Pattaya cop allegedly extorted foreign tourist over e-cigarette

A security camera recording purportedly shows a Pattaya police officer extorting a Chinese tourist in Pattaya on Jan 28. (Photo supplied)
A security camera recording purportedly shows a Pattaya police officer extorting a Chinese tourist in Pattaya on Jan 28. (Photo supplied)

A police senior sergeant major is alleged to have demanded 60,000 baht from a foreign tourist for possession of an e-cigarette.

His transfer to an inactive post came after a news report and pictures on  the "Hone Krasae" television programme aired on Channel 3 on Tuesday.

A Chinese tour guide was said to have sent a message to other guides in his group saying that a tourist under his care was detained for having an e-cigarette by a policeman who demanded a fine of 60,000 baht. After some bargaining, the sum was reduced to 30,000 baht.

Possession of vaping devices is prohibited in Thailand.

This allegedly happened in Pattaya on Jan 28 or 29 this year.

An investigation found that the policeman involved was Pol Sen Sgt Maj Noppakrit Pornwatanathanakij, a traffic officer at Pattaya police station.

A committee has been set up to look into the alleged soliciting of a bribe.

The Pattaya incident follows the high-profile case of Taiwanese actress Charlene An being extorted by police at a checkpoint in Bangkok on Jan 4. The actress said she was freed after paying police 27,000 baht.

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Vocabulary

  • bribe: money or a present given to someone so that they will help you doing something dishonest or illegal - สินบน
  • committee: a group of people who are chosen, usually by a larger group, to make decisions or to deal with a particular subject - คณะกรรมการ
  • detained: kept in a place and not allowed to leave - กักตัว ควบคุมตัวหรือฝากขัง
  • extort: to try to illegally obtain something by force or threat - รีดไถ
  • fine: an amount of money that you have to pay because you have broken the law - ค่าปรับ
  • high-profile (adj): creating a lot of public attention - เป็นที่สนใจจากคนในสังคม
  • inactive post: a job or position with no real responsibilities or duties -
  • possession: having or owning something - การครอบครอง
  • prohibited (adj): not allowed; to banned - ถูกห้าม
  • solicit: to ask someone for something like money, information or help - เรียกร้อง
  • vape (v): to inhale and exhale vapour containing nicotine and flavoring produced by a device designed for this purpose -
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