No end in sight to police corruption

Further evidence of corruption in the police department – as if any more were needed – has emerged in the form of a disgusting squabble between two Bangkok police captains, which their superiors have desperately and unconvincingly tried to downplay. Why the captain at the suburban Nimit Mai station would have the temerity in the first place to file a formal complaint against his counterpart at the Bang Rak station in central Bangkok is puzzling enough. He surely knew his accusations of bribery and fraud would get them both in trouble.
The Nimit Mai captain alleged that his Bang Rak colleague claimed falsely he could get him promoted in exchange for Bt700,000. The money, he was told, would be spent buying gifts for a high-ranking commander who could help the Bang Rak officer in turn get boosted to inspector’s rank. The money was paid, but neither man ended up promoted.
Under investigation, the Bang Rak captain had to admit he lied about being able to arrange a promotion and in fact knew no commander who could facilitate it. He was also forced to return the money to the man in Nimit Mai. No one was charged, let alone demoted or kicked off the force. The national police chief, Police General Chakthip Chaijinda, insisted such internal bribery is rare and high-ranking commanders are unlikely to ever be involved in it. Other senior police officials insisted this episode must have been a “misunderstanding”.
The dirt swept aside, it might have been just the sort of happy ending the police enjoy. Except that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is still feeling mortified over accusations that senior members of his government have been involved in recurring scandals of “police seats for sale”. He had evoked Article 44 of the interim constitution so that Chakthip could at last get on with transferring high-ranking officers all over the country with an eye to ending the departmental corruption. Obviously not even the might of Article 44 could make a difference.
An embarrassed Prayut has thus ordered the Royal Thai Police to take action against the two Bangkok captains. It will be interesting to see what ensues. Police investigators can begin by asking the Nimit Mai cop why he thought he could buy a promotion. Had he seen other officers move up the ranks in this way? This appalling and evidently lucrative trade in promotions doesn’t appear to have ended at all, contrary to assurances offered by several senior commanders. Retired Admiral Pajun Tamprateep, a former aide to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, and former House speaker Arthit Ourairat, currently the rector of Rangsit University, have publicly sided with the multitudes of citizens who doubt any progress has been made at all. The police response to such scepticism is legalistic but hardly just – critics are threatened with court action. What we all know but would rather not be dragged into court for saying is that police officers covet higher positions that not only pay more in salary but guarantee far greater income through payoffs. Also coveted are transfers to stations whose jurisdictions include entertainment venues that break the law by staying open late, catering to gamblers and/or selling sex, and thus have to share the proceeds with bent cops. This is why, among themselves, police officers buy and sell promotions, and it’s one of the main reasons why the police force is in such dire need of reform. We have been staring this problem in the face too long, and suffering the knock-on consequences as well. A cop who purchases a higher rank needs to recoup his considerable investment somehow – and that’s what happens on the street. Youngsters see the police getting away with it, how it’s an accepted practice in society, and hunger for a slice of the pie. Corruption will continue to spiral out of control until a strong enough force steps in.