Whistleblowers who recently exposed alleged police misconduct are being hailed by netizens for their courage, but have landed the police in hot water.
A Chinese tourist said she paid police to obtain VVIP treatment upon arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport, whereby time spent in the immigration queue was cut and a police motorcade was provided for her trip to a hotel in Pattaya.
The Chinese woman, using the username choudan0302, posted a video clip on Douyin on Jan 21 highlighting her trip to Thailand.
She said she contacted an agent for a car to pick her up and she took the agent's VVIP service offer. She said police in uniform picked her up at the airport, carried her luggage, ensured shorter immigration time and opened the car door for her.
She said it took five minutes to finish airport procedures. She was taken in a police car in a motorcade to a hotel in Pattaya in just one hour, with no traffic along the route. She paid 7,000 baht for the car and 6,000 baht for a motorcycle escort.
Three police were transferred to inactive posts as a result pending a disciplinary probe. Netizens hailed her courage in coming forward, but she was not the only one.
A video capture shows the Chinese tourist who exposed the VVIP service.
TAIWANESE actress Charlene An complained on social media that she was stopped by police near the Chinese embassy in Bangkok about 1am on Jan 4. She claimed she was kept there for two hours but police later countered the claim, saying security footage shows she was only there for 47 minutes.
According to her complaint, the officers told her that her on-arrival visa was unacceptable and must be printed on her passport with an official stamp. Police also searched her bag and that of three friends and found three e-cigarette devices which were illegal.
After being searched and questioned by police, she finally learnt she had to pay, the 33-year-old said. She said they paid 27,000 baht before being set free. Later, six police at Huai Khwang station were charged with taking bribes in connection with the alleged extortion of the actress and her friends.
Charlene An
Meanwhile, police have launched a crackdown on the macau888 online gambling network after actress Arisara "Due" Thongborisut shed light on the website's operations and those involved via Facebook on Jan 15.
In the post, she said the network was run by "four brothers", all with the initial "Bor". On Wednesday, she posted a video clip on her Facebook page, accusing her ex-boyfriend Chaiwat "Benz Daemon" Kachornboonthaworn of being one of the "four brothers".
She also accused Mr Chaiwat of assaulting her, which she said caused her emotional distress and prompted her to expose the alleged operation.
Mr Chaiwat has three younger brothers, the youngest being Pol Capt Kunakorn Kachornboonthaworn, a deputy immigration inspector who took unauthorised leave in mid-January. Police earlier said Mr Chaiwat and his brothers flew to Hong Kong around that time.
When the youngest brother returned, he was detained for seven days at the Suvarnabhumi airport police station. He was released on Tuesday.
Police said he denied having knowledge of any online gambling operation and tendered his resignation letter to the Royal Thai Police.
Former massage parlour tycoon and politician Chuvit Kamolvisit is a well-known whistleblower who exposed alleged police irregularities. With his background in the massage parlour business, he has knowledge of the inner workings of the police force and often comes forward to expose misconduct.
Recently, he claimed that two senior police, known as "Inspector Sua" and "General Jor", used their connections to run a gambling network with more than 10 billion baht in circulation -- even bigger than that of macau888.
He also exposed alleged shady businesses and underground activities operated by Chinese triads. Information was supplied to the police.
Chuvit Kamolvisit