Bribing Thai traffic cops can get you in trouble

[Ulic]

My experience has always been police asking for the full fine amount to be paid directly to them

with no receipt but I get to save myself a trip to the police station leaving my scooter behind.

[In Search of Space]

From what I understand, only a small part of any "bribe" goes to the collecting cop, it goes into a charity fund for the good of all. Therefore when those upstairs receive a reduced monthly charity donation ??????

[outsider]

Two points - why are they being rewarded for a job they are already paid to do? It doesn't make sense. You want to raise their dignity? Raise their salaries. I'd rather their pay be raised, and not the cabbies', if I had to choose. The more they are paid, the more they will feel obliged, and committed to their jobs. That will bring about dignity and pride too. This reward crap is just so shortsighted and as usual, shallow.

Secondly, the police's (and I don't mean the band) bad rep doesn't come from taking bribes alone. In fact, taking bribes is the lesser reason. It's their complete and bumbling ineptness at anything and everything that is giving them bozos a bad name. Think about it you lot. The police I mean.

Assuming they read anything.

Edited October 9, 2014 by outsider

[a99az]

This is very dangerous as many RTP will find the temptation to simply say that they have been bribed when they have not. I wonder what safeguards are in place to ensure this can't happen.

[Traveller45]

Of course it's always possible to misuse such a new Law. But I think it's a step in the right direction. We will see what use is made of it in practice. It changes things already when there is at least the POSSIBILITY that you might run into a cop who is willing to denounce you. Message is that it may not be THAT easy and cheap anymore to buy your way out

[DrTuner]

Good days for BIB. Just find a Farang/Burmese and it's easy 10k for each. The hunting season has opened.

[Jonmarleesco]

Is it a bribe only when offered, or also when the cop is 'presuming' one?

'... not to accept bribes in order to help protect the image of the police.' A comma, a comma, my kingdom for a comma.

[kimamey]

"The campaign, which started on Monday, aims to promote and encourage honesty and dignity among traffic officers, who have earned a bad reputation for accepting bribes."

I thought the reputation was for demanding, rather than accepting.

Still if a demand is pocketed I guess that does, on some levels, count as accepting.

If it's true then well done to those two cops. I do think they need to tackle the dishonest ones though but that doesn't seem to happen.

This reward system is probably the cheap option as the police salary system seems to be based on bribes. To stop that would require a change to full payment by the government which would cost much more. Then they'd still have a tough job enforcing it.

[tomyumchai]

bib no1. "where are all these 10,000bt rewards going to come from? we have had requests of 30,000 bribe rewards this week"

bib no2 "we can take it out of the bribe money paid".

bib no.1 "genius!"

[alocacoc]

So, what about with the police officers at Na Jomtien Police Box, close to Soi Lucky. Where can i now collect the 10k Baht?

I know another Policebox were the officers do the same thing. May i get now 20k?

Something is going wrong here.

Edited October 9, 2014 by alocacoc

[freedom4life]

A bribe for catching those who bribe. Talk about corruption...goodness. Who has been extorting money from who on the streets?

[rmacee]

Headline should read ..

Bribing traffic cops can get you in trouble ..ïf you only offer 100/200bt.

[soalbundy]

This is very dangerous as many RTP will find the temptation to simply say that they have been bribed when they have not. I wonder what safeguards are in place to ensure this can't happen.

lack of evidence, the first case needed a photograph, we aren't Burmese it wont be that easy.

[rjcampbe]

Great, first they establish the procedure, which is, you ask how much do you want? And now they are encouraged to entrap you for it.

So how will we go about paying when they stop you at a checkpoint? I need a new script.

"I don't have any cash, write me a ticket". It is annoying but it will circumvent this issue. They'll grow bored of this campaign soon!

I've actually found that this approach works quite often:

BIB: Whah whaah wha wa wa waahhh... (emulating the sound of adults in old Charlie Brown cartoons)

Me: "Kor thot, khap, Mai poot passa Thai...." (Maintaining big smile, and an expression and tone of respectful confusion...)

BIB: Whah whaah wha wa wa...

Me: "Kor thot, khap, poot passa Thai *NIT NOI* na khap. Mai kow jai, khap..."

I just repeat this as many times as required until they decide that I am just a farang who is too stupid to deal with and quite often they just wave me along. (usually for things like driving my motorcycle on the flyover bridges and little things like that.)

I stress that the key is the big smile and respectful tone... Never fight or argue or disagree in any way... even body language... just keep smiling and saying, "I don't understand..."

It will take 15-20 minutes sometimes, but frequently, they let me go. No ticket, no bribe.... Uh... I mean "fine".

