Municipal Official Arrested for Corruption on Bali Hai Pier

Published : August 21, 2010 :: 15:08:54 [ 2,881 views ]

Municipal official was arrested under a sting operation after he threatened a food seller with prison and the closure of his business at Bali Hai Pier if he did not cough up 6,500 baht a month.

Pattaya, 21st August 2010 [PDN] At 10.00 pm, on the 20th August, Police Lieutenant Colonel Pratheep Thongdee (Pattaya Chief Inspector) was informed by Mr. Yutthana Malirat [30] (food shop owner at Bali Hai Pier, South Pattaya) from Nongprue that he was forced by a municipal official to pay 6,500 baht every month or he would be arrested and would not be allowed to continue with the operation of his food shop

Mr. Malirat claimed that he had failed on two occasions to pay the official an amount totaling 2,000 baht. Today he was to pay 4,000 baht to protect his family business.

Subsequently, the team of Pattaya Police planned a sting operation at Bali Hai pier, marking the 4,000 baht banknotes that would be used as evidence once the money was passed to the municipal official as previously arranged.

The Municipal Official Mr. Thanongsak Chimluang (43) from Khon Kaen who was wearing a white T shirt with blue sports trousers with a works radio hanging from his belt, along with handcuffs and a flash light arrived at the arranged meeting point. Mr. Malirat approached the official and handed the money over. The moment he put the money in his pocket, the officers showed themselves and charged the official Mr. Chimluang with corruption.

The suspect denied the charges until the victim produced a recording which will be used against him while the officers bore witness to the incident. The official was arrested and detain at the police station, with all relevant information being passed to the investigations department.

Police Major Jeerawat Sukhonsap, head Pattaya Municipal officer and Mr. Sanit Bunmachai a Pattaya Congress member, announced, after they were made aware of the incident, that they were in no way responsible and knew nothing about it. They continued by saying they did not condone this behavior and will not be involved in the judicial proceedings against the offender.

Comments

Nick

said :

the official arrested failed to pay bribes to his bosses, so he was sacrificed to teach all others a lesson.

Email : meishern@yahoo.com Date : 2010-09-01 15:27:17

stropmag

said :

A small step in the right direction. At least it does send out a message but it really is a drop in the ocean.
A deterrent sentence would be a good follow-up to reinforce the message. I am not hopeful.

Email : paul.johnson@mail.net Date : 2010-08-23 02:03:00

Breaker

said :

Hey Will,
You don't have to yell, we can hear you form here. LOL

But, I agree totally, all it takes is a little intestinal fortitude from the Thais and they can slowly stop this.
These knuckleheads are soooo good at ganging up on foreigners and treating us like the "enemy"; all the while they neglect to see that the real enemy is themselves, their fellow Thais.
This is the 21st century, cell phone camera and the internet can be used to set up and expose these creeps. Time to join the rest of the modern world, put those tools to use and nail them.

Email : g-unit@gmail.com Date : 2010-08-22 08:57:01

Bob

said :

There really is nothing more disgusting than a punk, that is someone who carefully picks only victims who are weaker or lower in society than he is, so he can get away with his abuse. Sad that this ape probably will not get the punishment he really deserves. Of course, a real draconian sentence for him might do wonders to deter similar behavior by other punks.

Email : Bob@lockhimup.com Date : 2010-08-21 22:10:23

astonished

said :

Supervisors normally are held accountable for misconduct of subordinates, but apparently not here. One has to wonder how many food stalls were paying this individual, a tip of the iceberg many would say.
Most likely if found guilty, a (small) fine and transfer to an "inactive" post will be the extent of punishment, which is looked upon as being "severe". A follow up report is probably too much to expect.

Email : foolednomore@icclearly.com Date : 2010-08-21 18:11:46

How much this time

said :

I had to laugh when I heard Thailand will be hosting the world anti-corruption conference in Bangkok - what a joke - I wonder how much and who they paid to win the right to host it here.

For this Bali case, he probably didn't pass it up the line so that's why he was arrested.

Email : Ireallydonotcareanymore@hotmail.com Date : 2010-08-21 17:00:29

will smith

said :

NOW THATS A START THANKS TO A THAI, THATS HAD ENOUGHT ! IF EVERYONE WOULD FOLLOW THIS MAN'S LEAD,THERE WOULD BE NO MORE CORRUPTION .I'VE REPORTED BEING ASKED FOR -TEA MONEY- AT ROAD SIDE CHECKS AND WATCHED COPS LOSE THEIR JOBS . JUST GO HIGHT ENOUGHT ON THE FOOD CHAIN AND SOMETHING WILL BE DONE ABOUT IT .

Email : ssmttys@yahoo.com Date : 2010-08-21 16:50:20

Paul England

said :

Doesn't he know its only the real Police who can extort protection money.

Email : ingop67@gmail.com Date : 2010-08-21 15:36:47

steve

said :

corruption he he he its like the frying pan calling the kettle black

Email : steve_smith@yahoo.com Date : 2010-08-21 15:33:12

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