(Reuters)
- Thailand's traffic policemen will get money in return for refusing bribes,
police said on Thursday. This is part of the government's efforts to combat an
ingrained culture of corruption.
"This monetary incentive will encourage
officers to look out for traffic violators who try to bribe," said Police
Major General Adul Narongsak, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau,
adding that two policemen were recently awarded 10,000 baht ($310) for refusing
a $3 bribe.
Thai police
salaries start at about 6,000 baht ($185) a month, according to 2013 data, well
below the national average.
For car drivers
in Bangkok, where traffic jams are among the world's worst, slipping a
policeman a banknote or two when stopped for a minor traffic offense is not
uncommon. But motorists might soon find police officers turning down their
offers.
"We want
to change perceptions and practices and to reward those who show that they are
clean, We encourage people to take photographs as evidence," Adul said.
Thailand is ranked 102 out of 177 countries
in Transparency International's 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Thailand’s military
government is aiming at cleaning up Thailand's image as a haven for vice. The
junta is also focusing on taxi gangs at airports and on drug users by ordering
more police checks.
edited from Reuters
