At 3 o’clock yesterday Saturday, I walked at the walkover from Discovery Center to MBK and National Stadium Sky train station.
I saw five police officers who are supposed to act as extra eyes against terrorists who might intend to place bombs at MBK, Discovery and National Stadium Sky Train station.
corrupt police officers extort 2000 baht from a malay tourist
But these officers were not the least interested in watching suspected bombers. They were all too busy with their own little extortion business towards tourists.
Right when I came by, they stopped two Malaysian tourists one of them smoking as he walked, and fined him 2.000 bath for smoking in the free air.
The Malaysians were disturbed as there are no signs where so ever, prohibiting smoking in open air.
But scared of the treat of be taken to the police station, they paid 2000 baht (350 kroner) as demanded by the police.
you can’t take photos of extortion
I took pictures of it, and the police tried to stop me, until I showed my Thai Press card. They now got very nervous and paid back the extorted money to the Malaysians.
Unecessary to mentioned how happy they were that I happend to come by.
With all the trouble of terror in the southern provinces, bomb treats in Bangkok, travel warnings from embassies of crime at Koh Samui and the awful haze in the north. The least thing we need is to scare the remaining tourists away from Thailand with fake fines and extortion.
Especially not the Malays who now are vanishing from the southern provinces.
