Bangkok cracks down on corruption after road collapse incident

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin called for a thorough crackdown on corruption following an incident where a section of road in Bangkok collapsed under the weight of an overloaded lorry. The lorry is suspected to have been allowed to operate due to illicit payments to officials. This incident caused two traffic accidents earlier this week on the busy Sukhumvit Road.

The 61 year old prime minister’s response was triggered by rumours that a green star-shaped sticker with a B printed on it, seen on the lorry’s windscreen, is a secretive symbol used by truckers. It is believed that this sticker indicates to police who have accepted bribes, to overlook any weight infringement and allow these overloaded lorries to pass without inspection.

The 10-wheel lorry, which was heavily laden, damaged a concrete slab covering the entrance to an underground cable trench in Phra Khanong district on Wednesday morning. This incident, which occurred near Soi Sukhumvit 64/1, was the second of its kind. A similar issue happened on Ratchaprarop on Tuesday.

Both events caused injury to other motorists, with an SUV and its driver trapped in a hole on the road surface on Tuesday.

To tackle the issue of illegally overloaded trucks, the Ministry of Transport, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Department of Highways have joined forces. The Thai PM has urged them to devise effective strategies to avert any future incidents of this nature, mitigating the impact of corruption in Bangkok.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has initiated an investigation to determine if the 10-wheel lorry was to blame for Wednesday’s incident, whether illicit payments were involved, and the significance of the suspicious sticker. This was announced by Police Colonel Witthawat Chinkham, acting commissioner of MPB Division 5 yesterday.

Green sticker

A committee was established on Wednesday to probe into the truck’s excessive weight and any potential involvement of corruption. Police General Torsak Sukvimol, Thailand’s national police chief, emphasised that concrete evidence is needed to substantiate accusations of bribery, as such allegations have tarnished the reputation of the police force.

The president of the Land Transportation Association of Thailand (LTAT), Apichart Pairoonrueng, confirmed that the green sticker essentially provides heavy trucks with a free pass to exceed weight limit regulations and operate outside of permissible hours within the city. Without this sticker, these trucks would not be able to pass through certain intersections where police checkpoints are often established.

Apichart added that the green sticker is awarded in return for bribes to police and BMA officials. It enables trucks to transport dirt to and from construction sites across Bangkok without any concern over police intervention, reported Bangkok Post.

Regarding the B on the green sticker, which online speculators have linked to a wealthy individual referred to as Big, Apichart stated that he had never heard of this nickname before. As a member of the House sub-committee on bribery investigation, he assured that he would provide all the information available to him to the subcommittee’s chairman.

Finally, Apichart highlighted the fact that the BMA does not have a weighbridge for lorries and trucks.