Thai police officers to inactive duty
The Royal Thai Police (Phairot Kiewoim / Shutterstock.com)
Recently you may have heard from the news that some senior police officers from Rayong were transferred to perform "temporary duties" in Bangkok. They allegedly let local illegal casinos operate under their noses.
Soon hundreds of coronavirus cases were linked to those gambling halls. National Police Commissioner Suwat Chaengyodsuk said they will suffer the consequences for their negligence.
That's how it goes in Thailand: an embarrassing scandal breaks out – for example, the existence of a brothel or gambling hall is brought to national attention. The police officers in charge of the area where the incident takes place are "transferred to an inactive post". They are placed “under investigation”' and promises of disciplinary and even criminal punishment are made to the media. But what actually happens?
No penalty placement
One would think that transferring to an inactive post is a penal placement, but that is not officially the case. “It is a purely administrative procedure,” said a senior police officer, “If we transfer someone from his post, it does not mean that he has done anything wrong. We're just taking him out of his field, away from the media's attention."
Police regulations
According to police regulations, officers can be found guilty of “serious” and “non-serious” disciplinary offences. The former involves severe penalties such as suspension, discharge from the force and expulsion without retirement, while the latter involves lesser disciplinary measures such as detention or being placed on probation.
A report published by the Royal Thai Police in October of last year said 342 members of the police force had been relieved or even fired since the beginning of 2020. The report did not specify details of the offenses or crimes or how how long their research took.
Activities on inactive mail
But such punishments are rare. For a majority of police officers accused of corruption, taking bribes, negligence and other misconduct, the consequences of their actions usually consist of their time at an “inactive post”.
However, inactive is somewhat misleading, because the officers do have a duty to fulfill, which consists of "temporarily assisting police duties at the Royal Thai Police Operations Center" in Bangkok. “There are all sorts of duties at the center,” said a police spokesperson, “It acts as the central command center of the state police forces, so duties can range from attending daily briefings, collecting intelligence data to analyzing information. ”
All officers working in the operations center continue to receive full pay as they perform official duties for the police force. How long is “temporary” depends on the research. If found guilty, they will face disciplinary procedures, but if the outcome is "not guilty", they may be able to return to their original area of work or be deployed elsewhere.
Revolving door effect
Wirut Sirisawasdibut, a former police corporal, is a strong supporter of reforms in the Thai police force and believes that transferring to an inactive post is not acceptable. He says the lack of clear disciplinary or legal action against members of law enforcement. It happens that some officers, placed in an inactive post, return to their original position after about ten days, when society and the media forget about the incident. It is a revolving door arrangement that provides little to no deterrent to law enforcement offenders.
Wirut is campaigning for more transparency in the police force and calling for a stricter procedure in dealing with police officers accused of bribery. He said the accused should be immediately suspended from all duties, without pay, while the investigation is ongoing. “This is what they fear,” Wirut said.
rebuttal
A spokesman for the department responsible for disciplinary review said this would not be fair to the men in khaki.
“Our system is one based on accusations,” he said. “So we must give the accused the opportunity to defend themselves before the Commission of Inquiry before any punishment can be given to them.”
He also said that the idea of being transferred to an inactive post for unethical behavior is a symbolic punishment in itself, as it would serve as a stigma for the accused.
“They have already lost their credibility because of the allegations,” he said.
Finally
The above is part of a long article on the website of Khaosod English. In that article, quite extensive examples are given of police officers who ended up on an inactive post and how they fared afterwards. Read the whole article at this link: www.khaosodenglish.com/
The most corrupt profession in Thailand…Why not fire? Why no prison sentence? Because this remains “Amazing Thailand”….
@Yan,
Someone from the police is already in a better position of power than a citizen anyway and that is the case in many countries. To want to become such a police officer you must already have a certain twist, but put such a group together and it is a dangerous sect and Thailand is no exception. In order to get high in the tree, an award must take place in Thailand and by definition this has an effect throughout the entire organization.
An ex corporal can bring it up and Big Joke was a bit too "ambitious" A second woman is sometimes seen as too ambitious and then that has consequences at a high level and also with the police.
