Comments on: Innocence Lost

By: Adam F.

Adam F. — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:32:28 +0000

Thaksin, police corruption and bureaucratic corruption are different, a fact which should be blindingly obvious. The greedy bureaucrat doesn’t have the power to hold you in indefinite remand nor to shoot you dead without consequences.

By: Thakseen

Thakseen — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:56:18 +0000

I think the end to corruption starts with you … Never pay a bribe to get anything done quickly and there will be no corruption. The police in Thailand and elsewhere will only take a bribe only when YOU give it! So do the world a favor and don’t pay.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:03:21 +0000

Exactly right. The police (and the politicians, and the judges and the army and just about everyone else in Thailand) take money to do a job, and then take money from someone else not to do it.

Make no mistake about it, the money filters its way up to those at the very top, there is no incentive whatever to stop it and public opprobrium, even international opprobrium is simply ignored.

Make no mistake also the common belief is that that the Abhisit government is much more corrupt that the Thaksin government ever dreamed of being.

Yet oddly, this is not the biggest problem in Thailand. IMHO, the biggest problem is the anarchy. Nobody is ever held accountable for anything and impunity rules supreme. From the bottom of Thai society to the top. Thai culture and society is based on impunity and fear, and as such is atrociously obnoxious.

It isn’t an accident either, it is the same fear and impunity that drove most European societies until the people refused to put up with it any more. Thais are usually slow to wake up, and it seems to me that meaningful change will not be made until the ruling elites no longer have any kind of choice, and can no longer withstand the onslaught. It will require considerable bloodshed, and I believe that will start in 2010, and will accelerate dramatically with a certain person departing the scene.

By: Ron

Ron — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:53:40 +0000

Qualtrough …

The point is the police tried to extort money. Later a judge via a video screen and no official document showing these people were ever even there and released is absurd. Everyone knows the police are scamming all the time and all levels.

Recently I was at a shopping mall and saw a DVD place approached by two young cops in uniform. They took the guy to the side I actually saw him handing them money.

Later I asked him what was going on. He said he paid them 3,000 baht a week to be able to continue selling via his little store in the mall.

I asked about the other small shops selling DVD’s and other things all on the same floor. He said all of them paid 3,000 baht a week to these cops.

I counted 23 small shops. Do the numbers.

Now it is OK to say well you know these people are after all doing something illegal. But which of the two activities is the least conducive to creating a healthy, law-abiding society:

1) The illegal DVD’s, or;

2) The cops blackmailing them?

besides that, I would think the police have more important things to be ding than taking payoffs for gary market DVD’s and harassing people for playing cards in their own homes.

In fact, not only are they on the take but they are not carrying out their jobs, either. I wonder what crimes were committed unnoticed while these cops were busting card players or extorting money from the DVD sellers.

By: bosunj

bosunj — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:52:01 +0000

“(…) comparing Thai police to any Western force is futile and shows more ignorance of the entrepraneurial activities of the Thai police.”

You’re apparently unaware of the entrepreneurial activities of Duhmerican police who are aided by laws which allow them to keep property they sieze. You’re also apparently unaware of the activities of police on the Texas-Louisiana border where they have been scaming innocent motorists for years. These are just two examples. There are thousands that are out there doing the same thing across that country every hour. Police corruption is endemic world wide as is corruption on every level. In Thailand they’re much more up front about it is all. No, I don’t approve of it and generally hate most cops. My activities don’t place me in jeopardy either. Happy holidays.

By: stefan

stefan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:16:06 +0000

“Criticizing the police for enforcing laws is misdirectedi” shows the commenter is naive and has no idea that Thai laws are only enforced when it suits the local constabluary, furthermore comparing Thai police to any Western force is futile and shows more ignorance of the entrepraneurial activities of the Thai police.

By: Qualtrough

Qualtrough — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:41:25 +0000

Your friend’s wife must have been extremely naive not to know that playing cards for money is illegal in Thailand, particularly in a large group of people. You will find many similar laws in various jurisdictions in the USA, and I suspect many other countries. A stupid law, perhaps, but the police don’t enact the laws, they enforce them. Criticizing the police for enforcing laws is misdirected, the criticism should be directed at those who make the laws. As for the police demanding a 10,000 baht fine, yes that is corrupt. However, the fact that they were later fined by a court indicates that in the eyes of the law they were indeed guilty. Again, that is not the police making the judgment, but a legally constituted court. Back to the police, while corruption may be a bad thing overall, I think that many of us in the West wish we had the option of paying “extra” to avoid a night in jail or a police record, especially when they have us dead to rights, so to speak. It appears that in this case the police were offering them an option, which they declined, and to no ill effect. At least they had that option. There are myriad reasons to criticize the Thai police, whose record is indeed dismal, but this particular case strikes me as very weak.

(BD: Still, even “convicted” by a remote court, there was no receipt/paper whatsoever …)

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:51 +0000

@Leosia:

Agree completely. Thais are known and famous for talking the talk, but less well known for walking the walk. It is a principle that I have held for a long time, that a nation gets the government it is prepared to put with and therefore deserves.

Thailand is no different – the people could change it but they choose not to because they are apathetic and only concerned with what concerns them directly today.

They appear not to be aware that (as I saw somewhere else) an estimated 40% of the national budget disappears into a relatively few pockets.

How they can possibly be unaware I don’t know, unless they habitually take comfort in the rectal view.

By: Leosia

Leosia — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:28:31 +0000

There are many gray areas such as this which are deliberately maintained as “illegal activities” or police regulated operations in order for them to continue making large amounts of money through fines, extortion and corruption. These include highway regulations which are made up “on the spot,” the illegal lottery, anything involving motorbike taxis, club and karaoke bar licenses, street-side bars, cancellation of work visas, selling driving licenses for 200 baht without the need for a test. The list is endless.

It is so endemic and widely accepted in society that it provides proof that democracy and transparency is not something that Thai people want – despite talking a lot about it!

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:10:29 +0000

I just feel bad for Nok. You often read about incidents like this where farang are targeted and this just goes to prove that the Thai police force are happy to take money from anyone’s pocket.

It’s no wonder that no one ever wants to get the police involved in Thailand when it’s not absolutely necessary and it’s a shame that you can’t even turn to law enforcement to ummmm … enforce the laws.

I wonder if the “informant” was at the card party and if they got a cut of the “fines”?