Four Thai ‘bastard police’ jailed for extorting money from Taiwanese actress
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct sentenced four Thai “bastard police” officers to five years in prison for extorting money from a Taiwanese actress.
Taiwanese actress An Yu-Qing, also known as Charlene An, exposed corruption in the Royal Thai Police (RTP) in January this year and warned others about Thailand’s “bastard police.”
An reported that she and her friends were asked to stop at a police checkpoint in Bangkok before being escorted to the police station, later identified as Huay Kwang Police Station. The officers demanded 27,000 baht from her friends in exchange for their freedom, which they had to pay to end the matter.
Six officers from Huay Kwang Police Station were implicated in the allegations, which they initially denied. They accused the Taiwanese actress and her friends of not showing their passports and of illegally carrying vapes.
The RTP blamed the language barrier and the foreigners’ drunkenness for the misunderstanding between the police and the foreign actress.
An reacted angrily to the Thai police’s excuse, saying she was not drunk at all and condemned the police for shifting the blame on her to clear their names. More evidence was released, and both Thai and Taiwanese citizens pressured the investigation team until the police admitted to extorting money from the actress and her friends.
Four jailed, two innocent
The case was submitted to the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on March 31 and the court decided on the punishment today, November 8, after seven months and eight days of deliberation.
According to the press release, four of the six accused police officers were found guilty. The court reported that the police had violated several laws, so they would face the most severe punishment under Sections 149 and 90 of the Penal Code, which is five years of imprisonment each.
The court reported that the other two police officers were considered innocent as there was insufficient evidence to confirm their wrongdoing.
One of the officers claimed that he was carrying out his duty at the checkpoint and did not know what had happened to the detained foreigners. The court believed his words as there was no evidence to the contrary.
Another officer said that his colleagues gave him 3,000 baht, saying it was his share. He took the money even though he did not know where it came from. The court found that it was impossible to trace the source of the money, so the officer was considered innocent.
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