Thailand: Police Bribe Caught On Video

[Nony]

Really this is normal everybody knows that. But really not good.

Better fire big boss of police in that area then send them to south of Thailand.

[hgma]

Typical Thai citizens behavior.

I cross into Laos on a regular schedual.......

Recently i crossed the border using bridge 3 nakhon phanom- thakhek .

Lao immigration on the vehicle side was busy processing my papers, and charged me normal fee 15.000 kip.

As usual...a restless neurotic acting Thai was trying to influence my processing by waiving a bundle of 50.000 kip notes

The first thing he asked was " how much" even before showing any paperwork.

I left,, knowing absolutly sure that he got the rookie treatment.

[harryfrompattaya]

For goodness sake, leave it alone. Who would not rather pay a few hundred Baht and be done with it, than get a ticket and have to jump through all the hoops to deal with it. Graft is a part of life here, it is ingrained in the ideology, not only here but throughout Asia. It is clean and efficient. The nightmare of rules and regulations back home in the Western countries is what drives the attraction to do business here and make a living. That wing-nut did an illegal u-turn, back home that would have been 10K Baht minimum, plus untold headaches with insurance and driving record.

If bribery is done away with here, they will simply cloak the fees in governmental holly-ness and the fleecing will begin in the name of public administration........but the fees will be 10X, and the consequences much more dire should one not comply. There is no utopia on this planet, we are all subjects to someone/something, simple straight-forward bribery is neat, tidy and fast.

Well said I agree

[Bagwan]

For goodness sake, leave it alone. Who would not rather pay a few hundred Baht and be done with it, than get a ticket and have to jump through all the hoops to deal with it. Graft is a part of life here, it is ingrained in the ideology, not only here but throughout Asia. It is clean and efficient. The nightmare of rules and regulations back home in the Western countries is what drives the attraction to do business here and make a living. That wing-nut did an illegal u-turn, back home that would have been 10K Baht minimum, plus untold headaches with insurance and driving record.

If bribery is done away with here, they will simply cloak the fees in governmental holly-ness and the fleecing will begin in the name of public administration........but the fees will be 10X, and the consequences much more dire should one not comply. There is no utopia on this planet, we are all subjects to someone/something, simple straight-forward bribery is neat, tidy and fast.

Do you not think that rigid enforcement of traffic laws might save lives or permanent injury? How do you reconcile your attitude with the the overwhelming contempt expressed here for the Red Bull man?

[David006]

Everybody seems happy that they can commit a traffic offense here and get away with it for only a few dollars. What about when you are banged up by a drunk guy who gets off because his bribe or connections allowed it. You're in a hospital paying big bills, potentially crippled for life, and he is back in the bar having a drink.

Not sound logic to me.

... agree but sadly any official punishment handed out to criminals of any ilk rarely helps the victim. Usually down to civil action ...

Have two cops in the family in the west ....many a story.....

[Woodcaulk]

This isn't a Rodney King moment in which cameras happen to be running when abuse goes down.

The above should be the first clue that Patrick Winn is full of <deleted>. Rodney King was a worse than worthless piece of dog-squeeze who was high on PCP and led the cops on a high speed (over 100mph) chase endangering many peoples lives. When they finally caught up to him he physically attacked the officer attempting arrest. His violent history was already known by this time and police took the only logical action to apprehend and subdue an extremely violent, dangerous, drug-fueled raging career criminal.

Unfortunately he lived through the incident and continued to breath air intended for humans for nearly 20yrs only to die recently of his own doing....good riddance and shame on Patrick Winn for invoking his name as an example of police brutality.

[lovetotravel]

Everybody seems happy that they can commit a traffic offense here and get away with it for only a few dollars. What about when you are banged up by a drunk guy who gets off because his bribe or connections allowed it. You're in a hospital paying big bills, potentially crippled for life, and he is back in the bar having a drink.

Not sound logic to me.

... agree but sadly any official punishment handed out to criminals of any ilk rarely helps the victim. Usually down to civil action ...

