Senior Bangkok metropolitan police officers facing charges on street LED ads

[webfact]

Senior metropolitan police officers facing charges on street LED ads



BANGKOK: -- More than 70 senior metropolitan police officers are facing questioning after they were accused of allowing private companies to install LED advertising boards on state property with no authorisation and reap earnings for personal gains.

Certain members of the metropolitan police force are facing possible criminal charges for allowing advertising signs to be set-up onto traffic police booths at intersections.

According to Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Srivara Ramsibrahmakul, Commissioner, such offences are punishable crimes and disciplinary committees have been established to investigate any officers implicated in this latest scandal.

Another investigation is being launched against police officers for allowing companies to set-up large LED screens at intersections atop police booths for advertising purposes.

The commissioner said some of these LED screens have been up and running for at least two years now and any officers implicated in authorising them may be charged with criminal offence.

He made clear that such acts are deemed as attempts to earn income through unauthorized means and has ordered each police division to set up disciplinary committees to investigate these offences within each district.

Anyone found guilty of accepting payment for setting these LED screens up will be charged with criminal offences as authorization of such elements needs to officially obtained from the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

He said the correct procedures for setting up any commercial screens or public signage requires authorization from the Treasury Department as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Advertising companies have been making substantial income from setting up LED screens for commercial purposes from what is considered state properties for years now without obtaining any official licensing and are not even in line with city regulations.

According to the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC), this is in offence of Article 157 of the Criminal Act which describes this as misuse and/or misconduct of authority of a civil servant. This crime is also chargeable under the Anti Corruption Act’s Article 123 where civil servants are prohibited from reaping inappropriate rewards/benefits for personal gain,

“It is absolutely against the law to reap personal benefits from state property and public property. This is considered a form of corruption, the commissioner stated.

Although the disciplinary investigation is still being finalized, it is estimated that about 70 high ranking officers from the Superintendent level upward have been implicated in these corruption charges. Some of the charges that are being brought against officers include gross negligence for allowing over 40 LED screens in districts that include Huay Kwang, Dindaeng, Thonglor, Phayathai and Tharua. The investigation has revealed that advertising companies approached these precincts directly offering revenue between 5,000 baht to 10,000 baht per month for each screen.

The commissioner added that the investigation was launched as far back as two months ago and that the objective of this current initiative was not to target or move any officers in particular.

He also denied accusations that the investigation was to replace offenders with his own people.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/senior-metropolitan-police-officers-facing-charges-street-led-ads


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-19

[Cuchulainn]

About time these lawless thugs were brought to trial.

[maapaa]

Police will investigate police, money will be exchanged, nothing will happen.

(I have to hold myself back not to break the glass screen of my phone by tapping too hard caused by my anger and frustration about all this police shit!!!)

[maapaa]

About time these lawless thugs were brought to trial.

Will they? Really? Are you dreaming?

[Cuchulainn]

Looks like it!!

[JOC]

Got to the point where news about corrupt cops are not considered news anymore!!

[siampolee]

I seem to recall that his matter was raised about a year and a half back, however it then vanished into that backwater of Do nothing creek.

Now perhaps due to the removal of a number of senior officers from the police farce force and perhaps due to a change of government administration, at last action is going to be taken regarding the actives of the police farce force personal charities scheme.

Edited December 19, 2014 by siampolee

[NeverSure]

These particular police officers are on the wrong side. Read between the lines.

"He also denied accusations that the investigation was to replace offenders with his own people."

[Caveat Emptor]

Is there a new buzz phrase in town ?

' Reap earnings for personal gain ' is a very polite way of saying they were corrupt.

[siampolee]

Caveat Emptor post # 9.

Is there a new buzz phrase in town ?

' Reap earnings for personal gain ' is a very polite way of saying they were corrupt.

Political correctness expression so as not to suggest that corruption is alive and wel in the police farce force now or before.

[NongKhaiKid]

These particular police officers are on the wrong side. Read between the lines.

"He also denied accusations that the investigation was to replace offenders with his own people."

You could have a point as it's claimed some of these signs have been in place for 2 years yet it's only now any action is being taken !

Like other investigations within the BIB at this time nothing is quite what it seems.

[EricBerg]

Well the Kingdom needs entrepeneurs. Now a few c oppers want to help out and people start complaining again. Is there nothing they can do right? Have a heart!

