Bangkok traffic cops told to respect bosses' privilege

[boomerangutang]

I had a friend Tom who worked as a security guard at a Psychiatric Ward of a prison (for criminally insane) in the US's midwest. One of his jobs was to frisk everyone who came in the door. One day, a guy came along who flashed an authentic police badge and started walking through the door. Tom said 'Stop. I must frisk you.' The policeman (a high ranking officer) grinned and said, 'come on, man, I'm just walking through to drop something off, and then I'm leaving the building' ....and kept walking in. Tom grabbed the man's arm, wrestled him to the ground, pinned him with his face planted hard on the linoleum, and called for back-up. He cuffed him and didn't let him up until two other officers showed up a few minutes later - according to protocol. It turns out, it was a test, to see whether Tom was doing his job. He was, and was promoted with a pay raise.

Polar opposite of what happens in Thailand: A lower-down does his job, and he's yelled at and belittled by a superior officer out of uniform. Thailand is to discipline what a tramp is to oral hygene.

Note: if the Thai head cop was pulled over twice, within minutes of each other, then he was likely driving eratically. I'd say he was likely drunk, and that's why he made such a pig of himself.

[chickenslegs]

Suggestion for off-duty attire for senior police officers...

[wabothai]

any reactions Somyot and Prajuth? Anyhow too late now. Damage has been done.

[jaywalker]

My very good friend, who is Thai and from royalty (his dad was a prince), moved back to Thailand a few years ago after living in Dallas for longer than 20 years. He still drives on the Thai Driver's License he got when he was 16 and the second day he was back in Thailand, he was stopped for going the wrong way on a one-way street. The police officer took one look at his family name, saluted him, and requested he not drive the wrong way again; no ticket. My friend is also an ex-policeman and though he has been stopped several times he is never ticketed. Only once did he use the power of influence; he told the police officer that he knew the police officer's boss (he didn't) and the police officer, scared to incur the wrath of his boss, let my friend go out of an abundance of caution. Policemen be warned: Respect your betters or suffer the consequences.

IMO, the foremost and top thing on Prayut's Reform List should have been the RTP. They root out crime, but instead of shutting the crime down, they extort money from the criminals and let the crime continue with them getting a share. Ask Chuvit Komolvisit; he paid Bt. 15 million per month to the RTP to operate his 'Massage Parlors'.

Unless this police general if removed from his high position, the questions is: Are the RTP too powerful for Prayut, even with article 44, to tackle? More and more, it looks to be so.

.

I was on the Viphavadee Expressway on my way to an Army base in Pathum Thani one day.

I guess I was going 122 kph or so (not really speeding). I had my Thai crew in another truck behind me as we went thru the toll booth.

Cops stopped me & my crew jumped out and told him I was on my way to a meeting with some general (which I wasn't).

Cop said "OK, you can just go."

[faranginthailandonly]

I am sorry to say that Thailand needs a revolution, something like the French revolution.

Revolution to happen has to have people behind that are decided to change things,on any way that it has to be,and it comes with responsibility.

Well,this country apparently having serious shortage of braves and balls and that is sad, but real.

Implementing of Darwin theory of evolution,but in this case it has stuck for a while somewhere on the way down from trees, and then happen that sudden jump in to Fortuner

Admitting that officially Thailand it is country that building up some worldwide unseen bypasses in every domain,and that it will be difficult ever changed.

Question is could we accept that reality and live with it ?

[Wat dee]

Just couldn't help my self and mailed the story to journalist I know. Would be nice to see this world wide.

[NongKhaiKid]

any reactions Somyot and Prajuth? Anyhow too late now. Damage has been done.

The Sound of Silence. Does anyone speak out and make the top cop lose face or just stick heads in the sand and wait for it to go away ?

The latter of course but social media etc are loving it and as journos say the story has ' legs '.

[kannot]

"As for selecting which car for alcohol test, we will judge by the clothes, manner, and the way they talk."

Will an upper class English accent be ok?

Only in a Bentley

[Manbing]

is it me or is Thailand getting worse with the corruption? I would normally say that this is unreal but I dont bat an eye lid any more...

How's it going Davo?

Not long ago I might have disagreed, but you can't argue with news like this.

[Somtamnication]

Well, this "ancient" civilization, rotten to the core because of its feudal system, is slowly waking up to videos.

One day this "policeman" will be taped and then it goes to social media then he gets a new post. The only way it works here. VIDEOS!

