Keeping the riff-raff out, gay search by Thai cop

Tiring of youngsters on motorbikes and taxis passing through this condo on the way to the main road, the owners of this complex have now erected large metal green doors at one entrance.

After 11pm, they close the doors to stop vehicles getting through, so that residents inside are no longer bothered by the noise, and can sleep in peace.

The security guard abandons his post at that end, and goes to sit at the other entrance, manned by a wooden barrier. He keeps that closed, too.

If residents return after 11pm they must open the doors to let themselves in, which is fine if you are on foot, but less convenient if you have to get out of your car.

Still, it’s better than letting the public in.

During the day, non-residents are also being fined if they want to pass through the condo precinct – 10 baht for motorcycles, 15 baht for cars.

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Maiyuu met a policeman as he left the condo on foot. He was carrying a tap fitting, which he had just bought at Klong Thom market, when a passing policeman stopped him.

The policeman asked him where he was going. ‘I am walking out to the main road to get a taxi, to see a friend,’ Maiyuu replied.

It was after midnight, and Maiyuu was in a residential area, so perhaps the policeman was suspicious.

Or maybe he just wanted to subject Maiyuu to a gay body search, which Thai police have down to a fine art.

I have seen police search young motorcyclists by the side of the road. They don’t just pat their pockets, or frisk them, but rub, as if trying to get themselves aroused.

‘Lift your shirt,’ the policeman ordered.

Maiyuu did as he was told.

Rub, rub over his chest.

Then he started on his pants.

Feel, feel.

The policeman, whom Maiyuu reckons was drunk, then asked to see his identity card.

Maiyuu handed it over, but still the policeman would not let him go.

‘You should come with me for a urine test,’ said the cop.

‘I am not going anywhere for a test, as I don’t drink and am going about my business. What is it that you want...money?’ asked Maiyuu.

‘I don’t want money,’ said the policeman, who was wearing uniform.

‘So why don’t you let me go?’

The policeman asked to search Maiyuu a second time. He refused, and walked away.

‘Hey...I said stop!’ barked the cop.

‘I am not stopping. If you want to take my ID card, then take it. But I am carrying on,’ said Maiyuu, who left, leaving the policeman standing there with his card.

At home, Maiyuu was angry.

‘He talked about calling a police friend to help him search me,’ he complained.

The encounter left my boyfriend feeling nervous. He peered out the window of our condo, and made several trips down to the forecourt to see if the policeman would come back.

‘The card is just about to expire, so I will make a new one,’ he said.

‘I might also ask the motorcycle taxi guys if they know the policeman, or where he works,’ he said.

Police here are a menace, because some act as if they are a law unto themselves.

Maiyuu has decided against visiting the police station to lodge a complaint, as that could provoke them.

He was needlessly harassed, lost his card, and subjected to a gay body search. But that was minor, by the standards of some Thai police.

Next time he could lose money or worse, so why tempt fate.