FarangFarang Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 BANGKOK: A video clip of a traffic police officer trying to collect "tea money" from a motorist was posted on YouTube and drew many negative comments against the police by Thai netizens.The video was uploaded by a YouTube channel user named hatethaipolice on Thursday.In the clip, the motorist was stopped by the officer, presumably somewhere in Bangkok.The motorist handed a document and his driver's licence to the officer and explained to him that his car was new and did not have a regular licence plate yet.The officer then told the motorist that he did not need to read the document and that he was guilty for not registering his car with the Land Transport Department and for strapping items to the roof of the vehicle."Do you want me to issue a ticket?" the officer asked."Issue it," the driver replied.The officer did not issue the ticket and then asked the driver where he was going.The driver told him that he was going to Chachoengsao province and he was an employee of a telephone company.The policeman then made an offer to the driver and said, "I won't issue the ticket but you can show me a little kindness."He then asked for 300 baht to buy coffee.Another man in the car told the officer that it would be better to issue the ticket.The driver added that his company would pay the fine."I'll let you go this time," the policeman told them.After the officer left, the man in the car told the driver that the officer "just wanted money."Thai netizens posted messages on YouTube, criticising the police."Now, thieves are wearing state uniforms," a netizen said."The owner's not nice. The cop only wanted some tea money," another poster said sarcastically."300 baht? Is the cop drinking Starbucks?" another netizen said.http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/323779/cop-caught-asking-for-tea-money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_bkk Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Its strange that thai people are outraged by this video. Thousands of them experience this in real life every single day since decades. Or are they actually embarrassed that its published internationally for someone else to see?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangFarang Posted December 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 Its strange that thai people are outraged by this video. Thousands of them experience this in real life every single day since decades. Or are they actually embarrassed that its published internationally for someone else to see?... Not being Thai myself I can only speculate but I think it's more of an issue of how information can spread to a large number of people very quickly via social media. Sure, this happens everyday but it's not caught on camera very often and it's not posted on the internet for millions of people to react to. Also, I think there's an element of Thai people being far more comfortable being outraged at the police from behind a username on YouTube where they can be somewhat anonymous and not risk any sort of retribution. Or think about it another way, did anybody really think Iraqi or Afghanistan prisoners were getting 5-star treatment in US military prisons? Probably not. I mean, really, I didn't find it all that surprising that there was abuse going on. But to have it pushed to the front of your consciousness via photos shown on the internet and television and suddenly the entire western world is in an uproar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaunitz Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Everybody knows some of these stories and they are quite commonly heard. Has happened to me also, once even without any wrongdoing. But now, it's on video and as Bill said, people can show their outrage in a more or less anonymous way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiAnt Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 The only difference is that this particular pos has been caught on video. Not just that it happened. We all know it happens constantly, so why all the fuss? Some people appear to have gotten it into their heads that the authorities we allow to have power over us should be free from the human traits the rest of us have. They are just being normal people. It's the rest of us who need looking at for expecting them to be different from us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiAnt Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Oops forgot to add he's an obvious ****. Please do go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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