Corruption in Thailand a Travelfish feature story

Corruption in Thailand

It seems barely a week passes without some new ghastly story hitting the airwaves about corruption in Thailand. Be it beer mat nabbing mums in Phuket, tourists being extorted at the airport or the old tried and tested gem scam story it seems Thailand should be slapped with a "buyer beware" sticker. Over the last year, and far more seriously in Travelfish's humble opinion, we've seen ongoing political uncertainties, street protests in Bangkok, border clashes with Cambodia and the neverending shifting sands of visa regulations. More and more often I wake wondering: Does Thailand really want tourists to come at all?

It's true, Thailand has problems with corruption -- as do most of its neighbours. On the one hand, tourists are seen as walking money bags and on the other, an ample supply of corrupt (and underpaid) police and assorted dodgy con men and shysters are on the loose. The current economic situation has seen an increase in reports of theft and fraud -- though I'd hazard a guess this isn't unique to Thailand.

What does seem to be unique to Thailand is the amount of press some of these cases get. We're all for exposing police corruption and scams -- and the attention given to the recent extortion case at Bangkok's international airport is a great example of the foreign press helping to get a few backsides kicked.

But let's get a bit of perspective here. Thailand will receive in excess of ten million foreign visitors in 2009 and the vast majority of these people will have no problems whatsoever. In many of the cases you read about -- but not all -- the people being taken advantage of have put themselves in a situation where they are going to be taken advantage of. We're not excusing the corruption, but we are saying that if you conduct yourself in a sensible manner, familiarise yourself with the laws and customs of the land, and don't forget to pack your brain, chances are you will have few -- if any -- problems in Thailand.

Take this example of a post recently submitted to Travelfish:

"After visiting Ko Sukorn twice over a period of four years we decided to buy a lease on some land and build a school. We used our life savings. Then the police and the land office demanded 500,000 baht extortion money. We were teaching up to 100 students at the time (for free). We have been threatened with a two-year prison sentence and deportation for teaching without a work permit (unless we pay). I think all travellers should know just how corrupt Thailand can be. We have no problem with the people on the island and still keep in contact. If you go to Ko Sukorn please ask about Small Sea School and what happened to it. We have lost our life savings of four million baht. "

We're getting only one (very limited) side of the story here, but one wonders if they'd done some basic research, they'd have found out that you need a work permit to teach in Thailand -- even if you are not being paid. Did the school have a license? Was there a Thai director? Pure and simple, it's Thai law. While undoubtedly the police and land office were corrupt, if you aren't completely legal, you're setting yourself up as prey to the local predators and lowlife.

We lived in Bangkok for seven years and have been in Asia upwards of a dozen. In all that time we've been extorted once (in Indonesia) and it was our fault -- we hadn't got an exit permit and in the end had to pay a bribe to get out of the country. We've had friends who have been extorted. One was caught with a small amount of grass at a Bangkok bus station and marched to an ATM to be liberated of about 70,000 baht. Yes, the police who caught him acted corruptly, but he was breaking the law and so put himself in a vulnerable position.

I'm not saying all the cases that hit the press should be discounted as happening to naive or idiot foreigners -- undoubtedly there have been some tragic cases in Thailand, with the murders of foreigners in Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi and Pai (all by police) coming to mind. But these are individual aberrations and do not, in any way, point to a larger "problem" of gun happy corrupt cops running around shooting tourists willy nilly.

Yes, I know -- we run a website for people heading to Thailand and it's in our interests to talk this down. We're not trying to talk it down, but rather asking for a bit of perspective. Go to Thailand, get drunk, steal stuff, get caught, abuse the police and you will probably be arrested -- as would probably happen in your home country. Thailand isn't a magical fairyland where you can behave however you want because the laws don't apply to you. The laws apply.

If you conduct yourself appropriately, educate yourself about the local customs, laws and regulations and, well, generally behave -- chances are you'll have a trouble free stay in Thailand.

Have you experienced corruption first hand in Thailand? Do tell...

Read 21 comments on this story

Jon
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
I absolutely agree, Thailand gets a bad press and is 'infamous' for bribery and corruption.

