15 hours ago, TheFishman1 said:

If you want to talk about corruption, let’s talk about the Red Bull kid. They knew where it was. They never sent out the international things you enter Paul to have them arrested and he’ll be back as soon as the smoke clears they should investigate all the people involved in the red bouquets from the top to the bottom they’re all 

Corrupt TIT

Just imagine the size of envelopes handed out to the MANY top judicial and political big wigs to buy off everyone and allow mr red bull to get off free for killing a cop while hypped up speeding on coke then fleeing the country ..i bet there are a few enjoying a nice villa in the south of france or a big flat in London not to mention new condos in bangkok or phuket.

 

This case is a textbook study of how the rich are able to get away with anything with no consequences and the people that aid them are also never brought to account.

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Only 5 years?? and no pay back of the 20 million???  Justice in Thailand..

That's not what the article said.

In the linked article you didn't read.

 

21 hours ago, webfact said:

affecting the judicial justice system’s integrity.

It has none.  Famously referred to as 'the best money can buy.'

significantly affecting the judicial justice system’s integrity will require a trip to A+E to get your sides stitched back up ???? 

Imagine how much the judges get working in the "Constitutional court".

 

 

On 7/1/2023 at 10:30 AM, ThailandRyan said:

The land of corruption and brown envelopes.  How many more are there like this in Thai society, and why can it not be eradicated?  No this is not a rhetorical question.  Please assist my addled mind in understanding what happens to the ones who try and make things right?

Having lived here full time since 2008, I'm of the opinion that at least part of the root cause is the unworkability of the bureaucratic procedures here. It's well known that any sort of transaction or interaction with government departments involves reams of unreasonable, unecessary and sometimes even unobtainable supporting paperwork.

 

I'm talking about low-level stuff; restaurant permits, alcohol licenses, vehicle registration documents - the paperwork that everyday folk need to get on with their lives. The requirements change from region to region and from year to year and are always open to interpretation by the 'competent official'.

 

So it's hardly surprising that a culture of brown envelopes exists - at a low level it provides a means for everyday folk to minimise the impact of bureaucracy on their ability to earn a living. The govt officals who help people 'navigate' the bureaucratic mess are oftentimes doing them a favour - and taking a risk in doing so. It's hardly surprising they want a little tea money in return. 

 

IMHO, the case described in the OP is a knock on consequence of this aspect of Thai society - tea money is seen as an essential part of life here - because, due to the inefficiencies and inconsistencies of the bureacratic system, it IS an essential part of life here. Instances of escalation to multimillion Baht judge bribes are inevitable under such conditions.

Edited July 3, 20233 yr by Davedub
spelling correction

On 7/1/2023 at 5:54 AM, jaideedave said:

Back in 2007 at the land office where I was trying to get a 30 year lease registered on my house they demanded money outright.Either pay up or no deal.I eventually was forced to hired a lawyer to pay the bribe on my behalf.Even the Thai seller was appalled and spoke bad to these crooks.They didn't even attempt to conceal the fact. It's endemic in this country.

This happened to us more recently. Some land in my wife's name was being sold. Arriving early all went well initially at front desk but when the papers were passed up to a more senior person a " problem" was inevitably found, that my wife looked darker skinned and with a different hair style to her ID card photo. This impasse took us to the lunch break. Now we must wait her Mum said, the lady will talk to her superior. After lunch her Mum had words with the staff member and the transaction was finalised. Curious, I asked what had changed: oh said Mum she and her superior wanted some tea money, this is normal, I paid her. I don't know how much she paid to get it done 

31 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

This happened to us more recently. Some land in my wife's name was being sold. Arriving early all went well initially at front desk but when the papers were passed up to a more senior person a " problem" was inevitably found, that my wife looked darker skinned and with a different hair style to her ID card photo. This impasse took us to the lunch break. Now we must wait her Mum said, the lady will talk to her superior. After lunch her Mum had words with the staff member and the transaction was finalised. Curious, I asked what had changed: oh said Mum she and her superior wanted some tea money, this is normal, I paid her. I don't know how much she paid to get it done 

In my case the lawyers fee was 30k.I don't know how much of that was paid as tea money.The transaction was completed swiftly when the lawyer got involved.I love living here but this part of it sucks a big one. 

I can Imagine his time in prison will be easy not hard and money staying with his family.next case now