Corruption in Thailand: many police officers are heavily indebted

Many police officers in Thailand are in debt, which could explain the many corruption cases involving the police.

According to the national police chief, General Torsak Sukvimol, the indebtedness of police officers represents a total amount of around 300 billion bahts (7.72 billion euros) and most are on the brink of bankruptcy.

He was commenting in response to questions from the House committee tasked with examining the annual budget expenditure bill for 2024.

On Tuesday, February 20, the national police chief was called to answer the panel's questions on the budget allocated to the Royal Thai Police (RTP) worth 117 billion baht.

In "opening up" to the committee, General Torsak stated that many officers were in a bad financial position, having accumulated some 300 billion baht in debt, and that they risked being declared bankrupt.

They even struggle to own a house.

Regarding social housing, I request a budget to build central apartments for officers.

If their living conditions improve, they will feel more motivated to serve and protect the population.

Senior officers encourage young police officers to be more dynamic in their work maintaining peace and order.

However, the quality of life of officers must also meet certain standards."

"Every project undertaken by the RTP is responsible and transparent.

If there's anything suspicious, I won't sign it", Torsak added.

He also highlighted the labor shortage caused by the pandemic over the past three years.

A police station near Bangkok can accommodate up to 200 officers, for example.

However, only half of the positions are currently occupied.

The station, in turn, is required to serve approximately 400,000 people in the communities under its jurisdiction, including the unregistered population.

In addition, General Torsak told the media that he had various units looking for ways to address the shortage of police investigators.

He attributed the problem in part to the fact that other state agencies have borrowed police investigators to work for them.

He added that replacements in several positions were necessary to prevent the shortage from worsening.

But until the shortage is resolved, police stations have had to reassign some staff members and send others to work elsewhere in positions that are critically understaffed.

Salary of police officers in Thailand

A policeman checks the driver of a vehicle on Suwinthawong Road in Bangkok. Photo: Varuth Hiranyatheb

According to the site World salaries, a police patrol officer working in Chiang Mai will generally earn around 675,100 bahts (17,371 euros) per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of around 357,700 bahts (9,204 euros) to the highest average salary of 1,023,400 bahts (26,326 euros).

Or 29,828 bahts (767.52 euros) per month for the lowest salaries, which is higher than the average Thai salary of 15,452.59 bahts (397.62 euros) per month in the third quarter of 2023 according to the site Time Doctor.

The Economic Research website gives an average of 662,035 bahts as the average salary for a police officer in Phuket.

One wonders why so many police officers are indebted?

But what is certain is that combating police indebtedness will greatly help to combat corruption among some police officers, whose numerous cases regularly make the headlines in the Thai media.

The clean image of the police suspect in a gambling case

The Deputy Chief of the National Police, Surachate Hakparn. Photo: AFP

The police officer known for his integrity and for not hesitating to tackle corrupt police officers, Deputy National Police Chief Surachate Hakparn, is suspected in a gambling case.

Some people suspect that the purpose of this case is to dismiss a police officer who disturbs a lot of people.

On Wednesday, February 21, a deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) confirmed that General Surachate is suspected in an online gambling case and could face multiple charges, including money laundering.

This statement was made when Surachate had explained to journalists the day before that he had not yet been summoned for his alleged links to online gambling sites:

“So far, I have not received a summons.

No one has contacted me to make a statement.

I assure you that I am not involved in any online gambling cases.

Major General Charoonkiat Pankaew said General Surachate was one of five police officers suspected of being involved in the online gambling network allegedly operated by Suchanun Sucharitchinsri, a 25-year-old single mother, also known as Minnie.

The five suspects were identified in a second case following an expanded investigation into the first case involving gambling sites linked to Minnie.

According to Charoonkiat, there are 61 suspects in the first case, which is the main case, and among them are police officers.

The second case was referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission because it involves high-ranking police officers.

The NACC will decide later whether it handles the second case or leaves it to the police.

Charoonkiat said the police wanted to deal with the two cases because they were related.

The five officers in the second case will initially be charged with embezzlement and accepting bribes under Articles 157 and 149 of the Penal Code.

If the NACC refers the second case to the police, the five agents will also be charged with money laundering, Charoonkiat said.

He denied that the lawsuit was the result of a policy within the Royal Thai Police, responding to Surachate's statement that attributed the search of his home to political maneuvering, an accusation shared by many people.

“This is the result of an ongoing investigation that shockingly revealed the involvement of police officers, with more than 300 million baht in cash also involved,” he said.

When more than 300 million baht was seen in transactions, it could not be left out.

'Otherwise, it would be a cancer that would ruin the reputation of the police force,' Charoonkiat said.

He stated that investigators had enough evidence to pursue the case, including financial statements showing who had withdrawn the money and the groups of people who had received money into mole accounts.

When the money trail was examined, we found that money had been distributed to almost everyone involved in the cases....

I think the money could come not only from Minnie's web network but also from other websites.

'The investigation is ongoing,' Charoonkiat said.

This case erupted shortly after the murder of a police officer during a meal organized by a mafia boss, Praween Chankhlai, in front of 27 other police officers on September 6, 2023.

See: The mafia boss accused of having a policeman killed in Thailand, released on bail

Surachate's team had interrogated one of the suspects, the head of the murdered police officer, who they said was ready to talk but committed suicide.

They then suggested that it was not a suicide, but a murder.

The policeman who allegedly committed suicide was a close friend of the current police chief, Torsak Sukvimol.

Shortly after this case, as part of a global investigation into online gambling sites, the police had carried out a raid on Surachate's home in September last year during an operation code-named 'Big Cleaning Day'.

Surachate was one of the candidates for a possible promotion to the position of national police chief last year, but due to the search of his home a few days earlier, which was highly publicized, he was dropped from the post.

It was Police General Torsak Sukvimol who was appointed in his place.

At the time, General Surachate had stated that he had eight years left before retiring and was in no hurry.

See: Attack against the "Mr. Clean" of the police in Thailand

Surachate became known to the general public after being entrusted with several high-profile cases, several of which involved corrupt police officers, and regularly holding press conferences on arrests.

He recently opened a center at the Vihavadi Rangsit Road police club to receive complaints from the general public.

See also:

Thailand: 5 immigration police officers convicted of kidnapping foreigners

Investigation into torture committed by police officers in Thailand

New terrible scandal involving police officers in Thailand

The mafia boss accused of having a policeman killed in Thailand, released on bail

Source: Bangkok Post, Bangkok Post