The recent Aussie debacles (women taking mat from pub and guy eating 2 doughnuts before paying) painted the country as hostile for unsuspecting foreigners. In fact, in each case, the alleged victims tried to run from the police - no surprise they ended up in trouble.

As with our example, a healthy dose of common sense will help avoid 99% of bad tales in Thailand.

Jan
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
Corruption can be bad sometimes in Thailand, but there are positive parts as well. If you get cought by police for breaking the law and you pay a bribe straight away you safe yourself a lot of hassle with getting arrested and going to court. At the end you probably don't pay more to a corrupt cop than you would do to court, but most important it safes you time when you are on holiday.
Cops get paid really low here, so it is kind of their tip money which is part of their overall income. If thats a good thing or not, but thats a reality.

I have traveled and lived in thailand now for about 3 years and i never got hassled by cops directly with fines.
but i can see it sometimes in the news and hearing from friends.

My advice if your are in contact with a cop demanding a direct fine:

most important: stay very friendly and very repectful. Many tourists bring themselve in deep trouble for showing no repect and even worse, verbally abusing the police. think of what your chances are and negotiate the fine. yes, you can negotiate about the bribe. try that in a court in your homecountry :)
often cops can be paid off with half of what they initialy demanded if they see it's a quick deal. Thats for things like breaking minor laws.
I don't know that can be done when counght with drugs, cause then you are in a very bad situation. Try to avoid that by any chance is the best advice. You might travel to thailand, Cambodia and laos. If you are into drugs, better do it in Cambodia.

I agree this couple is very naive about their school. It even sounds as if they bought the land illegally. If there is no Thai involved, you can usually not get ownership on land in Thailand. Just because they thing they are "doing good" does not excempt them from the law.
They probably even got a good deal with paying off 500K for something which was entirely against the law.

Just image a bunch of Thai folks would come over to your country and open a Languageschool without license and work permit. How much would it be worth that they might have had a good intention by offering free courses.

Old Hand
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
You're in a bit of a state of denial right? I've lived in Thailand over twenty years now and I've heard more godawful tales of friends running bars etc being skinned by the locals than you've probably had hot breakfasts. About the only thing you say in the story that is true is that things are worse now and they are.

Thais are inherantly dishonest and most of them hate farangs -- especially if you're marrying into them. As the saying goes, don't trust a Thai further than you can spit a fridge.

New visitors should ABSOLUTELY have their wits about them and this story borders on the irresponsible.

Hippo
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
Saying that the people being taken advantage of have put themselves in a situation where they are going to be taken advantage of is like blaming a rape victim for wearing a miniskirt.

It is true, statistically speaking, that you will have few - if any - problems in Thailand, especially if you are a short time visitor.

They say that Thailand is a wonderful country to visit as long as you don't run into ANY problems.

The real issue is that if you do run into ANY problems (medical, legal, criminal) you will encounter a system where you are not protected by any laws or rules and being a foreigner you will be expected to pay your way out of it.

The system is not based on law, it's based on who you know and who you can buy. Of course, you should stay out of trouble and conduct yourself appropriately. But if you find yourself in trouble, your fault or not, expect to deal with rules of the jungle.

If tomorrow they don't catch a guy with some pot be to be liberated of 70,000 baht, what will stop them from planting the pot on an innocent guy? The children need to be fed and money needs to be sent up the chain.

The cases like the recent extortion at Bangkok's international airport should be exposed as much as possible in hopes of changing the system.

Miniskirtwearer
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
Disagree with Hippo, as, at least in Thailand, wearing a miniskirt isn't illegal.

What is being talked about in the story (I think) is that people break the rules, get caught and then start bleating about corruption.

As for Old Hand, the question begs -- what on earth are you still doing in Thailand with an attitude like that?

