Former police get five years for demanding bribes from tourists

Four former police officers attached to Bangkok’s Huai Kwang police station were sentenced to five years in prison today by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.

They were found guilty of malfeasance in office and corruption for demanding bribes from three Taiwanese tourists in exchange for dropping charges against them.

The four were also ordered to return Bt27,000 bribery to the tourists.

Two other officers from the same police station were acquitted by the court, due to insufficient evidence.

The extortion, which took place on the night of January 5 in front of the Chinese embassy in Huai Khwang, was widely reported in Taiwanese media because one of the tourists is an actress.

They were riding in a taxi, which was stopped for a search by a group of six Huai Khwang police officers, manning a checkpoint in front of the Chinese embassy. Three electronic…