[Seastallion]

In Germany they would have fired that guy

Germany....Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, the UK, Finland, Norway....the entire EU....Most countries that call themselves democratic would have fired the guy....fired him for 2 reasons; 1. That he has that attitude, and 2. That he's too stupid to realise that his attitude is unacceptable.

And in many countries, he would go to prison, because

3. As an civil servant, off from duty he is a civilian as any other citizen and is subject to the same laws as everyone else.

He refused an alcohol test, then forcibly blood test by a medical officer.

4. He does not follow the instructions of police officers on duty, is resistance against the government authority.

A night in the drunk tank and next morning screening at the magistrate judge.

5. If his blood alcohol level is over the limit, then driving ban and fine.

6. The resistance against the government authority could lead to a criminal trial.

Now he commands and forbids his subordinates to control him and his cronies in the future.

7. Abuse of power in office in the most serious form.

Immediate dismissal from the police force.

8. Damage to the reputation of the police in the public.

We've all been focusing on what an arrogant idiot the guy is, and on the refusing a DUI test....but you have articulated what should be happening now. Abuse of power.

Abuse of power is what men even higher up should be charging this buffoon.

[kannot]

In Germany they would have fired that guy

Germany....Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, the UK, Finland, Norway....the entire EU....Most countries that call themselves democratic would have fired the guy....fired him for 2 reasons; 1. That he has that attitude, and 2. That he's too stupid to realise that his attitude is unacceptable.

And in many countries, he would go to prison, because

3. As an civil servant, off from duty he is a civilian as any other citizen and is subject to the same laws as everyone else.

He refused an alcohol test, then forcibly blood test by a medical officer.

4. He does not follow the instructions of police officers on duty, is resistance against the government authority.

A night in the drunk tank and next morning screening at the magistrate judge.

5. If his blood alcohol level is over the limit, then driving ban and fine.

6. The resistance against the government authority could lead to a criminal trial.

Now he commands and forbids his subordinates to control him and his cronies in the future.

7. Abuse of power in office in the most serious form.

Immediate dismissal from the police force.

8. Damage to the reputation of the police in the public.

We've all been focusing on what an arrogant idiot the guy is, and on the refusing a DUI test....but you have articulated what should be happening now. Abuse of power.

Abuse of power is what men even higher up should be charging this buffoon.

But the man at the top also needs charging

[boomerangutang]

Suggestion for off-duty attire for senior police officers...

don't you know who i am.jpg

A VIP goes to an airport counter to buy a ticket. He's in a hurry. He butts to the head of the queue and says to the lady, "I'm in a hurry, I need a ticket right away."

The lady at the counter (or course this couldn't happen in Thailand) says, "I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to go to the back of the line like everyone else."

He says, "I'm a very important person. I could get you fired. Do you know who I am ?!?!"

The lady at the counter picks up her P.A. system mic and says loudly. "Counter 3C, There's a man here who doesn't know who he is. Can a psychiatrist please come to counter 3C and help this confused man. Thank you."

any reactions Somyot and Prajuth? Anyhow too late now. Damage has been done.

Asking residents at dog pound to discipline one of their brethren who killed and ate a chicken? Not likely.

[chingmai331]

In China too, special license plates, white ones, are issued to the PLA, the People Liberation Army in honor of the job they did ridding china of the bad guys years ago. Consequences of the white plates are the cars are 'untouchable'. These cars simply toot the horn and barrel through the red light, drive like mad-men, and are impervious to harm. Of course, in china there are many counterfeit white license plates so 'who's who?'

Yup, in T'land the MILITARY rules the roost.

[mojorison]

Other extraordinary quotes from a truly unbelievable story:

"As for selecting which car for alcohol test, we will judge by the clothes, manner, and the way they talk."

"After talking to someone who is sober for one to two minutes, you should be able to tell that they don’t smell of alcohol," he said. "Those people shouldn't be called to take the test. You have to look. Don't just randomly inspect people."

"After I identified myself to [the volunteer cops], they turned pale," Pol.Lt.Gen. Sriwarah said, according to Matichon.

"If ordinary people have this experience, what would they think? "

This is the funniest part.... if I am not mistaken, the critical relevance to such testing is in its randomness. I believe in the west they are known as "random breath tests"... LOL, They are totally uneducated in law enforcement- from the bottom to the top.

(As the esteemed leader is blatantly ignorant of democracy, so the police are devoid of knowledge of law, enforcement and justice and protocol... this is the endemic problem in Thailand - an absolute and complete ignorance of pretty well everything. It will require massive overhauling, I doubt anyone here today will be alive to see that day... These problems are profound, and truly saddening).

