Thai editorial: Tougher sentences aren't the answer to corruption

[slapout]

The old joke " The inmates were put in charge of the funny farm" used to be considered a laughing matter. Thailand has shown it can become a reality of daily life. The vast majority of the adults in the world accept that they/we have made many mistakes in raising our children, our lfe style, etc. but this may be a first as to pointing the fickle finger of fate at the children and then task them with correcting our past failings.

Edited December 11, 2014 by slapout

[sangfroid]

In China, high profile corruption cases routinely attract the death penalty for the offenders and the sentences are carried out promptly.

These cases are never reported in the Thai media. They make some people here feel uncomfortable I guess..

Edited December 11, 2014 by sangfroid

[Laughing Gravy]

Whilst the article is true and what most people here have commented on I agree. The way corruption will stop is not just through educating the children but must start at the top, the very top. Most people know that isn't going to happen and hasn't for many years. There is a lot of talk and little action IMHO, so please excuse me if I don't start jumping for joy, just yet.

Wonderful if it did but the realist in me says not likely.

[duckmandon]

What needs to be done is to have the Thai people relize that those corrupt MANY are stealling from their country which is in turn making their lives harder. They could then as one nation get rid of these vermin. If only the Thais would think. One Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chotthee]

In Singapore is a cop takes 10 S$ for a traffic violation he is jailed for 1-5 years and kicked out of the police force.

This would be a good start for Thailand but it will never happen.

It has.

The big police chief has already been arrested.

Didn't you read the news?

[Eddy B]

I think it is time for Thailand to stop looking at these surveys and just take a good hard look at themselves and do something about it! If they are going to beat and stop corruption they need to do it themselves as you know they will not listen to anyone else, just like a spoilt child. This will be not easy as it will like teaching a child to walk, how to behave and to have a good moral character. I do not see these change coming soon even if they started today.

[atyclb]

Funny stuff. If at some point Thailand actually did want to wipe out corruption,

they need look no farther than Singapore . With resolve I think they accomplished

it in five years as I recall. And without looking it up, I suspect the punishment

for corruption is severe. This editorial is almost ludicrous, as it is implying it

cannot be done, therefore no need to punish people........ If Thailand started

executing people for corruption, it would stop overnight....

executions might indeed might stop corruption overnight as it would produce a new issue called genocide

[retarius]

Sentences are immaterial if you never stand a chance of being prosecuted....but sentences are a deterrent if you are likely to get caught.

What is needed is to make corruption much more easy to prosecute. Since most people are on the take, it might not be a bad idea to relax the rules of evidence and to put anyone with a fancy car or a large house in the slammer....especially since the government jobs are extremely poorly paid. Also since job buying is rife, we may assume that anyone who achieves any sort of rank or status has bought his position and is therefore corrupt, having paid a bribe, and is furthermore likely to be on the take to recoup the costs of his/her promotion.

In the US bribery is almost impossible to prosecute unless the suspect confesses, because the test for bribery means the prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the payment of the money was intended for the quid pro quo that the briber receives...becuase intention is internal to the mind of the person doing the bribing, then this is an extremely difficult task in the absence of a wire tap where the suspect says "This money is for XXXX".

[Suffinator]

What a load of BS. The underlying problem with Thai corruption is the fact there is little punishment and therefore no real incentive to stop it.

The other issue of course is that everyone of them is on the take and therefore it is difficult to point the finger as all fingers start pointing at everyone else.

The easy way to stamp out corruption ...

1. Minimum 10 years in prison

2. Minimum 6 lashes of the cane - why not public flogging that's even better

3. Strip them of ALL their assets and leave them penniless

After two or three have been dealt with this way you watch corruption drop like a stone. Think Singapore and you might just get somewhere.

[ggt]

To start teaching people of all ages that corruption is a vile practice is commendable...

The tougher sentences will over time reduce the attractiveness of corrupt business practices...

Corruption must be reduced and removed from all areas of Thai government and culture before any meaningful change will be noticed by the international community...

Edited December 11, 2014 by ggt

[Mister Fixit]

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Tougher sentences aren't the answer to corruption

They might not be the complete answer but they would certainly help.

