Bangkok Private Dicks

Posted by Greg

November 8, 2007

Big Chilli Magazine, February 2006

If ever there was a city perfectly suited to the resourceful, hard-boiled detective, it’s Bangkok. It has all three of the main ingredients vital to any good detective story: broads, liquor and enough shady characters to block out the sun (granted, Sherlock Holmes and Batman didn’t really mess with the ladies, but they also spent a large majority of time with male sidekicks, ‘nuff said). But anyone who lives here knows that Bangkok also has a unique mix of new and old, of technology and tradition. How does the investigation industry manage to straddle the divide between the two? I wanted to find out what detectives here actually did, and what it was like fighting the fight against two of the cities’ most visible vices - cheating spouses and pirated everything.

Despite all of the Sam Spade, Maltese Falcon, James Bond imagery you’ve had rammed into your brain since you were a kid, the actual life of a private investigator is comparatively staid and lacking in explosions and guys that want to kill you. Most detectives in Western countries spend their time in front of a computer doing research, as most anything about anyone can be found online. But Bangkok, with a comparative lack of similar infrastructure, offers a unique challenge reminiscent of a time when you had to rely on good old fashioned street smarts to get the job done.

“It’s a bit like the wild west here, so we have access a lot more tools than our counterparts in other countries,” says Russel Lerner, Managing Director of Quantico Consulting and Investigation. “Thailand’s privacy laws aren’t as stringent as those in most Western countries and that, combined with relative lack of information online, means we have to use other means, mostly human resources.” That sounds petty official, but often boils down to something as simple as hiring a motorcycle taxi to follow your target. “It’s cheaper than expensive surveillance, and it keeps people employed,” he adds.

It comes as no surprise that in Thailand, all you need to become a PI is a sign that says ‘Private Investigator,’ and maybe a cell phone (alcohol and broads not included). “In the US you have to pass tests and learn all the laws, but not here,” says Lerner, who has a staff of forty. His company used to be a part of the legendary Pinkerton detective agency, but has been doing just fine on its own after a management buyout a few years ago. But just because you can call yourself a PI doesn’t mean you should. “We usually look for someone who has that innate thing that you’re born with - if you come to a closed door, you don’t go home, you find a way around it,” he explains. “Someone with a grade four education can easily run circles around someone with a university degree if they have the street smarts and a flair for the job. One day they’re pretending to be a lottery ticket vendor, the next day they’re pretending to be a businessman. You have to find someone who is a great liar, but honest to you.” Sounds easy.

Another local PI, Frank (not even close to his real name), agrees that you either have it or you don’t. “I just found that I was good at it and enjoyed it, so it just became another thing I did,” he explained when I met him a smoky pub on Silom. He got into the business when a friend hired him to do surveillance for insurance scams. “I kind of got bored with that kind of thing and to be honest, many of the people were on the up-and-up,” Frank tells me. “The insurance companies would sometimes push and push for me to find something that would get them out of paying claims, so I decided to be a bit more selective when investigation work started taking up more of my time. From time to time, I take corporate work that deals with counterfeiting, but that can get dangerous since a large part of it is run by organized crime syndicates.”

Of course, when anyone hears the term ‘private investigator’ here in Thailand, the first thing that comes into their mind is cheating spouses. Some people - like Lerner at Quantico - don’t take these cases, but most investigators - Frank included - do. “It’s quite popular here and can be very lucrative. Usually when people find out that I do PI work it’s the first thing they think of,” says Frank. “I try not to pigeonhole myself by doing only that, but I do say yes to the odd request that comes along.” I ask him for a story from one of his cases as an example. “One Spanish guy was suspicious of his Thai wife, but he wanted someone to keep an eye on her while he was in Canada on business. I initially thought she’d have maybe one boyfriend, but after seven days I discovered that she was all over the place, a different person every time. And she was paying them too!”

Lerner explains his view. “We stick to the corporate side of investigation - auto parts, finance, fashion design houses, software and entertainment. Normal companies too, who have internal problems or need to check out someone they’re going to hire or invest with.” When I ask him why he chooses not to work in the constantly rotating market of spousal investigation, he says, “It’s our belief that when you’re investigating such a personal issue, there are too many emotions and feelings wrapped up in the package, which can cause problems. Besides,” he smiles, “corporate clients pay better.”

