The Thai police unmasked
(Phairot Kiewoim / Shutterstock.com)
A murder a few days ago in Sa Kaeo province has caused quite a stir due to the scandalous approach of the police. This is not an isolated event. The best way I can tell the story is by translating an editorial from the Bangkok Post, see source below. Unfortunately, as the editorial also states, this is not an isolated event.
A disgusting murder
The pace of the investigation into the gruesome murder of an impoverished woman in Sa Kaeo has quickly eroded the police's credibility. Buaphan Tansu, a mentally unstable woman, was found dead in Aranyaprathet district on January 12. Severe bruising on her body suggested the 47-year-old had been violently attacked.
The case was initially treated by the police as a case of domestic violence which had caused her death. The next day they arrested her husband, Panya Khongsaengkham, who police said admitted to killing his wife. The police did no forensic testing and treated it as a done deal.
It probably would have stayed that way if not for a team from Channel 8 TV delving into the story after discovering inconsistencies. With journalistic curiosity, they looked again at the CCTV footage of the crime scene that had previously been obtained by the police. What they saw contradicted the police investigation report. The real killers were a group of 5 teenagers, 13 to 16 years old, two of whom were sons of police officers in Sa Kaeo. They were reportedly the leaders of a notorious gang with approximately 30 members.
The history of this gang shocked the public. This week, a number of victims came forward to talk about the gang's misconduct, including fights, sexual harassment, and even rape. The tolerance of the police towards these crimes is incomprehensible. About seven months ago, a young man was attacked with a knife and his scooter was set on fire. He filed a complaint, but no action was taken. Aranyaprathet seems to be heading towards a lawless area.
Regarding Buaphan's murder, a few audio clips and photos show how the local police mishandled the case. Scapegoating and torture still seem to be common practices, despite the law on disappearances and torture. Meanwhile, some police officers help cover up the crimes committed by their colleagues by omitting the use of torture in their official reports.
Poor and with a drinking problem, Panya probably seemed like the perfect scapegoat. He later told how he was pressured into making a false confession. In one clip, an officer tells a colleague that the torture was "just for fun." But perhaps his early confession saved his life.
After an intense public investigation, the RTP (Royal Thai Police) ordered an investigation into the officers involved. Some have already been transferred. A week has already passed, but the RTP has still not apologized.
In an attempt to downplay the crimes, deputy police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn (Big Joke) said the officers involved had only been a bit "sloppy" because they wanted to "finish the case quickly". They accidentally arrested the wrong man, he said, with no hidden agenda. But torture can never be justified.
“Sloppiness” as Pol Gen Surachate claims actually robs the RTP of its reputation and credibility. Breaking the law by public servants should be taken more seriously without compromise.
Over the years, the RTP has been tainted with scandals that never seem to end, from the hit-and-run case involving a scion of the Red Bull family to its relationship with the Chinese mafia, corruption and extortion.
Police continue to reach new lows. With such repeated mistakes, a long overdue reform seems like a pipe dream.
Sources:
The police were furious with Channel 8 because, according to them, they deliberately wanted to put the police in a bad light. So the upside down world. I understood that the police had already deleted and deleted all but 1 CCTV footage. Channel 8 showed that. The images were disgusting. Big Joke has also fallen from his pedestal and is no better than the rest of the corps. He has also previously been associated with shady dealings.
Tino, almost 40 years ago I made my first (group) trip to Thailand and I read in a travel guide that during a police check you have to pay close attention to whether an officer secretly drops a bag of white powder in your bag. When I now read that crimes committed by the dear sons of the woods are covered up with lies, I learn that nothing has improved in Thailand regarding uniforms, except for the good ones.
Read, but you have already read it all, the stories surrounding the environmental activists in Thailand. Murder, intimidation, arson, obstruction of procedures, by police and accomplices of big business owners and high-ranking officials when it comes to pollution and illegal logging. Do I need to mention Somchai and the murder of innocent civilians piled into an open truck?
Not only Thailand, also neighboring countries. Not a hair better. It will be the mentality of the region where money is king. Fortunately, they have no allowances there to enslave the people. Could there be countries where this kind of abuse of power does not occur? It's universal!
