Police Corruption in Thailand

I am writing this post partially in response to those (such as Thaksin) who think that collectivization in Thailand will cure everything.

But corruption is an issue which will not go away. It's one of the main reasons foreign investors avoid certain countries. (Will they get their money back? etc.)

I recently had an experience with the Thai police. Actually, it was my boyf Aod, who was visiting home in the far north and decided to do something nice for his Younger Brother, who has recently (and belatedly) begun studying the 7th grade in Chiang Rai, and who decided to ordain as a novice monk in order to avoid much of the hassle coming from boarding schools.

So, Aod took his younger brother to Mae Sai, and then into Burma, and they had fun exploring. They came back into Thailand, and were driving home in Aod's Honda Jazz when they were stopped at an inspection point.

The policeman running the show charged Aod with "aiding the immigration of aliens!" The charge was totally absurd, as both Aod and his brother were born in Thailand, and are Thai citizens. But the cop pretended to be outraged that younger brother's ID card had been altered with Liquid Paper. (Actually, the abbot at the monastery did that.)

Frantic and furious phone calls followed. The village headman weighed in, to no avail. My former boyfriend weighed in, and demanded to know the cop's name -- the request was refused.

Aod and his younger brother spent almost the entire day at that police checkpoint.

Why?

My former boyfriend explained it as follows: "The cop is totally corrupt, and looking to shake down innocent citizens. He spots these two BOYS without an adult companion, and sniffs good takings. Especially because they are driving a CAR -- they are RICH hill-tribe boys." So he busts them on the flimiest excuse imaginable -- and has them sit in his boiling-hot waiting-room all day.

Price of exit: 5000 baht. And the policeman is still nameless, and seeking revenge is futile.

Now, there is a TRUE story for you!

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[krobbie]

And this goes on daily because they see all the superior officers doing it right up the chain of command. No wonder. The brown shirt and pants give one a licence to do as they please from the moment they get them.

I have been victim to the ways of these guys on two trips. The first time my then bf and I were stopped. They check his licence. He no have. Cost B400 and on we went driving the motocy. We got stopped later the same day but bf shows the ticket we have already paid si it is okay to still drive off without further payment and no licence.

Second we are already stopped but are in a no entry road behind a produce truck. Police say this will cost B400. I say "no have" but will follow to the police station and talk there. They stop half way to the police station and say ... " aaaaaa mmm eeeee ... maybe just B200". I scratch around in my bag for some coins and bf does the same. We proffer these and quick as lightning we are on our way.

The shakedowns are an everyday occurrence and I am sure most often when someone is stopped, tea money is paid.

What to do? Absolutely nothing one can. This is called one's livelihood. Admittedly both times we were in the wrong and just gave opportunity to the lads. They must have eyes like hawks.

Cheers
krobbie

maybe this is crazy, but am I tyhe alone one, to which the military to come back. ?. Democracy? now? No!

[francois]

In the incidents above one Thai had an altered ID card trying to cross the border and another Thai had no license while driving a motorcycle. Is this not called stupid in any language? What cop or border agent is going to give them a smile and not a fine or hassle them? Fact is, almost any Thai driving a vehicle should be fined for their dangerous driving habits.
Having said that, the same same treatment is given to blacks in the USA and given to "gringos" in Mexico.
This is not just in Thailand, it is common everywhere in the world.

[Brad the Impala]

I have been victim to the ways of these guys on two trips. The first time my then bf and I were stopped. They check his licence. He no have. Cost B400 and on we went driving the motocy. We got stopped later the same day but bf shows the ticket we have already paid si it is okay to still drive off without further payment and no licence.

Second we are already stopped but are in a no entry road behind a produce truck. Police say this will cost B400. I say "no have" but will follow to the police station and talk there. They stop half way to the police station and say ... " aaaaaa mmm eeeee ... maybe just B200". I scratch around in my bag for some coins and bf does the same. We

You complain about corruption and being "victims", but you acknowledge your bf is in the wrong in both cases. Would you prefer the corruption or for your boyfriend to be taken to court and/or jail. Talk about having your cake and wanting to eat it!

