Taiwanese actress hits back at RTP - Thailand's great but your "unclean" police are NOT - tells them to "stop talking trash"

[webfact]

Commander of Thai Police Orders Full Investigation of Alleged Extortion Case of Taiwanese Actress
By Adam Judd

 

 

Bangkok, Thailand - As a war of words has heated up between Thai law enforcement and a famous Taiwanese actress who claims she was extorted by Thai police the Commander of the Thai police has ordered a full, transparent investigation.

 

Pol. General Damrongsak Kittipraphat, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Police, ordered this morning, January 28th, 2023, a full and transparent investigation that he said would be fair to all sides involved.

 

The actress and social media influencer, An Yu Qing, known by her English name Charlene An, has been engaged in verbal sparring online from her Instagram with Thai police for several days after she claimed she was extorted by Thai police at a regular traffic checkpoint for 27,000 baht while visiting the country around New Year’s. She has since pledged to never return to Thailand.

 

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2023/01/28/commander-of-thai-police-orders-full-investigation-of-alleged-extortion-case-of-taiwanese-actress/

 

-- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2023-01-28

 

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[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, marcusb said:

2 hours ago, internationalism said:

She was singled out and extorted for not having a proper visa, because police were not familiar with visa on arrival, which is probable not common but perfectly legitimate. 

I politely disagree with that. 

 

I'll go out on a limb and say the vast majority of tourists in Thailand are on visa exempt.   Visa on arrival currently 45 days, why would regular tourists bother with a formal visa. 

Its irrelevant... only Immigration Police can check visa status....     

 

I suspect this may be why the BiB have mentioned nothing of her visa status and only concentrated on the ‘illegal vape equipment’.... which they knew nothing about until they’d already singled her out for a search. 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

She spoke with interpol, really? That doesn't support her credibility!

There’s nothing suspicious about that at all. 

 

The Thai Police could very easily have contacted their counterparts at Thai Interpol to communicate with Interpol in Taiwan to obtain a statement from this lady - nothing abnormal here at all. 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"I want to tell everyone after talking to Interpol about the unclean Thai police.

And what do you expect Interpol to do? what can they do to Thai Cops?

They'd take a statement (as mentioned above) - nothing abnormal here. 

 

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

3 hours ago, webfact said:

She said that the RTP should check CCTV,

I read a report that CCTV had been checked and she was not taken from the Taxi.

How can CCTV prove this ?....  they have a video of her in a taxi - no video of what happened after ?

 

Additionally, the whole group were in the Police Station along with a group of Korean Tourists.... thus, this idea that she was not removed from the taxi is utter rubbish.

 

How did they search her and find the ‘vape pen’ if she didn’t get out of a taxi ???

 

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Show the CCTV footage please ....

Yes C'mon Lets see it, I dare you RTP. 

Agreed...  but again, it would only prove what happened at that specific moment in time. 

2 mins of footage with the group in the taxi proves nothing. 

[chickenslegs]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There’s nothing suspicious about that at all. 

 

The Thai Police could very easily have contacted their counterparts at Thai Interpol to communicate with Interpol in Taiwan to obtain a statement from this lady - nothing abnormal here at all. 

Taiwan isn't a member of Interpol.

China is a member. Maybe she contacted Interpol online.

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, webfact said:

the Commander of the Thai police has ordered a full, transparent investigation

Transparent ?  

 

The publicity has got too hot now....   the findings of said ‘full, transparent investigation’... 

 

... a misunderstanding, a police officer will be moved to an inactive post. 

 

 

in two weeks social media will have forgotten about this issue, there will be another to tarnish the name of the BiB...  drunk policeman in a car accident or something similar... 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, chickenslegs said:

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There’s nothing suspicious about that at all. 

 

The Thai Police could very easily have contacted their counterparts at Thai Interpol to communicate with Interpol in Taiwan to obtain a statement from this lady - nothing abnormal here at all. 

Taiwan isn't a member of Interpol.

China is a member. Maybe she contacted Interpol online.

Perhaps Thai Interpol contacted her then....  there is still nothing suspicious about her ‘interpol comment’ it is perfectly normal that Police would want a statement from this lady. 

 

 

[pomchop]

So what about the video at the police station?  Surely there are cameras there that record everyone entering and leaving?  And where is the police report of such a horrible incident that surely the police would write down the basics? 

 

There is a reason that most countries require police to wear video cameras....and does anyone really believe that at least one of these gals would not have recorded it all on their phone video...hell they record what they had for lunch on their phone....did the girls just decide to delete it or were they as stated forced to do so?  If video showed nothing happened then gals might delete....otherwise cops would want it deleted.  So lets see the official police videos from every camera as well as police station and the police logs if there were koreans also there as she says....if the cops say oh sorry don't have that then i think that would be damning evidence cops are hiding something.

 

In other words look at the evidence.  Isn't that sort of police investigation rule number one in any investigation? 

