Five top cops transferred following gambling den bust

[rooster59]

Five top cops transferred following gambling den bust

By The Sunday Nation

 

Five senior police officers from Khan Na Yao police station in Bangkok have been transferred to inactive posts after troops raided a gambling den in its jurisdiction area.

 

On Wednesday, troops raided a three-storey townhouse on Khubon Soi 27 and rounded up 83 gamblers.

 

A police source said Metropolitan Police Division 2 chief Pol Maj-General Phanumart Boonyalak signed an order to transfer the five top officers.

 

The five are Khan Na Yao police commander Pol Col Ekkasing Singdej; Pol Lt Col Napanat Baengkruang, acting deputy Khan Na Yao police chief; Pol Lt Col Pongsit Palapong, another deputy; Khan Na Yao police chief, Pol Captain Nipon Hongsibsong, Khan Na Yao crime suppression inspector; and Pol Captain Thawee Sadlaen, Khan Na Yao, an |interrogation inspector.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30316513

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-28

[NanLaew]

Transfer to inactive post = turn up for work but you are OFF the gravy train.

[YetAnother]

in my province ,police are transferred all the time as a matter of policy; call it 'rotated' if you must; this case is absolutely no punishment ; if i was a policeman, i would be sorely tempted to break and bend the law if there was no punishment

[darksidedog]

As is so often the case, we only get half a story. Why were they transferred? Were they in the place and caught gambling, or have they been grassed up by those caught for taking protection money previously?

[leeneeds]

No concequence , some laws need changing

gambling is a choice you make, 

gambling in police time should be the issue, 

 

 

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Transfer to inactive post = turn up for work but you are OFF the gravy train.

Exactly. Being removed or repositioned lower down the tea money distribution can be serious stuff. What is going happen when he has to tell the missus and any mia nois that their budget has been cut and there will need to be a readjustment to their life styles. That's when the real punishment kicks in.

[robblok]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

As is so often the case, we only get half a story. Why were they transferred? Were they in the place and caught gambling, or have they been grassed up by those caught for taking protection money previously?

They are transferred because a gambling den was operating in their area of work. That shows that they were not doing their job good.. now the raid did not prove that they were taking bribes so there is no punishment (just lack of proof) so they can only be rotated otherwise there MIGHT have been punishment. Often the case here is that there is no proof that the police knew about it and was receiving money. That is a hard case to make so you cant fire them. It really is not that people are dumb here or don't want to take action.. its just hard to prove and then sending them away to places where they can make less money from corruption is a good thing. (id prefer them in jail but kinda hard to do if there is no real proof)

[lvr181]

Send all those in the "inactive post" division to southern Thailand to earn their pay! 

[Lupatria]

One day we will see all cops of the nation on active posts taking a group photo on a vacation in a mini van.

[williamgeorgeallen]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

They are transferred because a gambling den was operating in their area of work. That shows that they were not doing their job good.. now the raid did not prove that they were taking bribes so there is no punishment (just lack of proof) so they can only be rotated otherwise there MIGHT have been punishment. Often the case here is that there is no proof that the police knew about it and was receiving money. That is a hard case to make so you cant fire them. It really is not that people are dumb here or don't want to take action.. its just hard to prove and then sending them away to places where they can make less money from corruption is a good thing. (id prefer them in jail but kinda hard to do if there is no real proof)

the snitching system in thailand is vast. every motorcycle taxi is a snitch getting paid for information. gambling dens cant operate without cops knowing. it is impossible. for a cop to allow it they must be getting paid to look the other way. being transferred can be a heavy punishment of course if the amount of bribes is reduced. it is expensive to become a high up cop and those loans need to be repaid.

[mikebell]

With tiny CCTV cameras/spy cameras that look like pens it should be really easy to collar the Pattaya BIB as they collect their monthly extortion money.

[Sydebolle]

If they are involved, they would see the slammer from inside - except Thailand where you face an inactive post.

The Thai Ministry of Inactive Posts is by far the biggest agency - worldwide! Getting paid for NOT having to do the job while thinking about what kind of stint could be pulled off next - hilarious! 

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, darksidedog said:

As is so often the case, we only get half a story. Why were they transferred? Were they in the place and caught gambling, or have they been grassed up by those caught for taking protection money previously?

 

Good point, no details.

 

Another example of the Thai (reformed but still utterly unprofessional) journalism / reporting profession.  

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Exactly. Being removed or repositioned lower down the tea money distribution can be serious stuff. What is going happen when he has to tell the missus and any mia nois that their budget has been cut and there will need to be a readjustment to their life styles. That's when the real punishment kicks in.