Bad analogy!
Posted on 2nd July, 2009
Yeah I must protest: a miniskirt wearer is NOT breaking the law!! The point is that a lot of people breaking the law in Thailand then complain when they are stitched up. Don't break the law and 99% of the time, you won't have a problem. And if you do break the law, as Jan says, the corruption can work to your advantage if you're quick and respectful.

c siam
Posted on 3rd July, 2009
There has been a discussion on the Thai Real Estate Forum.
Many of the scams are documented here.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=676476

Lots of info photos of the tourist mafia posted here :http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/sets/

Hard to avoid the scams now days in Thailand.
The Police are running many of them.
Here is a photo of a cop that has been scamming tourist for years at one of Thailands main attractions:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21533131@N06/3655794935/

Hippo
Posted on 3rd July, 2009
I will explain the rape analogy. It's not whether wearing a miniskirt is illegal or not, it's that you automatically assume that the victim is in some way guilty.

Was the couple involved in the airport extortion case guilty? We will never know. The case will never go to court. The evidence will never be presented. Your article implies that they have done something wrong to end up in this situation.

The system helps the guilty and really f#$%s up the innocent. The publicity helps to expose the system.

Mich
Posted on 3rd July, 2009
It's a real pity because Thailand left me a beautiful impression when I was there years ago on a mission trip. We stayed in the suburbs of Rangsit in a small church and the people in the neighbourhood were all simple and genuine. The kids had the most innocent and purest eyes ever. Well, there is always a better side to all things isn't there? =)

Jack Roth
Posted on 4th July, 2009
Let me tell you a story about the last time I was in Thailand. I had only American money at a time when there was a rash of counterfeit U$ money being floated around in Thailand. Nobody, but nobody would change my money for me and I needed Thai Baht to buy a bus ticket. This was in Chiengrai province. A cop changed my money for me and assumed the risk that my money would be good.

David Wenman
Posted on 4th July, 2009
In reply to your comments on our school on Koh Sukorn. Firstly I have lived in Thailand for 5 years and have taught English in several Asian countries. I hold a degree and a TEFL certificate. I have written travel features for local publications. I do not consider myself naïve.
On the question of work permits. Technically if you meet a couple of Thai people on the beach and help them with their English language abilities you need a work permit.
In our situation we quite legally paid for a long lease on a small derelict resort. We had an abandoned restaurant on the resort and we suggested to the owners of all the major resorts on the Island that we would be prepared to convert the old restaurant into an English language school. We had the backing of all the Islanders, the local state schools and Village heads. The purpose of the school was to help the people on Koh Sukorn with their English so that the Island could move forward in its efforts to establish international tourism. This Island relies on rubber production and desperately needs tourism.
The Trang police, “we like helping foreigners” got involved when we reported a break-in in one of the bungalows. Our legal adviser (who worked for the Chiang Mai Ex Pats club) had the land in his name and had agreed to issue a long lease to us. The Trang police and Trang land department then refused to register our lease unless we paid 500,000 baht.
The post (by Jan) states that we would have got a bargain by paying 500,000 baht. I would like to remind everyone that is against the law in Thailand to offer bribes to the police (5 years in prison).
In conclusion, I maintain that at no time did we break the law (we would have done if we had tried to bribe the police). The end result of this fiasco is that the Islanders of Koh Sukorn have been deprived of free English lessons because of callous and cruel corruption by the police and land department. The school we built has now been left empty to rot. The money spent on school furniture (kindly donated by an English friend) will be wasted.
David Wenman
Small Sea School

dluek
Posted on 4th July, 2009

Just want to add...
"Respecting the laws" also refers to respecting the King and Queen of Thailand. Moreso than most of the other countries of Asia, Thailand grants its citizens nearly complete freedom of speech.

However, the one exception is when it comes to the King and Queen. Every year we see a new foreigner locked up for defacing or bad-mouthing the King in some way, and every year we hear another cry from foreigners about Thailand not being a free country.

Never underestimate the Thais reverence for their King. And remember, just because he's not your King doesn't mean you can disrespect him while in Thailand. If you do, you're breaking the law, and you will be punished.