It's terrible the way it happened, but for those who have known Thailand for a while, this should come as no surprise. King, army, police, parliament is the unofficial and real order of power. In the days before there were cell phones and cameras, crime suspects were routinely found within 2-3 days and the question is how reliable that could be.
The military and police are not friends but can get along as long as each other's interests are not harmed, with the biggest proof being the Red and Yellow Shirt confrontations and coups and the sharing of "flexible" approaches to existing legislation on prostitution, gambling and alcohol.
In any case, bums are seen as scum that you should not take too seriously and then it becomes dangerous if the legislator does not protect you to the extent that it is of any use to you. If you are the master of an attack with 5 or more men, which is often the standard, then the law may celebrate a fairer society, but it does not benefit you as a victim.
It all does not fit in with Dutch ideas, but that is why Thailand has a different approach to life on some points. The country itself determines the speed of change if it so wishes.
It looks just like flora and fauna life. The weakest have the least right to life, so I say, with the comment that it is not necessarily my opinion.
About 2 years ago, a suspect was killed after officers put plastic bags over his head during his interrogation in order to extract a confession. Now we read about interrogation with a plastic bag again... Will that be an unofficial interrogation method of the RTP? I'm afraid so. This is not a “mistake”, but a systematic problem.
This is exactly what I always try to explain to my Thai wife who lives here in the Netherlands, namely that she thinks that everything here takes so long before the police can definitively determine why an accident happened or who is to blame for it.
Or whether it takes a long time before you hear anything more about the how and what after a crime has been committed, I always answer because a thorough investigation takes place here before the police come out with conclusions.
This is in contrast to Thailand where an (alleged) perpetrator/suspect is shamelessly shown to the press with the usually pot-bellied police behind him/her who are already looking forward to their next promotion because of their great detective work, just disgusting!!!
All media in Thailand have paid a lot of attention to both embarrassing incidents in recent days. First of all, challenging and provoking a mentally less gifted woman, taking (kidnapping) her to a secluded place and then killing her. Because two of the very young perpetrators turned out to be sons of police officers, her husband, who was also less gifted, was forced to make a confession through torture. How sickening both events. It illustrates exactly what kind of mentality Thailand still has to deal with, even in 2 - the year in which Thailand loves to show off modernity and progress. The events have raised much debate. In Thai Enquirer you can read an attempt to clarify the problems with young people, their education and guidance and Thailand's attitude and mentality when it comes to responsibility. Thailand likes to look away. https://www.thaienquirer.com/51603/is-changing-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-in-thailand-wise/ (Tip: open Google Translate, copy URL into the “websites” box, read in Dutch.)
Reminiscent of the murder of 2 British people on Koh Ta in 2014.
Evidence also appears to have been tampered with: DNA 'used up' so that the defense could not have it tested, other DNA did not match the two convicted men from Myanmar. Police may have been protecting local perpetrators.
And then this “A 900-page police report was produced to guide the prosecution's case, but the defense were not allowed to see the report until the trial began.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh_Tao_murders
The scary thing about Thailand is that there is no reliable legal protection and that you can always become a victim of arbitrariness and bad luck.
What I always miss enormously with these types of messages is the view of the rose-colored glasses brigade, although there are of course always people who claim that things are no better in the Netherlands. However, they do not have rose-colored glasses, but glasses with frosted lenses.
Perhaps it is much better to wear rose-colored glasses. In the Netherlands there is also undermining and opposition by officials and police officers gave false statements, such as a case in Rotterdam with a garage owner and the death of Mitch in The Hague. Both men with a tan, by the way, and both wrongfully abused or killed by police officers. The power a police officer has in many countries is that they can use force and their word is believed because of an oath. The problem lies in that oath because it gives an additional position of power.
I don't think you should look at it 1 on 1 and then because of a cultural difference.
Most Thais know how to deal with it
Lo, the difference with Thailand is that the two officers responsible for Mitch's death were immediately charged. One officer received a suspended sentence of 6 months, the other was later acquitted. By the way, I don't really like these kinds of comparisons. Let's just tell you what's happening in Thailand.