A pair of police deputy inspectors were suspended and placed under investigation on Monday for allegedly embezzling more than 50,000 baht in traffic fines.
In another embarrassment for the police force, the news comes on the heels of two other scandals involving cops and their alleged abuse of power in recent days.
A police notice released Sunday said Cpt. Thaworn Masena and Sub. Lt. Charin Sutthipan, both deputy inspectors in Bangkok’s traffic division, embezzled 54,600 baht worth of fines from the force in a five-day period, Jan. 17 – 21, 2015. As a result, both officers were suspended until the investigation is concluded, it said.
Col. Thinnakorn Natthamangkang, deputy commander of the traffic police, said the investigation will not take more than a year.
“We have instructed the accused to produce evidence to confirm their innocence,” Col. Thinnakorn said. “We’d like to insist that we will be impartial in our examination of the facts.”
The police force is plagued with reports of corruption and malpractise.
Just last week, two police officers in Bangkok were suspended for their involvement in an alleged bribery scheme, and a police inspector in Pattaya became national news for allegedly trying to extort a bar owner, only to discover she’s an aquaintance of national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda.
(Source:-KhaosodEnglish)