The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has pressed malfeasance and human trafficking charges against three Kanchanaburi policemen for their role in a 2015 karaoke bar scandal involving the trafficking of seven teenagers of the Tai Yai ethnic group.
"Although the officers were not directly involved in the crime, they did try to assist the offenders and coerce witnesses into providing false testimony to the court, therefore making them liable according to the law," said a DSI source.
The agency has pressed charges against the officers under Section 157 of the criminal law and Sections 7 and 54 of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2008.
The DSI had set up a committee in 2016 and investigated all parties involved.
The DSI confiscated what they refer to as bribery records at the bar.
From these they concluded that the offenders had tried to lobby the officers to label the case as "prostitution" instead of trafficking in persons.
The victims in the case were found to be around 14 and 15 years of age in contrast to testimony in the court which said they were 19-years-old.
The DSI will now transfer the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The ring was uncovered in Muang district of Kanchanaburi in Oct 2015, when authorities exposed the Chom Dao Karaoke Bar, which ran a secret brothel.
Authorities were able to rescue seven teenagers of the Tai Yai ethnic group, arrest two employees and confiscate a bribery record that included the names of government officials.
The owner of the karaoke bar has been prosecuted and human trafficking charges have also been levelled against him.
Meanwhile, the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation For Women and Children has published a list of cases it handled this year.
The foundation received a total of 8,567 complaints this year, of which 123 dealt with cases of prostitution and human trafficking. From its inception in 1999, the foundation has received the total of 129,885 complaints.