Thai police accused of using power to get free food & drinks

Officers from Krathum Ban Police Station in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok have been accused of using their power to get free food and drinks from a bar in the province.

Celebrity Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkird claimed yesterday that a number of police officers frequent a bar named Good Zone several times a month, order food and drinks and allegedly refuse to pay their bills. The bills they run up are over 100,000 baht per month.

Sittha said the pub owner finally had enough and refused to allow those offending officers to eat and drink in his establishment. The group was angry at being banned and in revenge allegedly spread fake news that the pub was temporarily closed for maintenance so the bar would lose income.

Sittha added that one of the officers was a shareholder in the bar, holding 3% of the shares.

Sittha revealed to Thai media that he filed evidence of the officers’ corruption on behalf of the pub owner at Royal Thai Police Headquarters.

Sittha did not mention which police station those officers served. It was only later when Krathum Ban Police Station made an announcement about the issue on the same day did the public learn where the offending officers worked.

The station defended the police against the accusations saying no officers were shareholders in the bar. A spokesperson added that some officers did visit the establishment and enjoyed the service when they were off duty but paid their bills.

The spokesperson added that the shareholder might be the wife of an officer from another police station, named Oil. The police said they would conduct a further investigation into the case and provide an update.

Thai netizens commented on Sittha’s Facebook post that they were not surprised at the officers’ actions, claiming police officers did this kind of thing all the time, especially in pubs or restaurants outside of Bangkok.

Several posts were encouraged by Sittha’s actions and said they appreciated how he tried to seek justice for the bar owner.