Unless UK law changed, the police cannot stop you for a random drink test. They have to have a reason for the initial stoppage.

Not really.

If they think you "may" be DUI they'll test you. Let's assume everyone on the Friday night "may" be under the influence. https://www.gov.uk/stopped-by-police-while-driving-your-rights/breath-tests

[harrry]

Australia has random tests. There have been complaints though that they are not indeed random and based on things like the kind of car and the age of the driver.

[Seastallion]

This story IS in the Thai media....my wife read about it this morning;

Her comment; "That man is so low class! He is an example of why Thailand will never succeed!"

She then went on about this particular story and how the top cop is now threatening the media. Apparently he is quoted as saying that the media doesn't know the law, HE does, and he is right, and he will sue any newspaper that says he is in the wrong.

Go for it big boy....you're just digging a deeper hole for yourself.

[Porkster]

What a load of bolarks... The higher you go the more immune you become to the laws

Looking forward to leaving this rathole of a cuntry... Not so long now

Edited July 19, 2015 by Porkster

[jacky54]

All Thais are equal, but some are more equal than others, perfect Thai logic.

[boomerangutang]

All Thais are equal, but some are more equal than others, perfect Thai logic.

Thais don't even pretend to portray that 'all Thais are equal'

[tomacht8]

That's a nice business idea.

How much would it cost, to get your car license plate on this

free – drive - pass – no – policeman – is - allowed – to – stop - me – list?

Could you also then pay with bananas?

[outsider]

Ridiculous. Thailand at its best.

[hawker9000]

This sums up - in a nutshell - why the Thai police are considered by many to be totally corrupted

I also want to add that I asked my Thai family if this news story had featured on Thai language TV news reports.

They had not seen any news reports about this, (although maybe the cartoon channels don't run news stories...)

Yeap. This is all you need to know about the RTP.

BTW, where are the deniers on this??

Edited July 20, 2015 by hawker9000

[nolabuff]

Apparently this guy is now in line for multiple promotions, including that of national police chief. If rule of law existed in Thailand, he would be beginning to serve his one year sentence. He's close friends with Prawit so there's no hope of that ever happening.

Edited July 20, 2015 by nolabuff

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Apparently this guy is now in line for multiple promotions, including that of national police chief. If rule of law existed in Thailand, he would be beginning to serve his one year sentence. He's close friends with Prawit so there's no hope of that ever happening.

Promotion to national police chief !!!

Well if you think about it, isn't he the perfect boss for what everything that the RTP stands for today?

[hawker9000]

It must be so nice to not give a <deleted> about what the rest of the world thinks, or how hard they're laughing...

[Seastallion]

This sums up - in a nutshell - why the Thai police are considered by many to be totally corrupted

I also want to add that I asked my Thai family if this news story had featured on Thai language TV news reports.

They had not seen any news reports about this, (although maybe the cartoon channels don't run news stories...)

Yeap. This is all you need to know about the RTP.

BTW, where are the deniers on this??

As mentioned, it IS on Thai media and he's threatening to sue over it. Thai media have painted him as having broken the law and he is saying the media do not know the law and he'll sue anyone who alleges he's done wrong.

[hawker9000]

This sums up - in a nutshell - why the Thai police are considered by many to be totally corrupted

I also want to add that I asked my Thai family if this news story had featured on Thai language TV news reports.

They had not seen any news reports about this, (although maybe the cartoon channels don't run news stories...)

Yeap. This is all you need to know about the RTP.

BTW, where are the deniers on this??

As mentioned, it IS on Thai media and he's threatening to sue over it. Thai media have painted him as having broken the law and he is saying the media do not know the law and he'll sue anyone who alleges he's done wrong.

Too funny. 'Sounds like a routine from Saturday Night Live.

[2alex4alex]

That's a nice business idea.

How much would it cost, to get your car license plate on this

free – drive - pass – no – policeman – is - allowed – to – stop - me – list?

Could you also then pay with bananas?

You can buy it legally in Russia. Sign a contract with police about protection your property. Give your car as gift to this police department. So this department can use your car for transportation your values. It can be your Rolex, as example. You have to pay about $40k per year. Expensive car+ blue coloured number plates=you'll never be stopped. But I'm not sure that bananas are acceptable payment...

[2alex4alex]

What a load of bolarks... The higher you go the more immune you become to the laws

Looking forward to leaving this rathole of a cuntry... Not so long now

At this place where you are going.."Big bosses" never do some stupid things and never break the law? Looks like paradise to me..Where is it ?.. if it's not your big secret..