Journalist arrested for allegedly demanding millions in bribe to drop charges in Thailand

There’s been another bribery scandal in Thailand. A journalist has been arrested in Thailand for allegedly using her connections with a senior police officer to demand 14 million baht from a Chinese suspect in return for having charges against her dropped.

National deputy police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn revealed the arrest on Saturday, stating that Guo Rui, also known as Gegee, exploited her working relationship with the police to demand bribes. She denied the charges.

Big Joke said that he was acquainted with the journalist through work, and she was employed by the police as a coordinator due to her fluency in Chinese and her overseas connections. The police initiated an investigation after learning about her alleged intentions and obtained an arrest warrant after gathering evidence, Bangkok Post reported.

Guo, also the chair of the Thai Jiaranai Group, a media company that owns Thailand Headlines, was arrested on Friday at her condominium. Big Joke said that the suspect informed Navaporn Phakiatsakul, a key suspect in a crime syndicate investigation, that she could have charges against her dropped for an initial offer of 33 million baht. However, Navaporn paid Guo 14 million baht instead.

Navaporn was arrested in early April following a crackdown. Investigations revealed her long history of fraudulent behaviour, human trafficking, surrogacy, and document forgery. Big Joke pledged to take legal action against anyone using his name to demand bribes. Those found guilty of demanding bribes face a maximum fine of 100,000 baht or a jail sentence of up to five years.

A police source stated that Guo denied the charge and was temporarily released on a 3.5 million baht bail. The source also mentioned that Guo had worked as an interpreter for Big Joke in a gun theft case in Nonthaburi.