Pattaya City Suspends Six Officials Over Alleged Unofficial Fines Demanded from Tourists at Bali Hai Pier
PATTAYA, Thailand – Pattaya City has ordered six personnel to temporarily cease duties pending a fact-finding investigation into complaints that individuals resembling city special affairs officers demanded 2,000–3,000 baht from tourists without issuing official receipts or fine documents.
Kiattisak Sriwongchai, Pattaya City’s permanent secretary, said the administration learned of the reports on August 9th, 2026, and immediately began verifying the facts. The incidents reportedly occurred around the blue parking lot area at Laem Bali Hai (Bali Hai Pier) in south Pattaya, a busy departure point for boats to Koh Larn.
Complaints from tourists, local operators, and tour guides described people in attire similar to Pattaya City special affairs staff approaching visitors, often those with motorcycles alleged to have loud exhausts or modified pipes, or people smoking in restricted zones, inviting them to a tent area, citing possible offenses, and requesting payments framed as “fines.” In some accounts the amount was negotiated, and no comparative fine documents or official receipts were provided.
The Pattaya News Journalists who visited the site observed groups of five or six similarly dressed men operating near the parking areas. In one documented case, a foreign tourist placed banknotes on a table in the presence of several staff members before leaving; the visitor later indicated to reporters that the payment related to a claimed exhaust noise issue and totaled 2,000 baht, though he declined a full interview citing safety concerns. Similar accounts involved tour groups whose members were approached for smoking.
According to the permanent secretary, preliminary checks identified six people linked to the area on the morning of August 9th: three Pattaya City municipal officers (including two from the municipal enforcement/tessagit unit) and three outsourced contract workers hired to help maintain order. All six have been ordered to temporarily stop performing duties in the assigned area while the probe continues. Officials involved may be transferred out of the location during the process; the outsourcing company will also be engaged.
Kiattisak stressed a key point of authority: “They (Municipality officers) have the power to arrest in certain cases, but they do not have the power to impose fines, and for those who can like traffic police, a proper receipt must always be issued that can be verified at the appropriate agencies.”
Issues such as loud motorcycle exhausts fall under other laws and agencies (for example, public nuisance or vehicle regulations handled by traffic police or the Department of Land Transport), not direct fining authority of city personnel in this manner. The investigation will examine whether any money collected was legitimate, whether proper documentation was issued, and the exact status of any payments.
The city hopes to complete the fact-finding within about two weeks for transparency. If wrongdoing is confirmed, criminal complaints will be filed and disciplinary steps taken. The permanent secretary apologized to the public and tourists, reaffirmed instructions for correct official conduct, and said Pattaya does not want such incidents to harm the city’s tourism image.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Pattaya City hotline at 1337.
