Picture: Daily News

 

The investigation against 116 allegedly corrupt immigration police officers is moving apace. It involves the issuing of visas to foreigners.

 

A huge amount of evidence of their taking of bribes and back handers is being sifted through.

 

And NINE immigration offices right across the north east and the north are in the crosshairs.

 

Daily News reported that investigating coordinator Pol Lt-Gen Surachate "Big Joke" Hakpan was at the police association yesterday with a mountain of paperwork.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

There are 100,000 sheets detailing the alleged wrongdoing of police who face charges of both dereliction of duty as well as receiving cash directly.

 

400 witnesses have so far been interviewed.

 

There are 40 cardboard boxes for the Weluwan police in Khon Kaen, where the investigation goes next, to sift through.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Then the mountain of mischief will be handed to the office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

 

Thailand takes corruption cases very seriously and on conviction officers could face years behind bars.

 

At least three have the word general in their titles.

 

Now the immigration offices where the alleged bribes were taken have been named for the first time.

 

They are:

Chiang Mai

Nakhon Ratchasima

Khon Kaen

Sakhon Nakorn

Chaiyaphum

Kalasin

Phrae

Yasothon and Roi-Et.

 

Big Joke was a former head of immigration who was sacked in 2019 before his rehabilitation to assistant commander of the RTP last year, notes ASEAN NOW.

 

For him this will be payback time.

 

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So that is where all the copies go?

 

Complete with the passport and personal dtails of unrelated innocent foreigners on the flip sides.

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand takes corruption cases very seriously

Oh............I've noticed! ????

Way to go, drown the courts in paper and string out the procedure until the "statute of limitations" has passed.

Who cares what Big Joke does as long as he leaves Pattaya alone.

1 minute ago, NONG CHOK said:

Who cares what Big Joke does as long as he leaves Pattaya alone.

I suspect Pattaya will become more interesting to him in the future....sheer volume and the way they now seem to push people towards agents will warrant it!

To me it appears to be provinces close to borders where entry is so easy. It would be almost impossible to do it at either Bangkok airport where officials are under very heavy scrutiny.

Well there will be a lot of people who do not have the required amount of money for retirement or marriage visas in a tight spot. Please no replies saying they should have the money or they should go home. We do not know others situations. The point is their situation may now have become tenuous.

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand takes corruption cases very seriously

....and why would'nt they, it's a very, very rare occurrence! 

14 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Well there will be a lot of people who do not have the required amount of money for retirement or marriage visas in a tight spot. Please no replies saying they should have the money or they should go home. We do not know others situations. The point is their situation may now have become tenuous.

Their situation has always been tenuous because they bribed officers to get their extensions. Two of those offices named are ones a well known agent uses to get extensions for people in other provinces, for a price. Will they still be doing it? We do know their situations- unstable.

100,000 pages and 40 boxes.

 

And that is just my application for an extension. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

400 witnesses have so far been interviewed.

I would guess 400 agent obtained visa holders got a call from Immigration asking them to come in for a chat.

 

It will be interesting to see if they are proceeded against.

6 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I would guess 400 agent obtained visa holders got a call from Immigration asking them to come in for a chat.

 

It will be interesting to see if they are proceeded against.

Lets hope so

13 minutes ago, In the jungle said:

And that is just my application for an extension. 

I  was thinking it might be all my passport copies taken over the years, but you put it better. 

Maybe those accused will get punished and sent home but corruption in Thailand is a way of life and there will always be others to take their place.

Reading is not tested in the Police exam/scam.  It will just get filed away under a Deforestation report.

I guess BJ will not have too many friends. There will be a lot of pockets out of baht and that will not go down well.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Then the mountain of mischief will be handed to the office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Why the NACC?

 

The police usually forward a case to a prosecutor.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand takes corruption cases very seriously and on conviction officers could face years behind bars.

Uh huh.

 

 

 

The NACC is literally where Corruption cases are sent to die.

 

A massive cover-up done in plain sight.

 

This is a joke.

 

 

 

 

Just wait until they get to Pattaya ???? 

2 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Just wait until they get to Pattaya ???? 

Lots of russian mafia to tackle here too! ????

34 minutes ago, In the jungle said:

100,000 pages and 40 boxes.

 

And that is just my application for an extension. 

Who do you know? Can you introduce me? ????

Whole-heartedly applaud and support "Big Joke's" efforts in this endeavor, as should we all. Corruption in immigration offices is not a victimless crime. When people pay money to circumvent the law, those who abide by the law and follow the rules often end up being treated like second- and third-class customers because we provide no supplementary financial incentives to receive service. The same is true for those who use agents in order to circumvent bank deposit requirements. Again, this is not a harmless and victimless crime. 

Before everyone goes into panic mode,i don't believe they are going after

some one who used an agent because they did not have enough income.

It is more about Chinese mafia buying their way into Thailand.

The case will be active until some one really high up decides it gets too close and orders it shut down.

 

9 minutes ago, jvs said:

Before everyone goes into panic mode,i don't believe they are going after

some one who used an agent because they did not have enough income.

It is more about Chinese mafia buying their way into Thailand.

The case will be active until some one really high up decides it gets too close and orders it shut down.

 

Why would they go into panic mode? they are always telling us getting an extension from an agent via a bribe is legal and all perfectly above board, just like those Chinese were telling each other ????

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

Well there will be a lot of people who do not have the required amount of money for retirement or marriage visas in a tight spot. Please no replies saying they should have the money or they should go home. We do not know others situations. The point is their situation may now have become tenuous.

They should have had the money. Their situation has nothing to do with it.

Would be interesting to know if there are any agents operating with these offices? As opposed to Pattaya, Jomtien, etc..

39 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Lots of russian mafia to tackle here too! ????

And Western pensioners without proper funds.

9 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Whole-heartedly applaud and support "Big Joke's" efforts in this endeavor, as should we all. Corruption in immigration offices is not a victimless crime. When people pay money to circumvent the law, those who abide by the law and follow the rules often end up being treated like second- and third-class customers because we provide no supplementary financial incentives to receive service. The same is true for those who use agents in order to circumvent bank deposit requirements. Again, this is not a harmless and victimless crime. 

Absolutely, because of the extension fraudsters those on the legal road now have to keep the funds in the bank longer as introduced as a (misguided) way of discouraging fraud. I am sure they will get round to more of the corrupt extension business eventually.

9 minutes ago, jvs said:

Before everyone goes into panic mode,i don't believe they are going after

some one who used an agent because they did not have enough income.

It is more about Chinese mafia buying their way into Thailand.

The case will be active until some one really high up decides it gets too close and orders it shut down.

 

I hope they will do so.

2 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

Would be interesting to know if there are any agents operating with these offices? As opposed to Pattaya, Jomtien, etc..

There are, I got an email offering to get me an extension from either of 2 provinces listed that I have never even visited.