Have two cops in the family in the west ....many a story.....

Sad, but so true. At least in the west, the fines are so large that people really take notice. My brother's good friend got caught after a few drinks. Only a few. He was over the limit by a very small amount, but still over. In the slammer for the weekend, loss of license for 6 months or so, and around 8k USD in fines and lawyer fees. It's a deterrent and seems to be working fairly well as deaths due to drunk driving are down. Unlike here.

[Buchholz]

Reminds me of this old video:

terrific soundtrack.... the BIB Circus.

and when they don't get their above monies, they'll kick you off your bike to get it...

,

[Nickymaster]

What a coincidence.

Thaksin's brother in law is in charge of the Police, Chalerm is in charge of Thaksin's brother in law, and Thaksin is in charge of both of them. And the Police department happens to be one of the most , if not most, corrupt departments in Thailand.

What a coincidence.

[expatsupreme]

ah come on, better to pay 400 bth than drive to police station, ah, i paid 500 bht to policeman too because of my bike and no licence

i was relived that I did not have to go down to police station

same happens in Bali, I think it is even worse

[siamjimi]

What a piece of rubbish video - show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

If you do illegal U-turns in the west you get a hefty fine (a lot more than in the video) and it all goes back into the annual policeman's ball - same,same but different

Sysardman - have you been here too long ? - do you even live here in Thailand at all ? - the majority of the world works on an accountable and taxable system. One aspect of this is to ensure people are not abused by the system. The other aspect is money from traffic offenses goes to system improvements whether those improvements are road repairs, lighting, safety, technological, cameras, new police cars or any of many improvements - all the same the money goes into the system - not the man’s pocket.

This sort of behavior is exacerbated and perpetuated by the ease in which these BIB's reach out their hand and it greased with baht immediately. I always make them write me a ticket, then they must exchange the ticket with their sergeant (minimum) at the police station. I basically require them to work for the money.

Your immediately conflicting statement - "show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung" - I bet you call yourself an honest man - right ? - LOL - its quite obvious your eyes see a skewed view of people in general and your interpretation of life as we know it.

[JoeLing]

ah come on, better to pay 400 bth than drive to police station, ah, i paid 500 bht to policeman too because of my bike and no licence

i was relived that I did not have to go down to police station

same happens in Bali, I think it is even worse

So you're commiting a bigger crime (corrupting a police officer)

in order to get a lower fine for a very small violation of the law?

Just doesn't make sense to me.

Just wonder what are the "real" penalties for driving a bike without licence

and what are the "real" penalties for corrupting a police officer?

I completely dissagree with corruption.

People paying corruption are as guilty as the once receiving it.

[JoeLing]

........ show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

Pile of Buffalo S**t. A complete contradiction.

Honest man who "take the bung" are NOT honest.

[atyclb]

What a piece of rubbish video - show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

If you do illegal U-turns in the west you get a hefty fine (a lot more than in the video) and it all goes back into the annual policeman's ball - same,same but different

Fire a few hundred BIB for taking bribes and the country takes a step towards corruption free; condone it and nothing changes.

BTW Fine levels elsewhere are completely irrelevant

Fire every officer that takes a bribe and you will have anarchy, this is what makes Thailand Thailand. Why do you want to change it? you want it like Oz - massive police crack downs on drink drivers, that's one of the most corrupt laws going, it's like in the west they've never proven that it makes any difference to traffic accidents.Same goes for speed cameras!!!!!

I credit the BIB to have enough intelligence to stop taking bribes after a few hundred have been caught and fired. At least be a bit less blatant than extortion roadblocks. If bribes were levied instead of fines there may be some merit to the system, but when it evolves to the current level when people are forced to pay a bribe when no offence has been committed..........

I sincerely hope your support of drunk drivers was said in jest.

Could be in jest. Could be serious. The reality is alcoholism quite often removes reason and judgement from people. Drunk driving is typically not perceived as a problem by an alcoholic. Denial, delusion, and fried brain cells are the order of the day.

