Elderly Swedes arrested in Thailand for playing bridge
A game of bridge had an unexpected ending for 32 club members in Thailand, including three Swedes.
The bridge enthusiasts, the majority of them retirees, were arrested in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday for the possession of too many unregistered playing cards, the BBC reported on Thursday.
The members of the bridge club were arrested under a law from 1935 that states that no card players are allowed to possess more than 120 playing cards at any given time.
Gambling is strictly forbidden in Thailand and police are cracking down on all games in which they suspect the nation's laws are being violated.
Although no money was found to indicated that the elderly bridge players were gambling, they were all arrested and held in custody for 12 hours before being released on bail on Thursday.
According to Thai news site Pattaya One, more than 50 law enforcement officers stormed in on the bridge club and seized computers, cards and a book containing bridge results.
AFP reported that the 32 foreign nationals arrested included 12 Britons, three Norwegians, three Swedes, two Australians, a German, a Dane, a Canadian and a New Zealander.
All those arrested where fined 5,000 baht, the equivalent of around 1,200 Swedish kronor ($140).
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The bridge enthusiasts, the majority of them retirees, were arrested in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday for the possession of too many unregistered playing cards, the BBC reported on Thursday.
The members of the bridge club were arrested under a law from 1935 that states that no card players are allowed to possess more than 120 playing cards at any given time.
Gambling is strictly forbidden in Thailand and police are cracking down on all games in which they suspect the nation's laws are being violated.
Although no money was found to indicated that the elderly bridge players were gambling, they were all arrested and held in custody for 12 hours before being released on bail on Thursday.
According to Thai news site Pattaya One, more than 50 law enforcement officers stormed in on the bridge club and seized computers, cards and a book containing bridge results.
AFP reported that the 32 foreign nationals arrested included 12 Britons, three Norwegians, three Swedes, two Australians, a German, a Dane, a Canadian and a New Zealander.
All those arrested where fined 5,000 baht, the equivalent of around 1,200 Swedish kronor ($140).
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