New rules at Bangkok police checkpoints after bribe complaints

Police at Bangkok’s Thong Lor station have set up what they say is a “new style” of checkpoints in response to complaints saying drivers were forced to pay police officers. Along with new rules to prevent corruption and bribery, the officers also need to be “polite.”

The Thong Lor police station has accumulated a reputation over recent decades. It was also the police station in the middle of the early investigation into the ‘Boss’ Yoovidhya hit-and-run case. The policeman killed was from the Thong Lor station.

Officers at the checkpoints will need to show their badges and tell the driver what the their name is as well as their commander’s name. Under the new regulations, they also need to be polite. The National Police Chief Suwat Jangyosuk says the new measures are “transparent” and boost the standards at checkpoints. Thong Lor is the first police station to implement the new rules.

The new measures and push for transparency comes after complaints of police taking money from drivers passing through checkpoints. It’s safe to say that police bribes are not uncommon in Thailand. Many travel websites and blogs warn about police corruption in Thailand, some offer tips on how to deal with police.

Just the other day, an officer in Pathum Thani’s Thanyaburi district was caught on camera allegedly taking a bribe from someone driving through the police checkpoint. After the video of the truck driver handing the officer 100 baht was shared on Facebook, the provincial police chief Chayut Marayat told the district chiefs to make sure officers “behave appropriately.”

SOURCE: Nation Thailand