Polis Thai lagi Corrupt...

Bell · Post time 25-3-2016 03:14 PM

BANGKOK: The dash cam video is jaw-dropping - On a virtuallyempty stretch of highway, a midsize car is seen traveling in the slow lane.Suddenly, a black Mercedes-Benz zooms into the frame and rear-ends the car attremendous speed. Within a split second, a cloud of smoke and debris fill thevideo screen. What happened next is now well known in Thailand andthe focal point of growing outrage. The midsize car burst into flames and thecouple inside, both graduate students in their 30s, died at the scene of theaccident. The Mercedes driver, the son of a wealthy Thai businessman, survivedwith minor injuries and refused both alcohol and drug tests — and his wisheswere respected. Police say he was driving at an estimated 240 kilometers (150miles) per hour. Since the video was widely shared on social media last week,the fatal March 13 crash has reignited a debate about the impunity of the richand well-connected in Thailand.A similar debate raged in the U.S.with the case of the Texasteenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck. TheMercedes driver, Janepob Verraporn, 37, now tops a list of “Bangkok’s deadly rich kids,” as one Thainewspaper calls the children of privilege who have killed with their fancycars. TV talk shows, social media forums and editorials have chimed in on adebate that asks whether justice will be served this time or — if history isany guide — if Janepob will walk away from the crime without serving time.Police have rushed to defend themselves against criticism for initiallymishandling the case and acting to shield Janepob, whose father owns a luxurycar import company. “The law is the law — whether you are rich or poor you haveto pay for what you’ve done,” national police spokesman Songpol Wattanachaisaid Monday, asking skeptics to have faith in the police. “Justice will beserved. Just because he is rich doesn’t mean he won’t go to jail. I’m askingpeople not to think that way.” Police who initially handled the case inAyutthaya province, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Bangkok, werequickly sidelined after failing to test Janepob for alcohol and drug use — andthen defending the blunder. Speaking on TV, a police commander said the suspecthad the right to refuse breath and blood tests, adding that both police andrescue workers did not smell any alcohol on Janepob’s breath. Amid publicuproar, police filed a charge last week against Janepob for driving while unfitor intoxicated, which carries a prison sentence of three to 10 years, said Ayutthaya’s deputy policechief, Col. Surin Thappanbupha. Under Thai law, he said, a refusal to be testedis tantamount to driving under the influence. Janepob faces another charge ofreckless driving causing death and property damage, which carries a maximum of10 years in prison. Janepob was spared provisional detention after posting200,000 baht ($5,700) bail and is currently at one of Bangkok’s private hospitals. The Nationnewspaper said in an editorial on Sunday that the case had hit a nerve in Thailandbecause of “the sense that there is one set of rules for the rich andinfluential and another for everyone else.” “Stop me if you’ve heard this onebefore,” the editorial begins. “An expensive car crashes. One or more peopledie. A person with a recognizable name ... emerges from the wreckage and fleesthe scene. No breath test is administered. Compensation is offered and thefamily tries to wriggle their way out of any legal consequences. The policefail dismally at their job.” One of Thailand’s most famous untouchablesis an heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune. In 2012, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, agrandson of Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, slammed his Ferrari into apoliceman and dragged the officer’s dead body along a Bangkok street beforedriving away. Vorayuth, who was then 27, has yet to be charged. In that case,police initially attempted to cover up his involvement by arresting a bogussuspect. In 2010, Orachorn Devahastin Na Ayudhya was 16 and driving without alicense when she crashed her sedan into a van on a Bangkok highway, killing nine people.Orachon, the daughter of a former military officer, was given a two-yearsuspended sentence. In a country that values deference and patronage, and wherepolice are infamously corrupt, there have been many other similar cases. ButJanepob’s carried the added shock value of visuals. The video of the crash wastaken by a nearby car’s dashboard camera, and quickly went viral. A few dayslater, another video was uploaded and widely shared showing Janepob’s Mercedessmashing through an Easy Pass toll gate about anhour before the crash. Bangkokresident Nant Thananan, 35, was among many who expressed their exasperation onFacebook. “It’s so frustrating because there’s nothing we can do. We know thiscase will go away. We’ve seen it before,” said Nant, who owns a popular Bangkok food truck. “Wekeep asking ourselves, when are the police going to be ashamed enough to do theright thing?” -- AP