... as an avowed Republican you're in favour of law'n'order - not like those bleeding heart namby-pamby Democrats?

... as an avowed Republican you're in favour of law'n'order - not like those bleeding heart namby-pamby Democrats?

Yes, Henry! The Americans never tire of telling us about their "zero tolerance" policies regarding "law and order". Are you turning into a "bleeding heart liberal"?

Henry, you claim the charge of the policeman was totally absurd yet George W. Bush spent trillions of US dollars on a war because he claimed "weapons of mass destruction" existed where there were none.
At least in your friend's case the ID card was in fact altered, and this is real evidence unlike what Bush offered.

"Lock 'em up! Throw the key away!" It's the American way!

[bkkguy]

Thai cops are badly paid, badly trained and very poorly funded. Blame the government, not the cop who asks you for 200 baht.

and the cops and government officials who are making hundreds of thousands or millions of Baht from corruption - how is any government ever going to afford to pay them a "living wage"?

many workers in Thailand are poorly paid, but abuse of position and corruption should not be palmed off as OK for the "poor" policeman! the average food stall owner is poor as well - can he start shaking you down for 200 Baht for using too many condiments on your noodles? and when your "poor" building security guard starts demanding 500 Baht a month otherwise he may be looking the other way when someone breaks into your apartment - is that OK?

if nothing else police shakedowns and corruption breed contempt for the law and the government and attitudes and expectations like those above and in the end things like the Songkran road toll - the government can pass any laws they like but they will be selectively enforced by the police for their own benefit and not respected by the public!

bkkguy

This is not NECESSARILY a matter of corruption in the case that Henry Cate has cited.

One of the accused had an ID card that had been altered. Certainly it is not legal to alter a national ID card. Isn't this a big issue also along the border the USA shares with Mexico? Do the Texas Rangers show leniency in these matters when they hear that a "pastor" might have altered an ID card?

Imagine the uproar and support the policeman would have had if this incident took place not in a car near the politically sensitive Burmese border, but in a bar in Sunee Plaza.

[Marsilius]

Another instance of police malpractice [posted here before in another context, but a very long time ago]...

Maybe ten years ago I was staying at Mr Mac's Hotel in Pattaya and had a friend from Chang Mai staying with me in my room. He was actually 21 years old, as I recall, though looked slight and younger - but he had geuine ID to prove his age with him.

Anyway, one day we got back to the hotel and I was told by the receptionist that the police had stopped by, while we had been out, to call on me in the room as they were enquiring about the boy's age.

As I was pretty well acquainted with the management of the (gay) Sky Bar on the top floor - David and Allan, at the time - I rushed upstairs to consult them. Foolishly, I had assumed that because the boy had cast-iron proof of age, all would be OK. Not so, advised David: the crucial thing was to get back down to my hotel room before the police returned. We did so, conducted a thorough search - and, lo and behold! - there. concealed out of sight, we discovered a tube of KY which was neither mine nor the boy's and that most definitely had not been there before we'd gone out for the day. According to David, it was pretty standard police procedure in Pattaya to ensure an even harsher conviction by ratcheting up the level of seriousness of the alleged crime (which, of course, had not even been committed in the first place - the boy being 21 years old) - in this case, presumably, by introducing a melodramatic indication of buggery! (Incidentally, he added that, in this case we were lucky - it's often drugs that are deposited as alleged "evidence".)

We immediately removed the new "evidence" (some smartass will no doubt now say that that's where I committed a crime!) and David made a call to his police "contact" - i.e. a senior policeman who "looked after" the bar's interest in return for a gratuity. We had no more visits from any policemen and heard nothing more about the case. But it was, I can assure you, a very, very worrying few days.

(One last point, by the way, in case anyone starts thinking that I and my friend had been spotted on CCTVs or something like that. It turned out that the receptionist had a grudge against the hotel and was keen to besmirch its reputation and so it was SHE who had made the phone call to alert the police and cause trouble, even though we'd shown her the boy's ID on arrival.)