From normally finishing drinking and having a midnight snack, taking a taxi back to the hotel, to suddenly being intercepted by a team of Bangkok police, the Grab driver raised his hand and looked back at me, and I was completely bewildered. Then the car door was pulled open, and my heart raced, my heartbeat stopped as several flashlights shone on my face.

The police took a defensive stance and asked me to get out of the car. Then they asked where I was from, after which they waved the driver to leave. One officer was always on guard, one was searching me, and another used a phone translator to tell me not to move and to cooperate with them.

They searched me thoroughly and found my phone, cash, hotel key card, and e-cigarette. At that moment, I was ready for them to divide the cash among themselves and let me go because they started counting the money. Unexpectedly, after counting, they gestured for me to put it back in my pocket.

Then another officer showed me a Chinese version of the legal regulations, stating that possessing or carrying an e-cigarette could result in a maximum sentence of five years. At that moment, I thought these people were going to extort me even more because I couldn't believe that just smoking an e-cigarette could lead to a five-year sentence. I then said I needed to call a friend. They chattered away, and although I couldn't understand, it meant I wasn't allowed to make a call. I reiterated that I would directly call my friend, Guozi Ge, and said everything was fine, just to hand them the e-cigarette. I hung up the phone and indicated that I could give them the e-cigarette, but they refused.

At this point, two police officers came to my sides, one grabbing my arm while the other used a phone translator to demand that I must go back to the police station with them to cooperate with the investigation. At first, I refused, but then I turned around and realized that this was right in front of the police station...

I then followed them and arrived at the back of the police station where there was a long bench, indicating for me to sit and wait. There were about ten police officers in the yard, and then one officer came up and, using a translator, told me to cooperate fully; it would take about ten minutes to resolve.

They then handed me over to an older police officer, who took me to another officer, who gestured for me to take a puff from my e-cigarette. However, I couldn't get a puff out because it was out of battery. Then he handed me two bottles, signaling for me to urinate. There, in the yard, six police officers surrounded me, shining flashlights at me as I tried to pee...

At that time, my head was really dizzy because I had been drinking all night. The neck of the bottle was quite small, so I couldn't fit it in; I could only carefully aim at the opening, fearing I would either pee on my own hands or get it all over them. They were quite particular, taking turns shining a flashlight at me while I peed. I was also very careful, peeing tentatively because I had to control the flow and speed of the urine due to the alcohol. It took a long time to fill the bottle, and after that, I was taken to another place.

Later, an officer took out several test kits similar to those for nucleic acid testing, and I realized it was a drug test. It was my first time experiencing this, and I hadn't been tested for drugs either domestically or internationally. Then they used a straw to collect two urine samples and tested them with different reagents. The results came out in about 10-20 seconds. They then used a translator to tell me that my initial test results were fine and checked my hotel key card.


Then several police officers smiled and translated to tell me:

1. Tonight, I received a warning not to carry an e-cigarette in Thailand and to smoke in my room, emphasizing several times 'in room.'

2. In the future, don't panic and call friends when something happens; cooperating with the investigation will quickly resolve the situation.

3. In the future, if I don't bring my passport, I also need to take a photo of the visa page.

As an ordinary person, experiencing this was indeed both shocking and thrilling. I initially thought I was going to be extorted, but instead, I was taken for a drug test. I thought I would be fined for the e-cigarette issue, but it turned out to be just a friendly warning. I thought I might not get out of the police station that night and would have to call my friend to bail me out, but I really was out in about ten minutes.

Looking back, the reasons I wasn't extorted or my cash wasn't divided might be the following two:

1. At the beginning, despite their advice not to, I called Guozi Ge to report, even though they couldn't understand, it meant I wasn't alone at that moment.

2. They had body cameras on, and I observed that they were all turned on.

Life needs to be exciting all the way; I consider myself quite fortunate because later I found many cases online of people who had been punished, so everyone should remember that it's best not to bring e-cigarettes in Thailand. Although many places in Thailand prohibit smoking, e-cigarettes are not prohibited, but... I checked and it is indeed illegal.

When I was leaving, I asked the police, 'Can we take a photo together?' (gesturing) They said no, and then I said thank you to them before leaving the police station.