RTP plans to spend B22m on barriers

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) is preparing to spend 22 million baht to procure barriers equipped with light signals and stop signs to be set up at road checkpoints.

RTP's Office of Logistics announced on Friday the procurement plan complies with the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act 2017.

It defines which agencies will conduct the annual procurement plan and publish it on information network systems of the Comptroller-General's Department.

In this fiscal year, the office said the RTP will procure 1,484 sets of the barriers under a budget of 22 million baht.

Aside from the barriers, RTP will also inject a budget of 98 million baht to buy 10,000 electronic devices to issue fines for fixed-penalties traffic offences, it said.

Earlier, national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas tightened road checkpoint rules by issuing guidelines on police conduct at security checkpoints.

The move followed accusations of extortion involving police and a Taiwanese actress and her companions in Bangkok, and a Chinese tourist in Pattaya city.

Both cases involved vaping devices, which are illegal under the law but nonetheless widely available and seen as a potential bribes trap for unsuspecting tourists.

The guidelines include a requirement that officers store footage from their body cameras for at least 20 days after recording. The guidelines also require that a police crime report centre be informed of all security checkpoints set up, such as those in cases of a criminal suspect chase.

As for setting up checkpoints for non-specific crime suppression or traffic control purposes, permission from a commanding officer is needed.