For such an alcoholic, a place like Thailand is a dream come true. Imagine, no annoying DUI arrests. No annoying court appearances. No pesky court mandated rehab. No loss of drivers license. A simple bribe to the cop and all is forgiven. And not to mention the abundance of financially strapped women that will endure and endure life with alcoholics perhaps even more than western females.

Shame on those societies that impose real penalties on drunk drivers. Shame on those societies that endeavor to get drunk drivers off the roads and protect our innocent families, friends and loved ones from being maimed or killed.

[pacovl46]

Definitely a set up and what they fail to mention is the fact that paying the cops is a lot cheaper than paying the actual fine at the police station. Also, this video comes from Chuvit. An ex gangster/brothel owner turned politician. I think that says it all!!!

[lucjoker]

there was a traffic sign (dont u-turn)

so it was only normal that the police stopped him. (and fined him accordingly ,lol )

look at the video ,the sign is visible for the driver .

So another BS story

[Mitker]

Everybody seems happy that they can commit a traffic offense here and get away with it for only a few dollars. What about when you are banged up by a drunk guy who gets off because his bribe or connections allowed it. You're in a hospital paying big bills, potentially crippled for life, and he is back in the bar having a drink.

Not sound logic to me.

Short and clear post explaining what's wrong with all these invitations to accept bribing as a "clean and efficient" way to organize society.

Thanks.

Not only Thai acceptance of corruption amazes me. Farangs seem to fall for it just as easily. Bad sign.

[sysardman]

What a piece of rubbish video - show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

If you do illegal U-turns in the west you get a hefty fine (a lot more than in the video) and it all goes back into the annual policeman's ball - same,same but different

Sysardman - have you been here too long ? - do you even live here in Thailand at all ? - the majority of the world works on an accountable and taxable system. One aspect of this is to ensure people are not abused by the system. The other aspect is money from traffic offenses goes to system improvements whether those improvements are road repairs, lighting, safety, technological, cameras, new police cars or any of many improvements - all the same the money goes into the system - not the man’s pocket.

This sort of behavior is exacerbated and perpetuated by the ease in which these BIB's reach out their hand and it greased with baht immediately. I always make them write me a ticket, then they must exchange the ticket with their sergeant (minimum) at the police station. I basically require them to work for the money.

Your immediately conflicting statement - "show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung" - I bet you call yourself an honest man - right ? - LOL - its quite obvious your eyes see a skewed view of people in general and your interpretation of life as we know it.

You must be brain dead if you think all the money in fines goes on road improvements etc, where I lived in the UK there were more potholes than craters on the moon. And how is it contradicting - an honest man wouldn't have taken a bung - plain simple English. You people are not worth arguing with because you live in cloud cuckoo land!!!!!!!!!!!

[sysardman]

........ show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

Pile of Buffalo S**t. A complete contradiction.

Honest man who "take the bung" are NOT honest.

Read the quote brain dead!!!!!

just repeating for the hard of thinking - And how is it contradicting - an honest man wouldn't have taken a bung - plain simple English. You people are not worth arguing with because you live in cloud cuckoo land!!!!!!!!!!!

[PaulHamon]

Well I was in Oz and I saw a police extortion roadblock handing out fines to anybody who just smelled of alcohol. I also didn't claim to support drunk drivers (totally fabricated by you). I just feel the current laws go the wrong way about dealing with it, that's totally different to supporting drunk driving.

Was this back in 1970s? I've never seen that in 25 years of driving...

I have plently of breathlizers, and once paid a fine for begin over 0.05 and under 0.08. I could have waited for a blood test as is my right, but I didn't want it to ruin my evening. So I left the car and got a cab, only sensible thing to do. Paid the fine a few weeks later, simple.

[Tanlic]

Opps! Spot the idiot...........In Thailand as corrupt as it may be it is an extremely serious offence to offer a bribe to a police officer.

