Thai dictatorship arrests people for playing bridge

This 3 February 2016 video is about the Thai dictatorship police arresting people for the ‘crime’ of playing the card game bridge.

The military dictatorship in Thailand arrests people for opposing corruption, for reading George Orwell’s novel 1984, for opposing treatment of workers like slaves by corporations, for ‘insulting’ the king’s dog, and for lots of other stuff.

Including, we know now, for playing bridge.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

Elderly people in Thailand arrested because of bridge game

Today, 15:49

Thai police have arrested a group of 32 elderly people in Pattaya because they were playing bridge. They violated a law that stipulates that a person may not possess more than 120 playing cards, local newspaper Pattaya One writes.

The police raided an apartment where there are regular meetings of an English bridge club for foreigners. They had received a hint that there would be gambling, and most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand.

The elderly people were not playing for money, so the police used an old law from 1935 curbing playing cards. All bridge players were on that basis taken to the police station.

The group consisted among others of British, Swedish and Australian people. Among those arrested was a Dutch 84-year-old woman. They were all released on bail later.

After 12 hours in police cells. And after they had paid fines of 5000 baht.

Thailand’s junta leader welcomed at the White House: here.

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