their employer for further action, while the government personnel involved may be transferred from their current area of responsibility during the investigation. A key issue is whether the officers had any authority to deal with the alleged offences and collect money from tourists.
Kiattisak clarified that noisy motorcycle exhausts are not directly within Pattaya City’s enforcement powers. Such cases can fall under laws concerning public nuisance or vehicle regulations, with enforcement powers belonging to relevant agencies including the police and Department of Land Transport. This means investigators must determine whether the money allegedly collected from tourists was legally authorised, whether the correct documentation was issued and what the payments actually represented.
Pattaya City has apologized to residents and tourists over the incident and stressed that officials have been instructed to perform their duties lawfully. City Hall said it does not want the conduct of individual personnel to cause inconvenience to visitors or damage Pattaya’s tourism image. The city also urged anyone who encounters similar behavior to report it through Pattaya City’s 1337 hotline so the authorities can investigate. The case remains under investigation, and no final conclusion has yet been reached on whether the personnel involved committed wrongdoing or illegally collected money.
