Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police second

Local Hua Hin and regional Thailand news articles and discussion.
Post Reply
User avatar
buksida
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22525
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 12:25 pm
Location: south of sanity

Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police second

Post by buksida »

The Land office is the most corrupt agency in the Thai bureaucracy, while police are ranked second in this dubious list where households needed to make illegal payments to facilitate their service, according to an academic survey.

The survey titled "Corruption in the Thai Bureaucracy in 2014: A Survey of Attitudes and Experiences of Heads of Households" by Chulalongkorn University's Pasuk Phongpaichit found that 7.2 per cent of 6,048 heads of Thai households said they were asked for a bribe by officials at land offices whenever contacted for a service, while 6.1 per cent said police personnel asked for money from them.

Land offices, which come under the Department of Lands, are the key agency for all transactions and documentation involving sale or purchase of land. The office is authorised to charge a fee but officials demand extra money to speed up work or legalise some grey documents, the survey revealed.

The Departments of Customs and Land Transport also took bribes, but only 2.4 and 1.9 per cent respectively of households in the survey said they needed to offer bribes to officials for their services, Pasuk said.

However, on a relatively positive note, she said the percentage of respondents who said they had to pay tea money to officials at the land offices, police, Customs and Transport departments had decreased from 12.3 per cent, 8.5 per cent, 10.3 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively, in the previous survey in 1999.

The survey also revealed that the land office was the only bribe-taking agency in the bureaucracy that demanded more than Bt100,000 per head on average, Pasuk said. The police as well as the departments of Customs and Revenue also charge big amounts but the bribes average between Bt10,000 and Bt100,000, she said.

Public schools and local administrative organisations have also been pointed to as taking bribes from households, she said.

Officials at public schools seek bribes averaging Bt11,796 each time they are contacted for service, the Department of Customs demands an average of Bt10,538, the land-office bribes average Bt5,341, and police take Bt4,919 on average from each household, she said. Local administrations demanded only Bt1,000 on average, she said.

The survey estimated that total bribes taken by the land offices this year amounted to Bt1.9 billion, the police Bt1.7 billion and public schools Bt640 million, she said. Overall, Thai households paid bribes of Bt4.9 billion to 10 government agencies, according to the survey this year. However, she noted the amount was three times less than the last survey in 1999.

Full Story: The Nation
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Pagey
Legend
Legend
Posts: 2133
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:14 pm
Location: On the beach

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by Pagey »

I would have thought immigration would have been higher than land office. Many long term residents here rent but they all need a visa.
'If you didn't have a wasted youth you wasted your youth'

Man in pub circa 1987.
User avatar
buksida
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22525
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 12:25 pm
Location: south of sanity

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by buksida »

Immigration is only used by foreigners (a small percentage of the population), I presume this surveys was for Thais using government departments.

If the corruption/bribery survey was done on farangs I'm sure immigration would be top by a long way.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
User avatar
richard
Deceased
Deceased
Posts: 8780
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2003 1:59 pm
Location: Wherever I am today

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by richard »

It seems that steps may be afoot to address some corrupt aspects of the RTP

Dissolution of the Royal Thai Police


From Matichon, December 5, 2014
[Newspaper graphic describing what is, in effect, the dissolution of the power of Royal Thai Police. Rampant corruption in the system is only a secondary concern. The real intent is to break the back of the police as a force that has shown loyalty first to Thaksin. Since Thaksin’s first days in power, the police were groomed to once again become a force that could counterbalance the power of the military in politics.]
The Legal and justice system reform committee proposes the model of reorganization of the Royal Thai Police Office
1. Dissolution of the human resource executive [This is the internal police committee that overseas promotions in the force. At all levels of the police, large bribes are required to move up in rank.]
Dissolution of the OPC (Office of the Police Commission)
Establishment of the National Police Affairs Council [comprising the following]
– Head of security-related government agency
– Head of justice system/judiciary
– National Human Rights Committee members
– Persons selected by the members of parliament and senators
– Citizens who can participate in the appointment and transfer of police officers [as well]
[The inclusion of these parties in a committee on police promotions and transfers strikes at the heart of Thaksin and Red Shirt dogma as their plan for reconciliation is that the judiciary and NGOs be stripped of power to intrude into government affairs.]

2. Dissolution of the Royal Thai Police Office [meaning the end of the centralization of all police into a common command]
Transfer the following agencies
– Forest police to the Forest Department
– Railway police to the State Railway of Thailand
– Tourist police to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports
[At present the police provide security within ministries and other governmental departments, giving them influence and intelligence capabilities throughout the system. The new plan would allow ministries to command their own specialized security forces apart from the centralized law enforcement function of the national police.]
Posted in Thai Police
RICHARD OF LOXLEY

It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
User avatar
PeteC
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 29988
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:58 am
Location: All Blacks training camp

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by PeteC »

^ That is a huge deal if it all comes to pass. Will be interesting to see how much of it actually happens. Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
User avatar
johnnyk
Legend
Legend
Posts: 2852
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:23 pm

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by johnnyk »

Corruption is not going to go away. Too many greedsters in position to benefit and too many powerful ones to eradicate it.
Happiness can't buy money
User avatar
margaretcarnes
Rock Star
Rock Star
Posts: 4172
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:28 am
Location: The Rhubarb Triangle

Re: Thai corruption survey: land offices highest, police sec

Post by margaretcarnes »

Yes corruption is unfortunately a part of life in most places. But I think this proposal maybe goes deeper. The new regime has already been in power for several months, with no sign of any new elections yet. I think they are saying mid 2015? Not sure. It's certainly looking like being the longest time under military rule.
It makes me wonder what they are waiting for..... but while waiting maybe not a bad thing to try to sort out the MIB. The proposed first steps seem sensible - hive off the Tourist, Railway police etc. [Mod edit: we are not allowed to discuss this.]
A sprout is for life - not just for Christmas.
Post Reply