Man loses B15k to ‘on-the-take’ cops

EXTORTION: A man lodged a complaint with the Metropolitan Police Bureau yesterday accusing several police officers of extorting 15,000 baht from him to avoid a drug charge.

Kittisak Chupian said he was stopped at a drink-driving checkpoint by four officers from Bangkok’s Tha Phra police station who demanded he take an urine test. They then told him he had traces of narcotics in his urine sample and demanded 30,000 baht to avoid a charge. Mr Kittisak negotiated it down to 15,000 baht, saying he just wanted to settle the matter even though he denied taking drugs. After his release, he had two more tests, which found no trace of drugs in his system.

MPB chief, Pol Lt Col Pakkapong Pongpetra, accepted Mr Kittisak’s petition and ordered him to submit additional blood and urine samples so the probe can begin.