The Land Transport Federation of Thailand opposes all forms of bribery, and stated that there are still around 20 influential people’s stickers that pay bribes to officials and have not been investigated.
Following up on the fact-finding request from the Land Transport Federation of Thailand in June 2023 to the Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police (INTP), the investigation found that government officials under the Vehicle Weight Control Office had demanded 100,000 baht from each truck operator in order to be able to carry excess weight without being arrested. This was carried out by a special task force led by Mr. N. (assumed name), who at the time of the incident held the position of head of the weighing station, which had the authority and duty to inspect and arrest offenders who carried excess weight. He took advantage of his position to demand benefits from truck operators, and Mr. A. (assumed name), who at the time of the incident held the position of an official of the Department of Highways. In
itial reports indicate that there are more than 10 such special task forces spread across the country. From 2019-2023, there were more than 30 victims, with a total damage value of 200 million baht, and a monthly turnover of no less than 3,000,000 baht. The suspects have denied all charges.
Mr. Thongyu Kongkhan, President of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand, revealed that this arrest was a joint effort between the Land Transport Federation of Thailand and government agencies to jointly solve the bribery problem systematically. The federation opposes all forms of bribery until it is eliminated. However, it must be admitted that the bribery system still exists and has been in place for a long time. It is a theory of mutual benefit, both the giver and the receiver benefit, so it is difficult to suppress. But it must be done. In the past, there has been a campaign to prevent overloading, such as pickup trucks must not carry more than 2.2 tons, four-wheel trucks must not carry more than 5.5 tons, six-whe
el trucks must not carry more than 15 tons, ten-wheel trucks must not carry more than 25 tons, and eighteen-wheel trailers must not carry more than 50 tons plus 500 kilograms, etc.
The president of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand also stated that even though the authorities are strict, there are currently about 20 stickers of influential people scattered around the country, which the owners of these stickers pay bribes to government agencies. Personally, I think that solving the bribe problem should start with large government contractors first because overloading not only causes vehicles to deteriorate, but also the roads will be damaged. It requires the national tax budget to repair roads, which is tens of billions per year, and it also causes accidents. All sectors must cooperate. As for the arrests yesterday, I would like to leave it to the police and the relevant agencies to decide what punishments to give.
Source: Thai News Agency