Only a few people are at the controls and the rest have to make the best of it. So it is, so it was and so it will remain.
@ Johnny BG, matter of not being biased for sure. If a policeman were as prejudiced as you write now, everyone would agree that he is corrupt and does not do his job.
Most of the readers of this blog know the “quirks” of the police in Thailand. Many (but certainly not all) police officers are corrupt.
If I understand correctly, people are now calling for police officers who are under investigation to be immediately suspended without payment.
It seems normal to me that police officers who are found guilty are suspended.
But isn't one guilty until it has been proven beyond doubt? Putting a policeman / woman on non-active during the investigation seems normal to me. But to immediately withhold their salary during the investigation?
Gee didn't know that the police in Thailand were corrupt.
Surely we all know they protect each other and the locals make them pay
Not only casino or massage parlors, but also shops, they drop by every week to collect a donation.
Fines will not be written out if you put something in their hands.
I think the worst and sad thing is that they still do this to those people who don't have a penny to make.
Most feel that they are above the law and everything is possible there.
Police salaries are well known and have been discussed many times on this blog. These salaries have long been supplemented by so-called “semi” legal and often also illegal activities. In fact, it is not too difficult to conduct an internal investigation into the person in question and if excessive (unexplained) income is found, then something can and should certainly be done about it. Corrupt police officers fired immediately and put a bald picking team on it and bet on a conviction after a thorough investigation. What is certainly also the case is that if a top police officer has illegal income, obtained in and by the service, there are certainly other colleagues involved who also earn from it. After all, they do the dirty work. I think that the forces will thin out nicely if they really start tackling internal corruption. I don't think that should be a reason to leave it. Corrupt civil servants are more heavily charged in the Netherlands than non-civil servants. I don't know if this is also the case in Thailand, but I would consider it normal and it is apparently still badly needed.
Arrested several times in Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia,
Eg : driving in cambodia with lights on during the day is an offense or bare upper body or not wearing a helmet ,
This is normally done with a small fee
In Thailand ditto you normally get away with a small fee
All that money disappears in the business of those police people
From my own experience I know that not so long ago there were 18 illegal casinos in Bangkok alone. There were 36 locations and the casinos moved every so many days. People were then informed by SMS when, which casino, would be where. Driving up, valet parking, back door and in between 300 and 1000 people at the Baccara. Fortunately, I have never experienced a raid where everyone had to hand in their ID.
Thailand is and remains a banana republic, the wages of the executives of the legislature are relatively low. They all want more (who doesn't :-)) and you get more by earning extra.
Corruption is everywhere in the world, sometimes you can see / notice it, sometimes it is very well hidden. So in Thailand it is nothing special. There is corruption everywhere, at every level. Get used to it 🙂
In addition to the large casinos, there are also the neighborhood casinos. Near my house there is one in a normal residential house. That house is not on the road but in a very narrow soi that is only suitable for pedestrians and (moped) bicycles. A few years ago CCTV cameras were installed in this soi (where I used to go every day to get to work) which surprised me. When I asked my wife if so much was stolen in this soi, my wife replied that the cameras were hung up to see if the police were coming. Then the gaming tables and chips could be cleared away quickly. The neighborhood casino still exists.
@Chris,
In fact, that is the Thai tolerance policy. It is up to the police to convince the owners to keep busy on a small scale, otherwise it will become a problem for a higher pief and then the owner will be happy to make a donation for charity.
Recently a number of people have died from a mix of drugs that were sold and then the police are able to catch the dealer in a day or so. It is possible, but the question is what the priorities are.
I personally believe that they know the priorities very well to give everyone a somewhat bearable life. Being 70+ years old and driving drunk on a moped is wrong and if you are arrested there is a 20.000 bond and a 6000 baht or more fine if you have to go to court. A hopeless story for many people in such a situation and it is nice that the soup can also be eaten less hot.
In pattya a few years ago. A police officer sat unnoticed on a chair in a street with one-way traffic. Any farang who guessed to enter the street anyway was screwed. This man looked very well groomed I think so those perks.
if they were fired they might blow out of the school and we can't have that ...... and that's accommodation (JC)