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Inside Thailand’s dark underbelly – where Brits risk jail for vaping, slamming royals & corrupt cops ask for ‘tea money’

Published on April 05, 2025 at 07:02 AM

TRAVELLERS just can’t keep away from The Land of Smiles thanks to its tropical beaches, electrifying cities and incredibly warm and inviting people.

Bookings to Thailand are booming, driven in some part by the hit Sky Atlantic series .

Tropical beach scene with clear water, palm trees, and people relaxing on the sand.
Brits are flocking to Thailand to enjoy the stunning tropical beaches. Pictured, Silver Beach in Koh Samui
Neon signs and crowds in Pattaya Walking Street.
Pattaya, a city on Thailand's east coast, is known for its bustling nightlife
Close-up portrait of a blonde woman smiling.
Jude Hill has revealed what conditions in Thai jails are like

The current season of the show, which finishes tomorrow, is set on the dream Thai island of Koh Samui.

But, as the characters in the series have discovered, there can be trouble in paradise.

According to data analysts at Statista, Thailand topped the list of countries where Brit visitors were arrested in 2018, with 45 arrested for every 100,000 visits.

Some get away with a fine, or even a bribe, while others arrested on suspicion of serious offences such as drug trafficking find themselves locked up for years and can even face the death penalty.

Some Brit tourists never return after falling victims to shootings, poisonings, or dying in unexplained circumstances.

Those who do get locked up find conditions in Thai jails can be horrific.

Thrown in jail

Jude Hill experienced this first-hand on Christmas Eve 2024.

She’d been enjoying a festive night out in the party town of Pattaya, when two men tried to pull her off the street.

She didn’t know who they were and, terrified, she struggled to get away.

The mum-of-one from Plymouth was even more scared when one of the men tried to handcuff her.

Screaming to be let go, Jude, 43, was dragged down the road and handed over to uniformed police officers who marched her to a police station and threw her in a stinking jail cell.

She was later accused of breaking a glass coffee table in a hotel lounge, which she vehemently denies.

A video of the ordeal filmed by an onlooker went viral.

It shows Jude worse for wear and clearly distressed as the men grappled with her.

It is not clear whether they were officers or not.

One was wearing a red civilian jacket and had a lanyard around his neck and a walkie talkie on his belt. The other was in a plain red polo shirt and black trousers. He can be seen yanking Jude’s hair.

A British man tried to intervene but his pleas on the distressed woman’s behalf were ignored.

“It was horrible,”; Jude tells Fabulous. “I was terrified and didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know what I was supposed to have done.”;

Scene from The White Lotus season 3 showing four adults and one teenager walking along a dock.
Sky Atlantic's The White Lotus, which is filmed primarily at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, has helped boost interest in the country
Young Thai women in bikinis and cosplay soliciting tourists on Walking Street in Pattaya, Thailand.
Young Thai girls in bikinis and cosplay uniforms stand outside the brothels of Pattaya city to lure in tourists and customers

‘Police asked for cash'

After several hours, Jude’s 18-year-old son arrived at the police station where she was being held.

There was a hole in the floor for a toilet and faeces and urine everywhere. The floor was concrete and all I had to rest my head on was a bottle of water

Jude Hill

“They asked him for money,”; she says. “It was a negotiation. They wanted more at first and then they dropped the rate. I was eventually told to pay 30,000 Baht, which is £750. They said you either pay it or go to jail.”;

A friend lent the cash, which was handed over to the police.

“As soon as they got the money, they let me go,”; explains Jude.

She doesn’t know whether the payment was an official fine or a bribe. “There was no formal legal process, no documentation and no forms to fill out,”; she says.

Jude's story is not unusual.

Diana* is another Brit who was recently arrested following a dispute over a fee with a local who then made a complaint to the police.

She was detained for several days and her passport was seized. She then spent thousands of pounds on fees and payments to officials before she managed to get her passport back and was able to leave the country.

‘Waiting for money'

“One of the lawyers explained to me: ‘you're a foreigner so the police know there's going to be money. They just sit back and wait for the money’,”; she says.

“As I was being processed the police kept asking how much money do you have? Then they said I was facing serious charges and several years in jail. At first, I knew it was a mistake and trusted the judicial process but as it went on, I realised the only way I was getting out was by paying money.”;

Diana was held in a cell with a hole in the floor for a toilet and the only privacy was provided by a three-sided three-quarter-height wall.

“There was a man in the cell next to me and whenever I used the toilet he stood by the bars of his cell and watched,”; she shudders.

At one point she was given a wad of documents to sign. They were all written in Thai.

“I said I can't sign this. I don't understand it. They were very aggressive and said: ‘Sign it. You have no rights here. You're a tourist’. It was scary and intimidating.”;

While in the cells Diana claims she witnessed another tourist being beaten and kicked by guards.

She says he later told her his only crime was to dispute a demand for $16,000 from a hire company, after he accidentally scratched the moped he’d hired.

Eventually, Diana says she could only get back to the UK after paying out over £50,000.

Nighttime beach party with colorful lights reflecting on the water.
Around 10,000 people every month attend the Phangan beach Full Moon party
Blurry photo of a crowded beach foam party at night.
The parties are famed for their dirt cheap but incredibly boozy drinks
Two women at a beach party share a drink from a green bucket.
Two party goers pictured drinking a famous ‘bucket' drink at a Full Moon party

Strict laws

In January this year alone 121,000 Brits were drawn to Thailand by its beautiful beaches, tropical weather, tasty cuisine, and cheap shopping. It tops the list of holiday destinations in internet searches, according to Digital PR agency Reboot Online.

