50 Bangkok police chiefs face probe

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: The chiefs of 50 metropolitan police stations and a large number of senior officers face disciplinary investigation following allegations that they unlawfully benefited from advertisers who put up many signboards at Bangkok intersections without permission.

According to an order issued to all nine metropolitan police divisions in Bangkok, which oversees all 88 police stations in the capital, the 50 station chiefs had allegedly allowed several signboards to be installed at intersections without proper documentation.

The order said this practice is the “unlawful utilisation of state properties”, and demands that an initial investigation into the matter be completed within three days.

The officers say they are concerned because they always believed signboards had been permitted all along. However, they said, they welcomed the investigation.

— Phuket Gazette Editors