Thai police are being investigated for allegedly soliciting bribes from three men who carried electronic cigarette devices into Thailand. The incidents took place in Songkhla province, which borders Malaysia.
Thailand has one of the strictest electronic cigarette bans in the world. The sale and importation of e-cigarette products are illegal in Thailand, and possession of these devices can sometimes result in prosecution. Despite the ban and strict enforcement, the country still maintains a thriving black market for e-cigarette products.
There has been a recent debate about loosening Thailand's e-cigarette laws, with one cabinet minister strongly advocating for a regulated market. However, he faces strong opposition from the country's public health agencies who are firmly against liberalization.
The police negotiated the amount of the bribe.
Three men were arrested at a police checkpoint in Songkhla's Hat Yai district for allegedly bringing electronic cigarette products into the country from Malaysia. Local police informed the men that possession of electronic cigarettes carried a fine of 50,000 baht (approximately $1,365) per person, but offered to reduce the amount to 5,000 baht if each person paid a bribe of 10,000 baht (about $273). The final settlement was made at a total of 10,000 baht for all three men, which they agreed to, and they were subsequently released. This information was reported by The Thaiger.
One of the victims of bribery, Pachara Sirithorn, has chosen to warn others by sharing his story on Facebook. The post gained enough attention that police leaders took action, with Akkarawut Thaneerat, the chief of the Hat Yai police, announcing an investigation and temporarily suspending three officers suspected of soliciting bribes.
The history of Thailand's strict law enforcement and corruption.
Thailand has a history of police corruption and overzealous enforcement of electronic cigarette laws, including raids and arrests of sellers, tourists charged with "importing" their own e-cigarette products into Thailand, and other incidents involving alleged bribery. The Thai authorities have taken extremely harsh actions against e-cigarettes, to the point that the official UK government tourism website issued a warning to British tourists in 2017 not to bring e-cigarettes to Thailand.
Of course, corruption within the Thai police is not limited to soliciting bribes from e-cigarette users. There have been numerous recent examples involving Google.
In June, a Bangkok metropolitan police officer was found guilty of 65 counts of soliciting bribes from massage parlors and was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment. Earlier this year, six police officers in Nakhon Phanom province were transferred pending an investigation into bribery by drug dealers. Last year, a man suspected of drug trafficking died from apparent police brutality, with the local police chief being the prime suspect in the death.
The tobacco industry in Thailand is owned and regulated by the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM), which is the only cigarette producer approved by the government in Thailand.
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