Internet Cafe Busted

Do Internet cafes work under similar rules like bars,pay your regular monthly money to whoever and you will not get a problem from officials.
Judging by the photo it appears yet another farang who has a bright idea about a business,tends to always be the same here in Udon whether internet shop,salon or bar ,are any of them income makers to support the farang to pay the bills or should they always be viewed as a hobby

If nothing else, from the permitted access times given, it confirms my observations that there isn't much teaching in Thai schools after lunch!

Brian Davis wrote:If nothing else, from the permitted access times given, it confirms my observations that there isn't much teaching in Thai schools after lunch!

Is there teaching at other times?

Hi everyone, yes we got busted last year, but only for two weeks as punishment. it was a mistake as the young boys looked well over 18 years old, two of the boys were our next door neighbours kids who had finished school early and had been sent into our cafe by their parents, this coupled with the start of the school holidays when such laws are relaxed led us to believe that we were legal and ok. Most cafes get closed for 3 months but due to the nature of our mistake we only got 2 weeks and so the authorities do listen and try to be fair. We cannot really complain as this happens to many cafes all the time not just farang cafes and Thai law is Thai law. I would however like to say that also in all fairness many such laws are very out dated, for example as we see more and more homes getting home internet, children can play games 24 hours a day and Thai authorities can do nothing, also there is a great deal more danger to kids using home internet than using an internet cafe where at least a degree of supervision exists, Thai authorities need to face up to this fact that kids can go onto illegal dangerous sites that they could not otherwise do in an internet cafe and so why do such authorities not visit such homes with home internet, because internet cafes are easy and more high profile targets making themselves look good on TV,??????. I would also question health and safety in Thai schools, as an ex health and safety officer UK, I can say straight away that even simple lack of seating forcing kids to sit on hard floors for long periods can cause repetative back injury in later years, not to mention the dangerous ride home on inadiquite modified pick ups with kids literaly hanging off the backs etc and so internet cafes are relatively safer places for kids to be than in Thai schools even,?????, also do they close a shop down selling books because they sold a book to a kid before 2pm? no they do not and so I feel that internet cafes are very wrongly picked upon by the Thai governments for reasons I will never understand and such laws are laughable but the law is the law. Finaly I do not mean to be disrespectful but grow up thailand please.

Further to my below comments, lets also look at the other side of the coin, whilst many of Thailands laws may seem out dated it is the law and we were treated fairly under the circumstances. Thailand is a multi racial country, very tolerant towards farangs and diversity when you consider all that farangs often get up to here. I do believe that Thailand tries very hard not just as individual people who you see working hard every day on the steets selling food etc just to make a living, but as a nation also and it has the fastest growing economy in south east asia, it is not only very tolerant but a beautiful country and whilst Thais do have their faults as does everybody, they are generaly a tolerant friendly race of people and it is generaly a very safe place to be. They are as a nation coming on in leaps and bounds, for example I had cause to take my wife to the public free hospital last year and was very impressed with the modernisation and leval of care.
Also did you know that street food sellers cannot charge more than 25 baht for food? and so perhaps we internet cafes don t have it so bad here.
As for making money with an internet cafe, well the comment below is correct, how on earth do we make a profit charging so little for an hours computing time,? well this largely depends on how many machines there are and the position of the business, there is a cafe owner THAI, who has 40 machines and drives a top of the range merc, also one has to maximise by selling drinks and snacks, with a little thought you can make a good living, for example, what use is a drinks cooling machine costing 300 to 400 baht a month to run when a bottle of coca cola only makes 1 baht, this means you have to sell 3 to 400 bottles per month just to break even, so we got an ice bucket and fill a cup with ice pouring coke from a 2litre bottle into the cup with ice, we charge only 5 baht and make a bomb.

Can we expect your next post to advocate the increase of censurship on the Internet in Thailand? And also that using the net at home should be forbidden and only to allow Internet cafes, like your own? I have anther suggestion. Change your name here to Drivel.

I would not approve of more rules and regulations governing internet in Thailand, i m saying that home internet is far more dangerous to children than internet cafes, as they can play games 24 hours a day and go onto dangerous illegal sites as they are often unsupervised, and so I am asking why the thai authorities see fit to pick on internet cafes where at least a degree of supervision exists and what about the many children who do not even go to any school,? do the authorities visit such children, no. so why do they pick on us,? I am also saying that we were treated very fairly and the authorities do listen.
The law is the law and there are many more advantages to living in thailand than disadvantage and I believe that thailand is trying very hard, I am very happy with my business and it makes a nice living. however ha ha ha I would not object to your suggestion that everybody should use internet cafes rather than home internet lol, however to be real there would be so many internet cafes spring up that it would be no advantage to me.

These Internet Cafes are a HAVEN for future GANGSTERS/GAMBLERS!! NUFF SAID

Why pick on internet cafes dibble asked. So I looked at three that were busted in the Udon area during the last year as for why . Now I admit these were not being run by Farang but an internet shop is an internet shop in the eyes of the law. Of the three , two were convicted of dealing or allowing the use of illegal drugs in an upstairs room.The third had a room upstairs fitted with web cams that was paying young girls to perform various simulated sex acts for registered customers. Not saying the underage kids were involved in any of these activities, but it is possible. Not the sort of place I would like a child of mine to frequent .Just one aspect of the ban. The other and the original point of it was that kids were skipping school to play in them and many were spending the money given to them by their parents for food on the machines, plus the temptation to get more from other dubious sources . Neither of which would apply if they were using a home computer . So I tend to think the ban wasn't about what they were watching as you seem to think.

Back in my day (pre-computers) it was pinball machines that were "havens for future gangsters or gamblers". Then along came rock and roll and the dreaded Beatles. Before that I believe it was pool halls. Back in Abraham Lincoln's time it was probably marbles or mumblety peg that led to the dissipation of the youth. Things never change. The fuddy duddies will always find something to complain about.

WOW, i must be a green horn, i ve never heard of drugs been sold in internet cafes and girls paid to do stuff on web cams before, if this is the case then the thai police need to keep a keener eye on internet cafes. I am suprised we have not had a visit since just to check everything is ok. Yes as said by myself the law is the law and we were treated very fairly. Before we got busted as its put, there were three young boys who were trouble makers frequenting our cafe and I was led to believe dealing in cannabbis, we banned all three, this may have had something to do with it also. The Thai police are always very welcome here anytime. Finaly though, in reply to a comment above, if kids have a mind to bunk off school they will do, and they don t all come to internet cafes, do they close Robinson down because there are kids in there before 2pm, no, so why close internet cafes down. do the authorities visit homes of many Thai children who never even go to school,? no so why close an internet cafe,? do the Thai authorities visit the homes of kids with home internet to check they are not playing games before 2pm, no, so why pick on us lol. Internet cafes are a high profile easy target but it hardly tackles the problem of trauncy with more and more homes getting home internet does it.

Look all you chappys out there, i m not wanting to join a life long chat about it, a laundry could be used as an illegal gambling den couldnt it? and i am sure there are many other issues other than trauncy with internet cafes as could be with any other business. this was to do with trauncy, and all i am saying is that with home internet so much on the increase, why pick on internet cafes when kids can bunk off school and play games all day at home while parents are at work, making this law a little outdated. however I am not blaming the officials involved I am blaming what I consider to be a useless law but the law is the law, useless or not and we were treated very fairly. I am sure there are all kinds of things going on in all kinds of businesses which has nothing to do with me. anyway i m ending on that note and the fact that chasing internet cafes to tackle a trauncy problem is a waste of time and effort as most off these kids will be happily playing games at home thus work it out for yourselves.