[horisize]

Take a photo of the officer. sign the fine with "without prejudice UCC 1-308, (your name))

All govenments were foreclosed 25.12.2012, but noone is being notified. They are still running business as usual. Get it straight. Issuing fines is a purely commercial endevour and has no roots in law. It is treason and theft. The only reason this terrorizing of the people by the not so bright is still going on in this century is that we let it happen by consent. Some not so bright without ranks and uniforms even agrees with this conduct. When you sign the registration (regis-tration) of your car, you sign away the ownershop of your vehicle to the state. You are now the keeper of the vehicle your bought. You are not the owner anymore. When you apply for a drivers -licence you concent to doing something illegal by paying a fee, and by admitting to be a licenced driver you also consent to being fined without having caused any accident. You consent to ususry. Guess what happens when you register to marry? Why do you get a marriage licence? I suggest you all do some reading. Common sense is not common it seems.

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-ucc-1-308.htm

[Gandtee]

How will they prove that they have been offered a bribe? Or won't they need to? The latter I should think. This going to open a whole bag of worms

[wantan]

How will they prove that they have been offered a bribe? Or won't they need to? The latter I should think. This going to open a whole bag of worms

No need to prove, you will confess, believe me.

[cup-O-coffee]

I think it's a very good idea. No one will risk paying a bribe anymore and will have to be fined in the correct manner. This will cut down or maybe even eradicate the practice of collecting bribes by many police officers.

I, too, thought about that, but think this will end up not good. The system is based on what we foreigners call corruption. The entire system runs on it. Not only the police doing traffic duty, but the people in traffic who are just about all easy prey, for one reason or another, to being pulled over and badgered and harassed.

This will remove income from the police. Joke how you want, but some of this added income from tea money does get funneled back to the family unit where it is spent on household and family member needs.

Remove this without replacing it, and expect the police to exist on their base wages, and you are looking at trouble. Now they cannot accept a bribe on the spot, and have to defer the person to their superiors and those who sit at the desks in the stations.

Even at THB300 per day (conservative), a police man is pulling down an average of an extra 9 or 10 thousand bahts per month. Take that away and you get what?

Trouble!

And now these disgruntled officers, and even the "new-look" Robo-Cops are going to take this to the Thai people?

I know one thing about Thai people: don't piss them off, no matter who you are.

So now we will have disgruntled people in traffic tweeting and facebooking about the disgruntled police who are taking their shortened-income-angst out on everyone else.

Trouble's a brewin' people. Trouble's a brewin'.

[wabothai]

Like in India, the ones who receive are guilty.

[rickirs]

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In all the years i have been involved with LoS the BIBs reputation, as with so many other government departments, has been in the toilet.

I doubt even a properly thought out, well organised PR campaign would work as things are too far gone but the hierarchy can come up with stupid schemes like this. I'm sure many of the BIB will be working out how best to use this to their own advantage.

What happens if some clown sitting at the top table decides it would be a great idea to give cash rewards for other types of arrests ?

You mean like a certain PM who has offered a reward to the police for finding the alleged killers of the recent murders of two Brits?

[pjmansions]

think it's time to get a dash board cam as this is going to end in tears, the 100 baht usually extorted from drivers is not for committing an offence as the police make them up as they go along, they pay it so they don't get messed around

[wabothai]

A couple of months ago, at a checkpoint, a policeman out of the blue told me to pay him 2000 baht.

I told him, no way !!!

[lavender19]

10,000 bht bribe (sorry reward) for not taking a bribe.Thats a novel idea

[Maestro]

Take a photo of the officer. sign the fine with "without prejudice UCC 1-308, (your name))

All govenments were foreclosed 25.12.2012, but noone is being notified. They are still running business as usual. Get it straight. Issuing fines is a purely commercial endevour and has no roots in law. It is treason and theft. The only reason this terrorizing of the people by the not so bright is still going on in this century is that we let it happen by consent. Some not so bright without ranks and uniforms even agrees with this conduct. When you sign the registration (regis-tration) of your car, you sign away the ownershop of your vehicle to the state. You are now the keeper of the vehicle your bought. You are not the owner anymore. When you apply for a drivers -licence you concent to doing something illegal by paying a fee, and by admitting to be a licenced driver you also consent to being fined without having caused any accident. You consent to ususry. Guess what happens when you register to marry? Why do you get a marriage licence? I suggest you all do some reading. Common sense is not common it seems.

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-ucc-1-308.htm

What does UCC 1-308 stand for?

[Jip66]

Unfortunately, I can only see this as possibly being used to obtain larger bribes.

correct, they must have a huge budgett for this rule.

They have an extra 1,000,000Baht in the kitty thanks to a certain family on Koh Tao....

[Suriya4]

See, I told ya before.

No Shin No Corruption.

And this is the best proof.

[wabothai]

Really reminds me of the Johny Carson show.

[abitmiffed]

But no photo and pointing of the dude that tried to bribe the cop? Thought they would have jumped at the chance of something true happening for a change. The Royal Thai Police Farce at their best.

[abitmiffed]

But no photo and pointing of the dude that tried to bribe the cop? Thought they would have jumped at the chance of something true happening for a change. The Royal Thai Police Farce at their best.

[ALFREDO]

An absolutely wrong solution for a problem!

I had to think, if today, is not, by chance, =April fools day=.