 

If police have videos that clearly show she never entered police station and no koreans there that would certainly make her less credible and the police should get it out there asap to aid their side of story.  What's the delay?  They either have it or they don't.

[Salerno]

28 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

How can CCTV prove this ?....  they have a video of her in a taxi - no video of what happened after ?

They allegedly have CCTV from the Chinese Embassy and two other cameras.

 

28 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Additionally, the whole group were in the Police Station along with a group of Korean Tourists.... thus, this idea that she was not removed from the taxi is utter rubbish.

They where never in a police station, that has been incorrectly carried on from people misreading the initial "report".

 

 

[marcusb]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

Visa on arrival and Visa exempt are two different things.

Taiwanese do not get visa exempt, they have to apply for visa on arrival.

Edit to add: Visa on arrival is normally 15 days.

Glad you know all the terms, my point remains. 

 

Edit to add: Visa on arrival is currently 30 days according to Google. 

[mikeymike100]

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

RTP is rotten from the top to the bottom  cops on the beat. Just auditing their unusual wealth will be sufficient to launch an investigation. They not even bother to hide their wealth and flaunt them with blatant display of expensive houses and cars. They know no one can touch them. At worst, they just get transferred to inactive posting as punishment. Still waiting for Prayut to step in and make big reform announcement. Doubt he will as he need RTP to protect him from student activists. 

Absolutely correct, if the cops shake you down, who do you complain to?

From the article: "The RTP are already facing huge trouble that has led to their overseer Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha calling for those responsible to be held to account."

 

As usual nothing will happen, maybe some cops may get transferred, but not one will end up being prosecuted?

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Salerno said:

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Additionally, the whole group were in the Police Station along with a group of Korean Tourists.... thus, this idea that she was not removed from the taxi is utter rubbish.

They where never in a police station, that has been incorrectly carried on from people misreading the initial "report".

Fair enough - there is a lot of misinformation on this one... 

 

[Eric Loh]

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

Pol. General Damrongsak Kittipraphat, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Police, ordered this morning, January 28th, 2023, a full and transparent investigation that he said would be fair to all sides involved.

Will give newly appointed Commander Damrongsak a chance to proof that he is different from his predecessors and straighten out the rising police corruption cases. He was appointed in Oct and already has a laundry list of police cases from money laundering, police exam cheating and this current case among many. Let hope he has the courage and support to make a difference. 

[bamnutsak]

Normally this sort of issue would be resolved with a face to face meeting and much wai-ing, and be classified as a misunderstanding due to lnaguage and culture issues.

 

That is not possible as the complainant has left Thailand.

 

So this can only end one way. The police will investigate themselves and find no wrong-doing. And then it could be dropped. But suspect the RTP will charge her with Defamation, at a minimum. She would probably not be tried in absentia and the case will remain open.

 

The police cannot allow foreigners to question their integrity, and claim corruption, without a firm response. This would just encourage others to report their interractions.

 

 

 

 

[mikeymike100]

Good for the young lady! Lets hope something happens because of this, but I doubt it?

Where is that CCTV footage, we are all waiting to see. Oh the camera wasn't working?????

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Good for the young lady! Lets hope something happens because of this, but I doubt it?

Where is that CCTV footage, we are all waiting to see. Oh the camera wasn't working?????

As with everything wrong and illegal that has attracted media outrage....  there will be a week of coverage, comments on forums, it will even get into the main-stream news...   There will be announcements of a crack-down, investigations, a handful of officers moved to inactive positions...  all will be forgotten in two weeks...

 

Wash-rinse-repeat with a different issue in two weeks time...  

 

 

 

[Smokey and the Bandit]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I suspect she was not so feisty while being subjected to her ordeal.... possibly fearful. The arrogance of the police is what I get a sense of.. they believe they can get away with anything.... this New Years shakedown of foreigners  being a regular effort!

Agreed, pretty sure anyone being shaken down by 7 cops would be intimidated?

[Salerno]

14 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Fair enough - there is a lot of misinformation on this one... 

Indeed, also embellishing and leaving out relevant information - along with the usual issue of poor translations. IMO, she got hit with a not that uncommon shakedown for vaping, admittedly on the high side (10-15K more common) but still not unique, and decided to post her story online and it's gotten out of hand.

[spidermike007]

How is the big joke going to defend his guilty peers now? And notice how the "police pretty" spokeswoman is silent on this one? 

 

The RTP are so tone deaf and so unaccustomed to the power of social media, they are incapable of getting out of their own way. They just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper. This episode is rich. The victim is becoming a real hero, and not because of her victimhood. Because of her courage and unwillingness to bow down to corruption and filth. Kudos to her. 

[spidermike007]

Wow. This could result in a transfer with full pay. Really tough when you are facing those kinds of threats to your career as a highly profitable cop franchisee. 

[Billpro785]

There is something not being told here, by her. 

1, She is actress, this is her 15 minutes of fame , and chance to get her name more noticed. 

2, Being a "famous " person, do you really think the Thai Police would try and shake her down for money, knowing what might happen ? 