How true. IMHO there needs to be multi pronged approach:

- Severe punishment and very public shaming.

- More and regular statements from highly respected leaders pushing for morality and ethics.

- Education of the young starting at an early age by dedicated teachers who are well versed in the subject and have good handout materials as well as good

'lectures'. IMHO many current teachers are not up to the task in terms of real insightful knowledge to teach this subject, and/or don't care, and/or even teach kids corruption is 'good business'.

I've seen this at one of the university where I lecture. A couple of Thai professors who in the teachers lounge brag about corruption and some even share corruption ideas with their pupils along with praising those who have got rich through corruption.

One example, one professor who puts it like this: 'OK, he's corrupt but he's helping his family and helping his kids to go to school abroad, so it's OK'. Same lady also says 'You just cannot expose people from famous families because it would be just too embarrassing for the family.'

- Changes in the law so that there is no statute of limitations.

- Speed up the court process so corruption charges are held and punishment given (where proven guilty) within a few months. And no bail to give the convicted person time to get their affairs in order.

- Install laws which prohibited convicted offenders from ever being involved in any way in politics and /or holding any form of public position, salaried or otherwise.

- And confiscation of all assets obtained through corrupt means, although perhaps ALL assets would be a better deterrent. After all, you don't need a house when you're in prison for a long, long time.

And their families should also be ostracised. Tough, I know but if a corrupt person were to know that their families (who will have also benefitted from his/her corruption, maybe even been complicit in it), would end up homeless and have to go back to stay with Granny in Nakhon Nowhere, there would be a little bit of hesitation when trousering that bribe ...

Edited December 11, 2014 by Mister Fixit

[Mister Fixit]

In Singapore is a cop takes 10 S$ for a traffic violation he is jailed for 1-5 years and kicked out of the police force.

This would be a good start for Thailand but it will never happen.

It has.

The big police chief has already been arrested.

Didn't you read the news?

But more to the point, will he and his accomplices be actually punished severely, or will it all fade away - again ...?

[Mister Fixit]

In China, high profile corruption cases routinely attract the death penalty for the offenders and the sentences are carried out promptly.

These cases are never reported in the Thai media. They make some people here feel uncomfortable I guess..

And to humiliate them further, the families are sent the bill for the bullet.

I don't know what happens if they don't pay ...

[Cake Monster]

While tougher sentences may not be the complete answer to the cancerous corruption issues that Thailand have, they certainly seem to be having a huge impact on the corruption in China, and maybe lessons need to be learned from the Chinese to eradicate the problem over time.

[Wombat6]

Tougher sentences aren't the answer to corruption

How could they possibly know since it has never been attempted here in Thailand! Say what you will, fear of exposure and punishment is a real deterrent to corruption. Thailand should at least give it a try.

If someone is convicted of a corruption offence.that person including close family should have their assts confiscated unless the person can prove those assets were obtained legally

[spidermike007]

This is a ridiculous editorial. To say harsher punishment is not the answer is one of the most ill advised, and poorly conceived responses to this problem, that I have heard in a long time. Of course harsher punishment is the answer. Up until now, either a slap on the wrist, a payment to a prosecutor, or a payment to a judge was used to remedy a charge of corruption. How many higher officials or people in positions of power and great wealth have received harsher sentences? Not sure who the Nation is apologizing for, but they are absolutely incorrect, and as wrong as they could possibly be. A really bad editorial is what this is. Really bad. It stinks.

[spidermike007]

In China, high profile corruption cases routinely attract the death penalty for the offenders and the sentences are carried out promptly.

These cases are never reported in the Thai media. They make some people here feel uncomfortable I guess..

And to humiliate them further, the families are sent the bill for the bullet.

I don't know what happens if they don't pay ...

And this kind of response would work wonders here. Word would get around in a nanosecond, that the authorities are finally serious, and doing something to fight the epidemic. Society would improve overnight. Nobody is serious here. Not even the army. Unless they get some convictions and long sentences for the pigs who were recently arrested, we will continue to consider them terribly ineffective at fighting corruption and crime.