Arguably the best known investigator here (at least among foreigners) is the legendary Stickman. The well-connected wizard behind the curtain of Bangkok/Oz (check out his huge website at www.stickmanbangkok.com) says that he got started investigating because his readers asked him to. One day, one of them said he’d pay for the service and blam! A private investigator was born. I ask him if he encounters any emotional hang-ups. “I never get emotionally attached to my work. Actually, given that the vast majority of people I investigate are guilty, it gives me a small amount of pleasure to get the truth out in the open.”

The thing about being a Western investigator in Thailand is, obviously, blending in. “I was following someone once and they led me to this all Thai area,” explains Frank. “I had my camera, so I just played dumb tourist. I was at this store next to the bar that my marks were drinking in, and pretended that I wanted to take a picture of the girl who owned the store. I just put her in front of my subjects and shot over her shoulder.”

The famous Thai element of ‘sabai-sabai’ also comes into play in a positive way. Lerner explains, “Thais are naturally gregarious, so it’s quite easy to talk to them and get the information you want. Maids are a very good source of information, and usually we don’t need to corrupt them with a bribe or anything. Just chat them up and nonchalantly broach the issue.” My geek side comes out and I ask if he ever uses gadgets. “Sometimes we have to use cameras, microphones and GPS devices, but more often than not, it’s just talking to people and engaging them in conversation. We also go through garbage sometimes.” The glamorous life of a PI never ends.

“It’s interesting though, and it can get exciting from time to time,” explains Frank. “Mostly, it’s a lot of hours spent to find ten minutes of evidence. But if you like it, you like it.” Lerner reiterates that issue when he says, “Every job is a different job, and each case that comes in has something fresh and challenging about it. It keeps me on my toes, especially the stranger cases.” I ask for some specifics and learn that he gets a surprising number of inquiries from bona-fide wackos. “We get a lot of weirdo’s calling in; people that think they’re being followed by the CIA or that they have a chip embedded in their skull. We get calls like that all the time.”

Dressing up as a different character everyday, saying things like ‘Follow that tuk-tuk!’ and dealing with paranoid nutjobs? Count me in - just as long as I don’t have to go through much garbage.

Walking the Walk

Talking is one thing, but doing is something entirely different. I decided to see just how hard it was to follow someone, to see if I had what it took to become a private eye. So, with my camera at my side, my cell phone on silent (so that it wouldn’t ring if I had to pretend to talk into it), I set out to follow some strangers. Maybe I would discover a hidden talent?

Mark 1: Caucasian male, 50-ish. Randomly chosen at the Thong Lo BTS station. He got off at Emporium, and stopped just outside the entrance of the mall for a cigarette. I waited patiently in front of a pastry shop where I could see his arm but he couldn’t see me, getting strange looks from staff at said pastry shop when I didn’t buy anything. He then made his way down to the second level, where he met a middle-aged Asian man for lunch. I tried to take a picture but he looked right at me. Did he notice that I followed him? I got scared and left.

Mark 2: Asian female, early 20’s. Randomly chosen at Phrom Phong BTS. I stood right behind her in line for the Skytrain and watched her out of the corner of my eye during the trip to Siam. She got off, went into Siam Centre and exited to go into Paragon shopping mall. I followed her about 30 metres inside the mall, when she suddenly turned and walked back towards me. I quickly pretended to be interested in the products I was standing beside, which turned out to be purses. I nonchalantly turned to follow her… but she was gone. I pretend to talk into my phone while searching the crowd for her, but she lost me. Pretty sure she didn’t bust me, maybe just bad luck.

Mark 3: Caucasian male and female, mid 30’s. Randomly chosen at Paragon. I follow them for a few rounds of the third floor before they stop to ask a security guard for some directions. He points upstairs, where I follow them, actually passing them at one point so that they’re walking behind me. I put some more distance between us before I notice them get on a down escalator. I catch up and get on the same escelator, just before I notice them on the floor above me. I was apparently mistaken. By the time I get back up to the floor, they’re gone; they lost me. I accidentally spot them again 30 minutes later, but that doesn’t count.

Mark 4: Two black males, mid 30’s. Randomly chosen at Paragon. I follow them back onto the skytrain, to Nana station where they lead me through narrow sois and shortcuts that I didn’t know exist. Strange looks from everyone I pass. Follow them to Sukhumvit soi 3/1 where they meet someone inside a hotel lobby, then go upstairs. It starts to rain, so I get scared and go home.

Conclusion: Following people is subtle, hard work. Most importantly, I suck at being a private eye, having lost 50% of my marks who didn’t even know they were being followed. Flashback to what Frank said about blending in; realize that at 190cm and 250 lbs with a shaved head, this probably isn’t an option for me in Thailand. Go back to being a writer.

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