PATTAYA: A police sergeant accused of taking a 20,000-baht bribe from a young woman to help write off her case and sexually harassing her has been dismissed pending an investigation into three serious charges.
Pattaya city police chief Apichai Krobphet on Saturday said officers had interrogated the 23-year-old woman and examined closed-circuit television footage following media reports about alleged bribery and sexual harassment involving a Pattaya police officer.
The investigation found the allegations had grounds. The accused officer was a police senior sergeant major, who also admitted to the allegations to an extent, said Pol Col Apichai.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Chaiya Thiangthaisong faces charges of taking a bribe, illegal detention and public indecency.
Pol Maj Gen Nanthachart Supamongkhol, chief of Chon Buri police, signed an order to dismiss Pol Snr Sgt Maj Chaiya from the force before the accused officer was summoned to acknowledge the charges, said the Pattaya chief.
Authorities will also set up a committee to investigate three other Pattaya policemen working on that day to find out whether they were involved. If so, they would face drastic action said Pol Col Apichai.
Ancharee Yaekjaturas, 23, of Chaiyaphum told Pattaya reporters late Thursday night that she had been charged with drink driving after a motorcycle crash on Pattaya Soi Song Road early on the morning of May 28.
After she was put in a cell at the Pattaya city police station, a man dressed like a policeman approached and offered to help clear her charges if she paid him 20,000 baht. The woman agreed but the man later sexually harassed her. She claimed he hugged and kissed her on the cheek twice in full view of many people.
Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Veerachai Songmetra was scheduled to go to Pattaya this evening to interrogate the woman.
A 23-year-old woman talks to reporters in Pattaya about what happened to her on May 28. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)