Not all trips to a police station in Thailand end in tragedy, with some there’s a happy ending

Heard the joke about the police officer in Thailand offering massages, soothing herbal sweets and a cold drink instead of a cuff around the ear and a night in the slammer? No? Well, that’s because it’s not a joke.

A visit to a police station in Thailand is usually a daunting exercise for most whether you’ve committed a crime, filed a complaint or asked an officer to find your missing cat but not at Nongtrud Police Station, in Mueang district in Trang, visitors are greeted with a massage.

Pol. Lt. Pakronkrit Thongsuk, a professionally-trained Thai massage practitioner, offers visitors a soothing massage to help relieve their stress levels.

Lt. Pakronkrit noticed that many visitors to the station were visibly stressed, so he launched a scheme called “Massage to Relieve Distress” to make the experience more tolerable.

Upon arrival at the station, visitors are offered a glass of cold water and a herbal candy of their choice, which Lt. Pakronkrit claims can soothe a variety of ailments. If he sees a visitor looking particularly stressed, he will ask for permission to massage their neck and head for about 10-15 minutes. The gentle massage helps most visitors to feel much calmer and more level-headed, which can have a positive impact on the investigation.

The 58 year old who plans to open a massage shop when he retires in three years, said…

“Visits to a station are not exactly a walk in the park, so anything that we can do to relieve their stress levels will help.”

Lt. Pakronkrit’s efforts to help visitors at the station have not gone unnoticed. He has also taken part in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, which aims to tackle drug abuse in schools. As an instructor, Lt. Pakronkrit gets paid 3,900 baht per school term, but he donates his pay to the school where he teaches and gives an additional 100 baht of his own money toward the school’s development, Bangkok Post reported.

Originally from the Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Lt. Pakronkrit moved to Trang in southern Thailand when his wife became the director of a local school in the Mueang district. He sought a transfer to Trang 13 years ago and began working as a non-commissioned officer before steadily rising through the ranks to become a police lieutenant. After a few years, he saved enough money to pay for his own Thai traditional massage training.

Lt. Pakronkrit believes that Thai massage is world-renowned for its ability to soothe physical and emotional stress. Performing massages on police station visitors allows him to gain experience, as he hopes to make a living from it when he retires in three years.

Despite his contributions to the station, Lt. Pakronkrit feels that his “Massage to Relieve Distress” scheme does not receive enough attention from his superiors, who tend to focus on crime-busting investigators rather than officers with desk duty.

Well, in this case, The Thaiger is only too pleased to highlight that not every story involving the police ends in tragedy, with some, there is a happy ending.

Pol. Lt. Pakronkrit Thongsuk gives a visitor a massage.