How do you know when to bribe a police officer?
12 November 2010
How do you know when to bribe a police officer?
The answer: When the officer tells you.
One day many years ago, I was driving in a wrong lane. A police officer told three cars to stop, the car in front of mine, my car, and a following one.
He collected the driving license card of the drivers one by one. Then went back to talk to the first driver.
I don’t kow what happened to the first driver. But when the officer came to me, he first told me where to pay the fine, and asked then: ”That’s quite far, is it fine for you to go and pay the fine there?” He repeated the question and said: “If you are not, I can help you.”
I asked him how. He told me to fold a 100 Baht (about 3 US$) banknote into a small piece and then give it to him when he would return me my driving license.
It was the first time I got caught. I panicked, and so I followed his instructions.
I still regret until today. I feel guilty. I promised myself not to do this again.
Every time I shared this story, I received the feed back, “Why? You should not be guilty. He should be guilty!”
I feel guilty because I allowed bribery to happen. If I had refused, and if everybody would refuse, he might think twice before asking again. And if he does not get any money from the drivers over a period long enough, he will stop asking for a bribe.
Maybe, I could have used my mobile phone, could have record the conversation and instead of encouraging this behaviour, do something to teach him a different lesson.
On the first day of the 14th International Anti-Corrupion Convention at the QSNCC in Bangkok, a Thai police officer guarding a VIP guest, told me he did not listen when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva delivered his speech that morning.
He did not use the translation device and he laughed on whatever Abhisit said. He believes corruption cannot be eradicated. It is in every government, only the degrees changes. ”Anyone who doesn’t engage in corruption will have no place in this world,” he said.
Do you think corruption can be eradicated?
For me, maybe not, but I believe we can always do something to make a difference and make things better.
Categories: Peoples Empowerment
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