Taiwanese actress alleges 27,000 baht police extortion

Taiwanese actress Charlene An poses for pictures at a shopping centre in Bangkok during her New Year vacation. (Screenshot from charlene_an517 Instagram)
Taiwanese actress Charlene An poses for pictures at a shopping centre in Bangkok during her New Year vacation. (Screenshot from charlene_an517 Instagram)

Police are investigating a Taiwanese actress’s complaint that police shook her down for 27,000 baht at a checkpoint in Huai Khwang district during her New Year holiday.

The chief of the Huai Khwang station said on Thursday that normally his station did not set up checkpoints in the area mentioned by Charlene An.

Ms An complained via social media that she was stopped at a checkpoint near the Chinese embassy at about 1am on Jan 4 and was kept there for about two hours.

She said the officers told her that her visa on arrival was unacceptable and must be printed in her passport with an official emblem.

After being searched, and having long conversations with police and asking what she did wrong, the 33-year-old actress finally learned she had to pay for her freedom. She finally paid 27,000 baht and was freed, according to media reports.

Her group recorded a video of the search but the officers told them to delete it, she said.

“I will never go back to Thailand and I would like to warn Taiwanese people that they should be careful when they are visiting Thailand and do not carry a lot of cash in their wallets,” she told her 109,000 Instagram followers.

The actress arrived in the country on Dec 29 and left on Jan 5.

She checked in at a hotel in the Thong Lor area and used a van for transport. Police plan to question the van driver to verify her story.

The police have tried to contact the actress through her Instagram and Facebook accounts and also through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand but had yet to receive a response, police claim.

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Vocabulary

  • checkpoint: a place where people have to stop so their vehicles and documents can be checked - ด่านตรวจ
  • claim (noun): saying that something is true although it has not been proved and other people may not believe it - ข้ออ้าง ข้อกล่าวหา
  • complain: to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something - บ่น, ร้องทุกข์
  • emblem (noun): a sign or symbol - สัญลักษณ์, เครื่องหมาย
  • extortion: the crime of trying to obtain something by force or threat - การขู่กรรโชก  รีดไถ
  • mention: to refer to someone or something in speech or writing - กล่าวถึ, เอ่ยถึง, พูดถึง
  • unacceptable: that you cannot accept, allow or approve of - ซึ่งไม่สามารถยอมรับได้
  • verify: to prove that something is true, or to make certain that something is correct - พิสูจน์ว่าเป็นความจริง
  • warn: to make someone aware of a possible problem or danger - เตือน
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