A police officer has been arrested for bribery after he demanded 100,000 THB in exchange for dropping a charge. Officials from the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission along with related officials arrested Police Lieutenant Colonel Nattapon Pongsanuwat from the Khok Samrong Police Station in Lopburi Province on 20 September 2023. The officer had already received 50,000 THB from a victim and set up a meeting to hand him the remaining 50,000 THB on the day that he was arrested. The Officer had stated to the victim, that all charges would go away and the victim would not need to go to court or deal with a case at all.
When the time for the meeting came officials presented themselves and verified the 50,000 THB. This cash had previously been noted in a police report and then handed to the victim. The victim then handed the money to the suspect. This is when Police presented themselves and searched the suspect. The 50,000 THB cash was found inside the suspect’s pocket pants. This was the same cash handed to him by the victim. The suspect accepted the money so easily showing he may have done this many times before from other victims. These victims may have broken the law and were let go in exchange for money instead of facing legal punishment.
The serial numbers matched what was noted in the police report. Every single bill had the serial number noted to keep as evidence. The suspect was delivered to the Khok Samrong Police Station and is waiting for prosecution. He is facing charges relating to bribery. Corruption is very common in Thailand and can be found at all levels and all fields. Hopefully if more bribery cases are dealt with seriously as in this story, more officials will be aware of what they are doing and stop the corruption feeding that has been going on so long in this country. Bribery does not only affect those who are directly linked. Corruption as a whole affects the well-being of a country and often is an invisible shield stopping a country from developing to its full potential.
FB Caption: The suspect made a deal with the victim, 100,000 THB and all charges will be dropped. There won’t even be a case against him and no need to visit court.
Source: Khaosod
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