[daiwill60]

Once again another move to further reduce Police incomes, thus making the searching and drug testing of farang tourists even more likely or some other scam of innocent people in the streets.

[SiSePuede419]

If these guys were in Europe, they would get a LEED Green Award for Eco friendly behavior, 555

[FangFerang]

Here is the kicker to me. Who has been footing the electric bill for these signs? -- Undoubtedly the billboards and traffic stations are either hooked to an individual city meter, or more likely, since it is part of official property, the electricity was either rolled into an amalgamated bill for the entire department, or the power was simply siphoned off the power company. Since the protesters were able to cut off the police power during the 2013 protests from outside the building, I am assuming they have meters. A check of the meter records for these booths would pop the eyes off a spider (most of which have eight eyes).

Improper use of public property+earning income through unauthorized means+fraudulent power consumption (+ maybe theft of said power for two years could be place the offense in the serious charge range) = TTT (and/or) NWBD.

Worse, the power consumption of LED billboards of the size pictured runs from 80 kWh per day (for the really expensive, super green variety) to 150,000 kWh for an eye-blinding attention getting energy hog. Since the goal was to make money, I am betting the billboard was in the upper consumption range (those ones that make us wince at night are NOT energy efficient). If a billboard ran for two years, 24/7, at 150,000 kWh per day, using the 6 baht per kWh rate from 2012, the power consumption cost is 900,000 baht per day for 790 days and a whopping total of 711 million baht. If it was a green LED billboard, no reason to believe it, but to state the lower end for argument's sake, the total power consumption would only be 355,500 baht. Knowing how Thais love to make money but will go for cheaper options for nearly the same quality, I would hazard that the actual power consumption was in the middle range, or median, being 356 million baht.

PS TTT= Time to Take a Transfer and/or NWBD = Nothing Will Be Done

Edited December 19, 2014 by FangFerang

[siampolee]

Fang Ferang.

Perhaps one of these was in every police box and one of those in the link below !

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRA1h6gYhYNA4nHy4ysH_ZFWGx68dCm7hbglBRJfd93aLw39dfj

Edited December 19, 2014 by siampolee

[Lupatria]

Don't we all know by now how it ends? 70 more inactive posts- that's it. I just wait for the day they declare Thonglor an inactive police station.

[asdecas]

All this faux outrage from farangs.

And anybody who thinks this is all about cleaning house at RTP Central is simply naive. There is another agenda entirely at work here.

[DoctorG]

But will they prosecute the advertising companies?

[yellowboat]

This sounds like wealth redistribution and revenge. Why not make just make public funds without al the loud noises ? Sorry, public funds go to the Thai elite. Nevermind.

[JacChang]

Death sentence please... it's the new trend.

[technologybytes]

This is hardly crime of the century. It shows initiative if nothing else.

There must be more important things to investigate !

[klauskunkel]

Anyone found guilty of accepting payment for setting these LED screens up will be charged with criminal offences as authorization of such elements needs to officially obtained from the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

Ah, the penny has dropped. The Metro Police Bureau didn't get their cut.

[jaiyen]

Of Course Thonglor are involved in this corrupt scheme. They must all be very rich and worth doing an asset assessment.

[mikeoxwelling]

Once again another move to further reduce Police incomes, thus making the searching and drug testing of farang tourists even more likely or some other scam of innocent people in the streets.

Oh get a grip! Reduce Police incomes? from illegal advertising monitors? Just who do you think is making an income from this? urghhh the level of stupidity among expats is exhausting to say the least!

[Phuketboy]

They need to have an independent department investigate all police and charge everyone for any crime even if it's the smallest of offences. Police should be abiding by the law and need to be made an example of. Police investigating and charging police will never work, not now, not in the future…. never.

[Gandtee]

It is about time that the police are taken to task. The signs are there.

[scorecard]

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All this faux outrage from farangs.

And anybody who thinks this is all about cleaning house at RTP Central is simply naive. There is another agenda entirely at work here.

Wow another conspiracy,,, can you give us a hint, pllleeeeaaaasssssssee.

[halloween]

This is hardly crime of the century. It shows initiative if nothing else.

There must be more important things to investigate !

Are entrepreneurial criminals somehow more admirable than the stupid?

[razer]

"He made clear that such acts are deemed as attempts to earn income through unauthorized means" Now is the time for shop owners and food stall owners to step forward.