The policeman here wasn't aware it was a bribe he thought it was a donation for the annual police tea party but since this hit u-tube several special branch investigators have worked out it was a bribe and are now looking for the cabby to arrest him.

That seems fair to me...the poor cop wasn't to know

[sysardman]

Well I was in Oz and I saw a police extortion roadblock handing out fines to anybody who just smelled of alcohol. I also didn't claim to support drunk drivers (totally fabricated by you). I just feel the current laws go the wrong way about dealing with it, that's totally different to supporting drunk driving.

Was this back in 1970s? I've never seen that in 25 years of driving...

I have plently of breathlizers, and once paid a fine for begin over 0.05 and under 0.08. I could have waited for a blood test as is my right, but I didn't want it to ruin my evening. So I left the car and got a cab, only sensible thing to do. Paid the fine a few weeks later, simple.

Way back in the heady days of 2000

[dutchweller]

massive police crack downs on drink drivers, that's one of the most corrupt laws going, it's like in the west they've never proven that it makes any difference to traffic accidents.Same goes for speed cameras!!!!!

Are you joking?

I guess you have never had a loved one killed or Injured by a Drunk driver?

While I agree the speed cameras are used as Revenue generators.

Getting DUI off the roads most defiantly does reduce the road carnage caused by these selfish and moronic <deleted>.

You my friend must be the one who is in La land.

I am guessing your the type of guy who drinks and drives often and pays bribes to the BIB regularly hence you defend this action so gallantly.

[dunkin2012]

2-3 times i gave 'em a few bucks. it's not new.

[sysardman]

massive police crack downs on drink drivers, that's one of the most corrupt laws going, it's like in the west they've never proven that it makes any difference to traffic accidents.Same goes for speed cameras!!!!!

Are you joking?

I guess you have never had a loved one killed or Injured by a Drunk driver?

While I agree the speed cameras are used as Revenue generators.

Getting DUI off the roads most defiantly does reduce the road carnage caused by these selfish and moronic <deleted>.

You my friend must be the one who is in La land.

I am guessing your the type of guy who drinks and drives often and pays bribes to the BIB regularly hence you defend this action so gallantly.

Here we go again with the guesses and accusations - well I never drink and drive and have only paid one fine for not wearing a helmet (just hired bike and was on my way to buy my own helmet cos I didn't want a lice infected hire helmet). And try a bigger font next time - looks like fly crap on my iPad

Edited September 11, 2012 by sysardman

[yougivemebaby]

What a piece of rubbish video - show me an honest man that wouldn't have taken the bung!!!!

If you do illegal U-turns in the west you get a hefty fine (a lot more than in the video) and it all goes back into the annual policeman's ball - same,same but different

Those responsible for this should also be very careful.

It's clear that they have choreographed this situation, and it ended the way they wanted it to, but if any of the police find that their face is identifiable on YouTube, those uploading this kind of stuff had better have an exit plan from Thailand...!!

I agree. They really should be careful .

But how can you call it a set up? No one forced the police to take the money.

And they didn't have to offer it either, you can see they clearly planned it instead of waiting to see what the policeman would do, I didn't hear him ask for it. If somebody offers you money do you turn it down?

Yeah i guess you're right but maybe one would assume the honor of the uniform supersedes the laziness of asking for money.

[sysardman]

Those responsible for this should also be very careful.

It's clear that they have choreographed this situation, and it ended the way they wanted it to, but if any of the police find that their face is identifiable on YouTube, those uploading this kind of stuff had better have an exit plan from Thailand...!!

I agree. They really should be careful .

But how can you call it a set up? No one forced the police to take the money.

And they didn't have to offer it either, you can see they clearly planned it instead of waiting to see what the policeman would do, I didn't hear him ask for it. If somebody offers you money do you turn it down?

Yeah i guess you're right but maybe one would assume the honor of the uniform supersedes the laziness of asking for money.

Nobody actually knows that he kept the money, he may have handed it in at the end of his shift