Video: Good as gold! Thai cops get flak for accepting 20K necklaces from shop owner

[webfact]

Video: Good as gold! Thai cops get flak for accepting 20K necklaces from shop owner

 

Picture: Sanook

 

Thai social media was in meltdown after a video emerged of eight Nong Khai cops each getting a one baht weight gold necklace from a Nong Khai gold shop owner. 

 

The video shows the cheering and drooling cops - one even behind the barred counter of the shop itself - getting their New Year "presents". Each necklace is worth about 20,000 baht.

 

Sanook said that comment online fell into two distinct camps.

 

Camp #1 asked if that was even legal. Under article 103 wasn't it illegal for employees of the state to accept gifts over 3,000 baht in value?, they asked.

 

Camp #2 said it was not a bribe, merely a gift to encourage officers to continue doing a good job.

 

More about this story as we hear of it. 

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-01-10

 

 

[from the home of CC]

whatever the law, the optics are brutal.. 

[sammieuk1]

Borrowing from willing alive friends is defiantly unusual???? 

[PatOngo]

Exchanged for cash before they left the gold shop, or will they be taken to another shop and sold?

[neeray]

I think the shop lady was just insuring her future security.

 

The "boys" made quite the jerks of themselves.

[HalfLight]

The answer is simple but will never be applied because the police want exactly this to continue.

 

The simple answer: sack the officers, no pension, put them on a blacklist. The next police won't be quite so keen to accept a bribe, and make no mistake, the shopkeeper does not give stuff away and stay in business. This is Thailand, there's always a payback, it's an investment on the part of the shopkeeper.

 

 

 

[Rugon]

35 minutes ago, HalfLight said:

The simple answer: sack the officers, no pension, put them on a blacklist. The next police won't be quite so keen to accept a bribe

Really, and do you think there might be a lack of police if bribery is banned? 

[dcsw53]

I feel sad for the lady that she ran out of brown envelopes. She clearly has not sense of the correct way to package bribes things

[HalfLight]

34 minutes ago, Rugon said:

Really, and do you think there might be a lack of police if bribery is banned? 

 

With respect, I think that is a moot and non-useful comment. Pay decent wages and there will always be Thais who want to be policemen. I had frankly not expected a TVF member to suggest that bribery should not be abolished because it might make the job less attractive to Thais.

 

 

 

[JAG]

42 minutes ago, Rugon said:

Really, and do you think there might be a lack of police if bribery is banned? 

I'm not sure anyone would notice!

[JAG]

I caught that on TV yesterday. I thought it was a particularly banal comedy soap opera - Best Beloved had the sound turned down so I didn't notice the absence of bells, whistles and comic hooters. The gurning policemen seemed to fit the bill...

[trainman34014]

Personally I always find this type of thing obscene in the extreme, same with piles of cash being handed over to people and just to make things worse they make a big TV news show out of it.    It's completely disgusting and there is no place for it in a so called 'developing third world country' but alas; Thailand seems to be forever moving backwards despite all the rubbish we hear about 'progress' and 'Thailand 4, moving into the digital age' !

 

[ChrisY1]

2 hours ago, neeray said:

I think the shop lady was just insuring her future security.

 

The "boys" made quite the jerks of themselves.

They don't have to try hard to be jerks....

[HalfLight]

7 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

They don't have to try hard to be jerks....

Hardly have to try at all... <grumble>

 

 

 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

What is particularly sad about this is that the police clearly see nothing wrong in accepting expensive gifts from the public they are paid to serve.  Do they not realise how this appears to ordinary people?

 

Unfortunately, Prawit set an extremely bad example with his "watches" episode, as his minions could clearly see that, even when millions of Baht are involved, the practice of accepting expensive gifts is perfectly OK in Thailand.

[NightSky]

4 hours ago, neeray said:

I think the shop lady was just insuring her future security.

 

The "boys" made quite the jerks of themselves.

Ahh yes, the good old 'blatant bribe' disguised as 'a gift'

 

...its certainly cheaper than paying a security guard!

[klauskunkel]

There's some good wais right there, but the best one is still Srivara vs Premchai:

 

 

although Srivara didn't get any gold as far as we know, he might have gotten a tusk or two right where the sun don't shine.

 

[worgeordie]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

merely a gift to encourage officers to continue doing a good job.

God forbid,they could do a good job without receiving 

an incentive,20 K,they should have kept it quiet,the faces  

blurred to protect the guilty ? 

regards worgeordie

[yellowboat]

More inappropriate behavior from those with power, a sadly common occurrence. 

[natway09]

Hang on, we kept an eye on the shop for her all year.

 

[fruitman]

Why is Prayuth not responding to this? If this happened last year he sure would. Did he give up?

[Oziex1]

2 hours ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

What is particularly sad about this is that the police clearly see nothing wrong in accepting expensive gifts from the public they are paid to serve.  Do they not realise how this appears to ordinary people?

 

Unfortunately, Prawit set an extremely bad example with his "watches" episode, as his minions could clearly see that, even when millions of Baht are involved, the practice of accepting expensive gifts is perfectly OK in Thailand.

Right or wrong, the coppers will provide a service to the gold shop even if it is the service they are paid to do anyway.

What service do the Thai people receive from Prawit and his watches, he wouldn't give them the time of day. 

[dcnx]

6 hours ago, neeray said:

I think the shop lady was just insuring her future security.

 

The "boys" made quite the jerks of themselves.

That’s 100% what this is.

[Pedrogaz]

Scandalous. These cops are an absolute disgrace.

[Henrik Andersen]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Camp #1 asked if that was even legal. Under article 103 wasn't it illegal for employees of the state to accept gifts over 3,000 baht in value?, they asked.

 

Camp #2 said it was not a bribe, merely a gift to encourage officers to continue doing a good job

It is more like this... If you not give us gold we will not protect your shop 

biggest mafia in Thailand 

Protect and serve, what that means??? 

[55Jay]

Later..... back at the station.... the senior cop leading the ceremony in the video, collected up all the necklaces.  Low level cops do alright for themselves but tribute must be paid up the chain of command. 

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

whatever the law, the optics are brutal.. 

But the optics in Thailand are "rose tinted" so it doesn't seem as bad as it looks to some !!

[Spidey]

17 hours ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

What is particularly sad about this is that the police clearly see nothing wrong in accepting expensive gifts from the public they are paid to serve.  Do they not realise how this appears to ordinary people?

 

Unfortunately, Prawit set an extremely bad example with his "watches" episode, as his minions could clearly see that, even when millions of Baht are involved, the practice of accepting expensive gifts is perfectly OK in Thailand.

Showed the video to my wife, who is from Nong Khai. She said that the woman in the gold shop is very wealthy and had a "good heart" for giving the necklaces to the RTP as a New Year present. She saw nothing wrong in it whatsoever.

 

Sometimes we are too quick to judge Thais by our own Western standards. I don't think that I'll ever really understand Thai ways. We need to just accept it and move on.

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

Showed the video to my wife, who is from Nong Khai. She said that the woman in the gold shop is very wealthy and had a "good heart" for giving the necklaces to the RTP as a New Year present. She saw nothing wrong in it whatsoever. 

  

Sometimes we are too quick to judge Thais by our own Western standards. I don't think that I'll ever really understand Thai ways. We need to just accept it and move on.

I wonder if the "wealthy woman with the good heart" also gave 20k to poor people from who she can't expect anything in return

[Spidey]

1 minute ago, jackdd said:

I wonder if the "wealthy woman with the good heart" also gave 20k to poor people from who she can't expect anything in return

No idea, TiT, don't try to overthink it. It is what it is.