aliduff
Posted on 7th July, 2009
hi "old hand" i bet your a right laugh,20 years in a place and among a race of people you hate,i nearly wet myself laughing at your grumpy old git comment,reminded me of victor meldrew (grumpy old git on uk tv).i think travelfish were in a very kind and gentle way just saying be careful and you should be ok as you should be in most lands,my wife and myself like many people have been all over south east asia and the world and have never been conned or ripped off,and all over thailand we were met and greated by some of the lovliest people on earth,im not saying i will never be caught out but if i am i pray i will never end up as synical and hate filled as you.the only upsettig thing we saw in thailand was on the night train from bangkok to chaingmai where a bunch of english and u s yobs kept pulling their genetles out everytime a thai female member of staff walked past they were asked for up to two hrs by soft spoken guards to please stop doing this they eventually did stop but only because they fell into a drunken stuper and nothing more was said can you imagen what would have happend to them anywhere else in the world.the only place iv been ripped off in is the uk and not on my travels and where iv been all my life just let my guard down for a moment.so thankyou travelfish for your useful advice and comments a bunch of us 50 somthings are of on a thai laos adventure at the end of next year and will be keeping a close eye on your brilliant site and old hand please keep your zenaphobic grumy git comments to yourself there not helpful.aliduff.

vickinz
Posted on 30th July, 2009
My son has worked in Thailand for a decade and has been scammed by an Italian who has scammed others as well. But he doesn't think all Italians are scammers!

chris murrell
Posted on 23rd September, 2009
Been to Thailand two years running and never had a problem, obviously there are small time opportunists who will over charge if given the chance. Use a little common sense when travelling abroad. Chris.

George
Posted on 14th October, 2009
it sounds like this site is saying its the fault of the victims for not knowing or doing do diligence , here a case for you one of thousands , a family member of mine has a bissness in cha am thailand with his thai wife and there two children , they have all the licenses and permits for a woman to sing thai songs , the imigration police showed upand arrested the 2 girls singing my brother and his wife and sead the permits where not good although they were applied for and given by the police dept and the city ,my brother was told he needed to pay 60 000 baht to resolve this issue 2 months before he had to pay 100 000 baht for moveing a chair in there restaurant the reason he did not have a work permit , to date almost every expat bissness in cha am has been shaken down with huge fines , the thais want our money but the dont want to play fair

George
Posted on 14th October, 2009
my suggestion to my brother was to get the hell out of thailand its the number 2 most corrupt country only losing out to the phillipines , the thai's are highly prejudice even to there own people light skinned thai's are prefered to dark skin , they treat the burmese people like slaves and often cheat them etc etc , iv spent 10 winters in thailand with my thai wife , i know thailand and only travel there now to visit my wifes family for 3 weeks a year , at election time in her provence iv watched the monks giving out bribes 200 to 300 baht to the poor villagers to get them to vote for a favored politician and this go,s on all over thailand even there religion is corrupt

cover
Posted on 9th November, 2009
how stop to corruption in Thailand.

Slide
Posted on 16th November, 2009
Thailand needs change

michael
Posted on 1st January, 2010
It is true that most police, military, government officials, etc., here are corrupt. It's almost impossible for them to be otherwise, because corruption is built into the system. This is the perception of locals, not just cynical ex-pats. Foreigners who buy even 'soft' drugs increase their chances of being set up - but the cops also quite frequently set up quite innocent tourists. My advice to travellers is to be wary of cops. If you see a table of cops drinking in a bar, for example, go to another bar. Be careful of locals in tourist areas who are overly friendly, especially if they offer dope. Be aware that an unaccompanied Thai woman, no matter how 'respectable'-looking, walking around a tourist area at night will have an agenda, either prostitution, scamming or drugging-&-robbing. Keep your money on your body, not in a shoulder bag, etc. (bag-snatching is on the increase). Being careful & 'law-abiding' is a good idea, but it's not a guarantee of safety.

Mick
Posted on 16th January, 2010
Hi im Mick from Australia & have been to thailand 10 times & married a Thai now , yes there is corruption in Thailand like every country but most Thais are very nice unfortunayely not well educated so they dont understand some things . Unfortunately some have learnt about greed & corruption ( i mean around the bars , massage etc )& this is where i have seen alot of guys get ripped off by so called girlfriends who have so many other boyfriends. I advise anyone who is looking for a Thai wife to find a nice girl who has a normal job & is westernised a bit , someone who doesnt choose to work in the bars as many do & isnt trying to get money you have a much better chance of a real relationship - many Thais despise the bar scene good luck Thailand is a great country & true Thais are a very lovely people with very different way of thinking try to learn before u go there

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