The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases yesterday sentenced four Bangkok police to five years in jail for extorting 27,000 baht from a Taiwanese actress and her friends.
They were caught carrying vapes and did not produce their passports when challenged early this year.
The policemen, including two captains, were from Huai Khwang station. The incident occurred about 1am on Jan 5 at a checkpoint on Ratchadaphisek Road near the Chinese embassy.
The prosecutor told the court that actress Charlene An and her friends had joined a friend's birthday party at a restaurant in the Sukhumvit area on the night of Jan 3.
Afterwards, they took a Grab taxi to the Huai Khwang area. At a police checkpoint with around six police officers in front of the Chinese embassy, the taxi was flagged down for a search.
Police later found three vaping devices in their possession, and not all of them were carrying their passports. The officers demanded 27,000 baht from the group in exchange for dropping the charges.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered them to hand the bribe money over to the state.
