Corruption blamed for Thailand road collapse

An overloaded truck, which was allegedly allowed to proceed by corrupt police officers, caused a road collapse in Thailand.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has called for a tough crackdown on corruption following an incident in which a stretch of road in Bangkok collapsed under the weight of an overloaded truck on Wednesday, November 8.

The truck is suspected of having been allowed to circulate thanks to illicit payments to officials.

The incident caused two traffic accidents earlier this week on busy Sukhumvit Road.

The Prime Minister's reaction was sparked by rumors that a green star-shaped sticker with a printed B, visible on the truck's windshield, was a secret symbol used by truckers.

This sticker would signal to the police, who accepted bribes, to ignore weight violations and let these overloaded trucks pass without inspecting them.

The truck parked Wednesday on a collapsed stretch of Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok bears a "B" sticker. Photo: Nutthawat Wichieanbut

The heavily loaded 10-wheeler damaged a concrete slab covering the entrance to an underground cable trench in Phra Khanong district on Wednesday morning.

This incident, which occurred near Sukhumvit 64/1 Street, is the second of its kind.

A similar problem occurred on Ratchaprarop on Tuesday.

Both incidents resulted in injuries to other motorists, with an SUV and its driver stuck in a pothole in the roadway on Tuesday.

To tackle the problem of illegally overloaded trucks, the Ministry of Transport, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Highways Department have joined forces.

The Thai Prime Minister asked them to develop effective strategies to avoid any further incidents of this nature, in order to mitigate the impact of corruption in Bangkok.

On Thursday, November 9, Police Colonel Witthawat Chinkham, Acting Commissioner of Division 5 of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), announced:

"The MPB has opened an investigation to determine whether the 10-wheeler was responsible for Wednesday's incident, whether illicit payments were involved, and the significance of the suspicious sticker."

A committee was set up on Wednesday to investigate the truck's excessive weight and any potential involvement in corruption.

Police Chief Major General Torsak Sukvimol stressed that concrete evidence was needed to support the corruption accusations, as such allegations had tarnished the reputation of the police force.

Land Transport Association of Thailand (LTAT) president Apichart Pairoonrueng confirmed that the green sticker allowed heavy goods vehicles to exceed weight limits and operate outside of permitted hours in the city.

Without this sticker, these trucks would not be able to pass through certain intersections where police checkpoints are often set up.

Apichart added that the green sticker is awarded in exchange for bribes paid to police and BMA officials.

It allows trucks to transport earth to and from construction sites across Bangkok without fear of police intervention.

Regarding the B in the green sticker, which online speculators have associated with a wealthy individual called Big, Apichart said he had never heard of that nickname before.

As a member of the House of Representatives Corruption Investigation Subcommittee, he assured that he would provide all the information he had to the subcommittee chairman.

Finally, Mr. Apichart highlighted the fact that the BMA does not have a system for weighing trucks.

Police officer murdered for refusing to be corrupted

Major Sivakorn Saibua, assassinated for refusing to be corrupted. Photo: The Nation Thailand

It was for refusing to be corrupted in this kind of affair that an honest police officer was killed by the henchman of a mafia boss during a meal in front of numerous police officers on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

See: Mafia boss has incorruptible agent killed in front of 28 police officers in Thailand

Praween Chankhlai, the mafia boss, ran two construction companies and also a transport company.

He paid corrupt police officers to, among other things, allow overloaded trucks to circulate, but Major Siwakorn refused to be bribed.

So Praween organized a meal with other corrupt police officers and tried to convince Siwakorn to promote a police officer under his supervision.

But, Major Sivakorn, an exemplary police officer, also refused, insisting that rules and regulations should be followed, based on the performance of police personnel.

Angry, Praween left the meal and ordered his henchman to kill the incorruptible police officer in front of the other police officers.

Then, some of the corrupt police officers helped Praween leave the crime scene and others worked to erase the evidence.

But the case still came out and caused shock in the country, Praween's henchman was killed during the attempted arrest and the mafia boss is now imprisoned.

Then the new government made announcements assuring that it would tackle corruption and mafia bosses.

See: Thailand wants to blacklist mafia bosses

Unfortunately, corruption cases involving police officers continue, putting, as this latest case reveals, the lives of residents in danger.

And, despite the government's latest announcements, there is little hope that this will change.

See also:

Thai police must serve the people, not the powerful

Thai police scandals call for reform

Thailand's police reforms are 'years behind schedule'

Source: Bangkok Post