Smiley Masks for Thai Highway Patrol

By Alex in Crime & Law on Dec 31, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Thailand, nicknamed "The Land of Smiles" by countless tourist books, are living up to its name: the highway policemen in Thailand will be wearing smiley masks to "lift the mood of motorists":

The new cloth masks, which hook behind the ears and cover the mouth and nose, will help "reduce the stress from drivers when they see the police," said Somyos, the Highway Police commander.

To that end, he said, some 200 police booths would also distribute holy water, chewing gum and mints.

He defended his force when asked why drivers needed smiley masks and gum and holy water to calm down when approached by a patrolman.

"The police are not that scary," he said. "When I was in the United States, their highway police seemed to be more fierce than Thai police. I was scared of them."

Link

Photo: Sarot Meksophawannakul/Bangkok Post


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  1. Adam Stanhope
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    I’m so happy you found a picture of this!

  2. Gauldar
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Internet influence FTW!

  3. idil
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    hahahha imagine 7 of those chasing after a stolen car

  4. Justin
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    That would go really well with some Yakkity Sax idil.

  5. Skipweasel
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    Perhaps unfortunate that it looks more like a pig’s snout than a smiley. Maybe the Thais don’t have the same slang for their coppers.

  6. coraleaterlinda
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 5:15 pm

    i would be terrified if one of those guys was chasing after me!

  7. psychobuddhist
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    It would be fine if so many people weren’t afraid of clowns.

  8. LeighB
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 8:57 pm

    People wear face masks walking around BKK because the pollution is so bad. The police do also. The Thai police are also incredibly corrupt so I guess I just saw this in a different way than everyone else. Don’t get me wrong though, I think it’s cute, and I love BKK.

  9. Johnny Cat
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 9:58 pm

    I would laugh my ass off if I was pulled over by one of these guys. Not clown scary at all, just fun! :)

  10. Christophe
    Dec 31st, 2008 at 11:38 pm

    He looks like a clown. Stacy would be scared.

  11. Daniel Kim
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 12:19 am

    So, what would be the impact if it were combined with the Hello Kitty Armband of Shame?

  12. gajah_pesing
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 12:37 am

    Tenan aq gak iso bahasa bule

  13. liphttam1
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 2:45 am

    Worse then clowns.

  14. Mark Rowan
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 3:25 am

    And we take another step towards Terry Gilliam’s dystopian masterpiece Brazil…

    The most evil of the evil government workers in that movie wear terrifying baby masks, and it’s very easy to assume the logic here would also be used to justify that decision in the world of the film.

  15. A Noun
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Holy water?

  16. johnsadowski
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am

    Scary. Looks like Michael Jackson…

  17. Rocky Rook
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Looks like one of the Joker’s mobsters.

  18. just a guy
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    Yea, that’s pretty creepy. Armed ‘enforcers’ all wearing smiling masks chasinging after you with holy water. Bizzare.

  19. XuYu
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    Are you sure that’s not just an advertisement for Happy Prepaid Mobile (subsidiary of Dprompt)?

    http://www.happy.co.th/

  20. ted
    Jan 1st, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    Holy water?
    I just don’t get that one.

  21. Gail Pink
    Jan 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Johsadowski – my thoughts exactly. MJ all the way.


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