TikTok twist: Thai man faces charges after Chalong Police checkpoint cash claim goes viral
A TikTok post accusing Chalong Traffic Police officers in Thailand of stopping motorists at a checkpoint for monetary gain has led to a man being charged with criminal defamation.
The unnamed man uploaded a video that showed officers from the Traffic Police Division of the Royal Thai Police stopping motorcyclists at a checkpoint. The accompanying note in Thai read, “Chalong Police take everything,” followed by “Don’t care about anyone’s children.” The post garnered over 150 hearts and was shared at least dozens of times.
In Thailand, defamation is not just the subject of a civil suit but is also considered a criminal offence. According to Section 326 of the Thai Criminal Code, defamation is defined as the act of imputing anything about another person to a third person in a manner likely to impair the person’s reputation or place the person in contempt or hatred by others.
Despite the man’s self-presentation at the Chalong Police Station and his expression of remorse for his reckless action, the Chalong Police are proceeding with the charge. They maintain they were carrying out their duties correctly at the time of the video recording. The man acknowledged the charge against him, reported Phuket News.
Interestingly, Police General Damrongsak Kittipraphat issued an order in February outlining the conditions under which police must set up checkpoints and perform their duties at inspection points. This order was presented in response to a series of cases involving corrupt officers, including one instance where an officer extorted 27,000 baht from a well-known Taiwanese actress for carrying an e-cigarette.
The new regulations, introduced to achieve transparency and standards, state that officers must wear body cameras while on duty at checkpoints. If these are not available, checkpoints are not allowed. Furthermore, the public retains the right to take photos and record videos of police performing their duties at Chalong police checkpoints.
This incident comes just 10 days after a German tourist publicly reported a Chalong Police officer’s request for a fine of 5,000 baht for illegally riding a motorbike through the Chalong Underpass. The officer then suggested and accepted 2,000 baht cash by the side of the road, but did not give the tourist a receipt for the cash handed over.
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