A Thong Lor police officer has denied an allegation of receiving a bribe after a woman posted on Facebook that he let her pay off her ticket by transferring money to his bank account yesterday.
Facebook user, and professional “pretty” with 30,000 followers, Kangsadarn Warnchaun made a public post of a screenshot from her online banking activity that showed she transferred THB500 cash to the personal account of a Thong Lor officer named Nipat Panpamnak after she was given a ticket for parking in a prohibited area yesterday morning.
“The officer was so nice. He booted my car and offered that I could pay online. Oohhh! Such a good, honest policeman #applaud,” the caption said.
The website of Police Education Bureau identified Pol.Snr.Sgt.Maj. Nipat as a traffic officer of Thonglor Police Department.
The post went viral and sparked online comments about the corruption of the Thai police as well as the less-than-intelligent behavior of Kangsadarn for posting evidence of her own unethical and illegal behavior. She has not removed the post and says that she won’t.
When contacted by the press, Nipat claimed that the woman deliberately asked if she could transfer the fine to his bank account because she didn’t have any cash with her and had to go to work.
The officer said he only tried to help her and now feels very bad about what happened.
Pol. Lt. Col. Wasut Chuaput, deputy superintendent of Thonglor police, said that Nipat had good intentions and he is very stressed from seeing the story all over the media.
Wasut said Nipat will have to write a detailed report of the incident to his commander and that the matter is still being investigated, Thairath reported.
Meanwhile, despite her sarcastic caption, Kangsadarn apologized to the public for causing a misunderstanding and ensured that they money transferred was not a bribe.
“I only paid THB500, the amount stated on my ticket. He did not ask me for a bribe and I did not pay it. Please do not misunderstand. Sorry, everybody,” she wrote today.
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