3, In all my years living in Thailand, and check points , I've never  been shaken down , and I wear a real Rolex watch, and usually have expensive camera gear with me. always paid the 300 baht for no helmet. 

I have feeling this nothing more than publicity stunt .

[NoDisplayName]

3 hours ago, internationalism said:

She was singled out and extorted for not having a proper visa, because police were not familiar with visa on arrival, which is probable not common but perfectly legitimate. 

I can't see this as legitimate.  This was a roadblock set up in the big city teeming with foreigners, with seven cops on site according to the lady, plus all the officers at the station.  It's not conceivable that none of them were familiar with a "visa on arrival" stamp. 

 

 

https://livefromalounge.com/thailand-visa-fees-on-arrival-january-2019/thailand-visa-on-arrival-visa-image/

 

 

 

[Snig27]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

I think the RTP got way more than what they bargained for, a feisty chick that will not forget or forgive until she finishes to say what she has to say which probably most of it is true.

Anyone who lives in the ThongLor police area as I do, and who goes out late at night,  knows what these police shakedowns look like. They happen all the time and are money grabs. What is surprising is that this is in another part of the city. I guess the criminal enterprise that is the Thai police is nationwide.  

[proton]

5 minutes ago, Billpro785 said:

There is something not being told here, by her. 

1, She is actress, this is her 15 minutes of fame , and chance to get her name more noticed. 

2, Being a "famous " person, do you really think the Thai Police would try and shake her down for money, knowing what might happen ? 

3, In all my years living in Thailand, and check points , I've never  been shaken down , and I wear a real Rolex watch, and usually have expensive camera gear with me. always paid the 300 baht for no helmet. 

I have feeling this nothing more than publicity stunt .

Thats right blame the victim, the Thai cops are never do anything wrong!

 

1. Cops would have had no idea who she was

2.Just because it never happened to you not mean it does not

3.So if you are an actress you cannot complain about mis treatment?

 

You have a feeling but where not there and don't know those involved

 

I have been lied to and cheated by the Thai police, I believer her.

[shackleton]

She is saying what a lot of people suspect about the antiques 

Of the Thai Police but will it change anything I doubt it ????

Money is ???? here 

[ikke1959]

The truth ???? THose who live in Thailand know how this institution is working.....so case closed

[BritScot]

4 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

She spoke with interpol, really? That doesn't support her credibility!

Why? Anyone can talk to interpol! I would imagine a celebrity would have many friends which equates to lots of contacts. Extortion under threats is a crime and with it being done on a foreign person's outside the Chinese embassy where the fact they were Taiwanese may have some relevance and make it a far more serious crime international.

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

She went into a few further details about the night in question when she said all lanes on the road were blocked off at the 1 am checkpoint. 

Kudo's to her for pointing there extortions out.

 

This happen to a bloke I know up in the north-east, Udon Thani, heading out of there on a Saturday night, he was heading home after a friends birthday party, all lanes closed off at about 10pm, no traffic moving, they said he was over the limit, when he clearly wasn't.

 

Said he would spend the night in jail, pay a 20,000 baht fine and see the judge in the morning, or pay 10,000 baht and go home now, he was escorted by one of their finest to an ATM machine by police car, then driven back to the check point, handed back his license after he paid the 10,000 baht extortion.

 

I was p#ssed off when I heard this because I know the guy doesn't drink more than a couple of small ones, but as he said to me, chump change to get home as opposed to taking on these uneducated mafia wannabe clowns in a foreign country.

 

He said it worked out to about a 1,000 baht a year for the decade he's been here, and accepts that he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, a friends birthday party away from his usual place of residency and surroundings and that if he didn't know that Thailand's finest are full of corruption, then he shouldn't be living here.

 

Good attitude to have and a gem of a bloke, but still doesn't make it right.

[Snig27]

8 minutes ago, Billpro785 said:

 

1, She is actress, this is her 15 minutes of fame , and chance to get her name more noticed.

What happens in Thailand is hardly likely to turn her into a star.

 

9 minutes ago, Billpro785 said:

Being a "famous " person, do you really think the Thai Police would try and shake her down for money, knowing what might happen ?

Yes. It had nothing to do with her fame. I bet they had no idea, she was just an easy target in the normal shakedown game.
 

 

11 minutes ago, Billpro785 said:

In all my years living in Thailand, and check points , I've never  been shaken down , and I wear a real Rolex watch, and usually have expensive camera gear with me. always paid the 300 baht for no helmet. 

And yet the paper we are not supposed to name used to be full of these. So much so, that the ThongLor police chief had to issue an apology AND issued tourist cards telling foreigners what their rights were when cops tried to shake them down. His cops. Anyone out at night in the TL police area knows what a shakedown feels like. I've had it and said a firm no. My wife has had it several times. 

Why was she held for an hour late at night? Body searched? Passport examined? This is not normal policing, it happens for a reason. 

[TheFishman1]

Everybody who lives here believes the girl, the cops here are dirty, TIT