It is even worse. From the original article:
"Responding to a question of why they did not fear law enforcement, the couple claimed that they had paid two Thai men identified only as Phakin and Eak who claimed they could bribe police to overlook their illegal casino operations. The couple stated that they had paid the two men more than 2.4 million baht for this service. However, it was later discovered that these claims were false and the men, who are still on the run, were just lying."