But seasoned travellers and campaigners warn that despite its hedonistic easy-going image, there are several obscure, restrictive laws that Brits should be aware of before they travel.

It is illegal to vape in the country, for example, and anyone caught using a vape or e-cigarettes faces a fine, or even jail time.

Posting images of people drinking alcohol or wearing clothing considered inappropriate can also be illegal, and both the person who uploaded the images and the people in them face fines or imprisonment.

There are stringent anti-drug laws, despite the country’s booming cannabis industry, with devastating penalties for foreigners caught dealing drugs.

Even the laws governing the sale of marijuana are opaque.

Private recreational use of cannabis is legal if the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content is below 0.2% by weight, but using cannabis in public places is illegal.

In practice it's usually impossible to tell whether products bought in the country’s numerous ‘weed’ shops adhere to official limits.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) warns: “Some British nationals have suffered severe psychiatric problems because of drug use, sometimes leading to suicide.”;

Another law prohibits criticism of the Thai royal family and anyone caught making fun of the monarchy can receive a long prison sentence.

‘Tea money' bribes

Travel writer Ronan O’Connell wrote in blog last year: “While it is rare for tourists to face charges, it can happen. So do not, in any circumstances, say anything negative about Thailand’s monarchy while you’re in the country. Also, do not write anything derogatory about the Thai Royal family online. It’s better to avoid mentioning them altogether.”;

He also wrote Thai police sometimes supplement their modest salaries with bribes, known locally as ‘tea money’.

A PENSIONER couple who retired to Thailand after falling in love with the ‘Land of Smiles’ were beaten to a pulp by neighbours and now face being locked up for their part in the dispute., , , , The dream sunset years of Middlesbrough pair Des and Mary Byrne have turned into a “horror beyond their worst nightmare” with their passports confiscated and no means of escaping “corrupt justice”., , , , Brits Des, 77, and Mary, 69, face financial ruin and are forbidden from leaving the tropical Southeast Asian country for life-saving hospital treatment., , , , Mary, a former NHS palliative care nurse, suffered a broken nose, bleed on her brain, and irregular heartbeat when they were set upon by neighbours amid a bitter planning row., , , , After being knocked to the floor in the ambush one of the cruel assailants said of Mary: “You’re alright, she’s still breathing “. But Mary has been forbidden from flying to Hong Kong for vital medical care.
Brits Des, 77, and Mary, 69, were involved in a bitter planning row with neighbours
Close-up of a woman's face showing injuries.
Mary suffered a broken nose and a bleed on her brain
An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Close-up of an elderly man's face with significant bruising and cuts, Image 2 shows Man in hospital bed with eye patch
Des was battered to the floor and hit 22 times to the head

“Be especially wary of police who approach you at night on the street near one of Thailand’s touristy entertainment precincts,”; he advises.

“These locations are where travellers most commonly run into unscrupulous officers.”;

Even expats living in the country find themselves victims of an often arbitrary legal system.

Des Byrne, 77, and his wife Mary, 69, originally from Middlesbrough, retired to Thailand in 2020.

In December 2023 they were both attacked and badly beaten by their kick-boxing neighbour during a planning dispute. CCTV footage showed they were the victims, and their neighbours admitted the attack.

However, in May last year the couple learned they faced charges for causing injuries and were threatened with jail. Thai authorities confiscated their passports.

In March this year they were found guilty in a Thai court of assault and causing damage. They were given a 20-day suspended sentence and a £400 fine. They avoided jail but had spent their savings on legal fees and had to sell their retirement home.

‘Fed rats' in jail

Woman in bikini by a pool.
Ellis Matthews made headlines when she claimed she was ‘fed rats' in a Thai jail

In March, Lancashire-born Ellis Matthews, 32, made headlines when she claimed she was being held in an immigration detention centre in Bangkok with her son and .

The FCDO states: “Conditions in prisons and other detention facilities in Thailand are harsh, with limited access to healthcare. Detainees have died in custody.”;

The social media influencer, who boasted that her life in Thailand was funded by British benefits payments (which she later said she made up), was .

Murder & sex assault

In 2013, 19-year-old Stephen Ashton was caught in the crossfire between two warring Thai gangs at a full moon party in the island of Koh Phangan. He was shot in the chest and died.

The following year the bodies of British couple Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were . Both students had been hit several times on the head. Hannah had been raped and David drowned.

Composite image of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, two British backpackers murdered in Thailand in 2014.
British students Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found murdered on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand on 15 September 2014
Two Myanmar migrant workers accused of killing two British tourists.
Myanmar migrant workers, who are accused of the killing of Hannah and David – Zaw Lin (R) and Wai Phyo (L)

Two illegal Burmese migrant workers were charged for the murders. They alleged police tortured confessions from them.

In December 2015, they were convicted of murder and . In 2020 their sentences were .

The FDCO advises tourists to be vigilant while in the country and warns of a range of risks, including drink spiking and drug-assisted sexual assault in tourist areas around Thailand, with male and female victims.

It also reports violent sexual assaults and unprovoked attacks most commonly happen during the country’s famous full moon parties or similar events, and near bars late at night.

Methanol poisoning from drinks is also a danger.

In November last year six people died in a in neighbouring Laos, including 28-year-old , from Orpington, south-east London.

And in March this year Alexandra Clarke, 26, from Lambeth, south London, went missing when the diving boat she was on in sea near Koh Tao caught fire.

*Name has been changed

Travel Advice for Thailand is available here: Thailand travel advice – GOV.UK

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