 

Example: about day 2 after the coup the senior cop in my moo baan was placed under house arrest (with a small team of military officers , who were quiet and kept a low profile stationed in his carport) and the cop forbidden to have contact with any other officer. Beforehand his activities / nasty attitude was well know and he was avoided, he had a personal (non-force) paid gang of 11 men, they used a number of various types of police vehicles for their 'work'. 

 

The day the cop was put under house arrest the 'gang' all disappeared and in one activity all vehicles recover using military drivers.

 

After he was placed under house arrest his wife and kids were abused (they used to go to the community swimming pool but after the house arrest they couldn't go to the pool because of abuse etc.) 

 

Didn't take long till the wife and kids moved out.

 

A few weeks later investigation completed, cop dismissed and jailed. Good.

 

But rather sad for the little kids who have done nothing wrong.

[robblok]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

the snitching system in thailand is vast. every motorcycle taxi is a snitch getting paid for information. gambling dens cant operate without cops knowing. it is impossible. for a cop to allow it they must be getting paid to look the other way. being transferred can be a heavy punishment of course if the amount of bribes is reduced. it is expensive to become a high up cop and those loans need to be repaid.

Knowing.. and proving are two different things. 

[robblok]

Just now, Father Fintan Stack said:

Why would they want to prove their colleagues guilty or an offence they most likely were privy to if not complicit in?

 

They are far more likely to close ranks to protect their colleagues in such circumstances.

 

The inactive position punishment suits everybody. The officer caught saves face, his rice-bowl remains unbroken although with a reduced amount of rice, and the criminality among the other officers can continue without further scrutiny. It's a win-win. 

You might be right.. and that is the problem with the police.. still... even if they wanted to prove it its hard to prove.. get it.. how would you go about proving it. The top cops are probably not taking the money themselves but getting a cut.. then you need loads of them to flip to say they share with.. would be a hard case if you want to make it. 

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, robblok said:

They are transferred because a gambling den was operating in their area of work. That shows that they were not doing their job good.. now the raid did not prove that they were taking bribes so there is no punishment (just lack of proof) so they can only be rotated otherwise there MIGHT have been punishment. Often the case here is that there is no proof that the police knew about it and was receiving money. That is a hard case to make so you cant fire them. It really is not that people are dumb here or don't want to take action.. its just hard to prove and then sending them away to places where they can make less money from corruption is a good thing. (id prefer them in jail but kinda hard to do if there is no real proof)

You've nailed it. I would lean towards the likelihood that they weren't passing a big enough brown envelope when it was time to play "pass the parcel". The inactive post leaves the whole thing wide open, nobody gets prosecuted so no criminal involvement implied. But it's basically an unwritten warning to their replacements (and others) to ensure that they have the right sized parcel to pass if/when it's their turn.

[saminoz]

Isn't about time they simply legalised gambling?  East Asians seem to have a propensity towards gambling and the government could certainly use the extra taxes involved.

 

Legalise gambling AND prostitution and you'll also cut a  lot of the illegal crap going on.

[sangtip2]

Has there ever been a case where a Thai police officer actually lost his job or gone to jail ??

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, sangtip2 said:

Has there ever been a case where a Thai police officer actually lost his job or gone to jail ??

Yes there have been... a few high ranking ones too. But it is not something that happens a lot. 

[The Deerhunter]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Transfer to inactive post = turn up for work but you are OFF the gravy train.

Not always, unfortunately.  What about the guy a few weeks ago who was transferred for organised crime & protection.  He went to the "naughty boys inactive room," in Bangers, then applied for leave, went home, jumped back into uniform and carried on collecting & threatening until he was caught again, some littel time later.

[The Deerhunter]

55 minutes ago, sangtip2 said:

Has there ever been a case where a Thai police officer actually lost his job or gone to jail ??

Yes, but not many.    Easy to plead first offence in court when you are a copper.

[al007]

This is Thailand, which incidentally I love

 

What percentage of the total police fore is on Inactive Duty, 30% 40% 50% or more

 

Absolutely fascinating to observe

[Itay]

22 hours ago, robblok said:

They are transferred because a gambling den was operating in their area of work. That shows that they were not doing their job good.. now the raid did not prove that they were taking bribes so there is no punishment (just lack of proof) so they can only be rotated otherwise there MIGHT have been punishment. Often the case here is that there is no proof that the police knew about it and was receiving money. That is a hard case to make so you cant fire them. It really is not that people are dumb here or don't want to take action.. its just hard to prove and then sending them away to places where they can make less money from corruption is a good thing. (id prefer them in jail but kinda hard to do if there is no real proof)

Wow Robbolk, interesting insight. enjoyed reading it... Thank you