6 more officers embroiled in lorry 'sticker' scandal

published : 7 Jun 2023 at 07:22

newspaper section: News

writer: Wassayos Ngamkham

The investigation into "sticker bribes" for illegally overloaded lorries has incriminated another six officers from the Highway Police Division (HPD), according to Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, the Counter Corruption Division (CCD) commander.

Speaking in his capacity as the acting HPD commander, he said those officers would be ordered to perform temporary duty at the HPD this week. The division will proceed with legal action if any are found to have engaged in the scheme, he added.

He also said the investigation team would collect more information and widen its dragnet.

Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat said he had ordered 50 stations of the HPD to investigate the sticker bribery issue over the past two years.

He also promised to look into rumours of another bribery scheme reportedly involving the wife of the deputy commander of the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Police Division.

In the meantime, Move Forward Party (MFP) MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, who brought the sticker bribes issue to light on his social media accounts last week, said he and the Land Transport Federation of Thailand (LTFT) chairman would submit evidence on the matter to Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat and the police inspector-general tomorrow.

He expressed confidence that legal action would be taken against some officers, and that he was confident the probe would be conducted transparently.

Meanwhile, some LTFT members sent an open letter to the MFP expressing their disappointment at the federation.

The letter claimed the agency had withheld vital information while the MFP had not checked its facts thoroughly enough.

The letter said some of the bribery stickers were not being used anymore, while others owned by LTFT members had been removed from the evidence submitted to the MFP.

"The LTFT is not sincere in solving this problem," the letter stated.

"It is using the MFP to attack rival transportation associations to pressure the government," it continued.

"When LTFT Chairman [Apichart Prairungruang] insisted none of the LTFT's 400,000 members engaged in such a practice, we wonder how the chairman can be so certain about this?"

The authors claim the LTFT is playing a game designed to harm rival associations as a price war rages in the logistics market.