The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Wednesday sentenced four Bangkok policemen each to five years in jail for extorting 27,000 baht from a Taiwanese actress and her friends for possessing vaporisers and not producing their passports early this year.
The four policemen, including two police captains, were from Huai Khwang station. The incident occurred about 1am on Jan 5 at a temporary checkpoint on Ratchadaphisek Road near the Chinese embassy.
A Grab taxi carrying visiting actress Charlene An and her foreign friends was stopped for a search at a checkpoint. Police found three vaping devices in their possession, and not all of them were carrying their passports.
The four policemen demanded 27,000 baht from the group in exchange for dropping charges.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered them to hand the bribe money over to the state.
Two other policemen at the checkpoint who were also arraigned were acquitted. The court found they had helped stop the car, but had not been involved in the search or bribe negotiation.