Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Corruption
While Thailand is a rapidly developing country with a booming economy it unfortunately
has a large amount of corruption. It is 88th out of 176 countries on an international corrup-
tion indicator and as a tourist you probably won't experience any of this except if you have
an encounter with certain authority figures, mainly police.
If you do find yourself meeting the Thai police up close and personal then you should stay
calm and be respectful. Don't raise your voice even if you are frustrated and be reasonable.
Know that as a foreigner you are more likely to be held responsible for an accident even if it
wasn't your fault.
Although bribes are illegal they are very common. If you are in a situation where law en-
forcementisinvolvedyoumayhaveanoptionofpayingan"onthespotspecialfee"toavoid
going down to the station and filling out the paperwork. The amount of the bribe is usually
the same as the fine would be but a little less since the officer doesn't have to fill out any
paperwork. Most of them are between 200 and 500 baht.
The legal thing to do is to go down to the station, fill out the proper paperwork and pay the
fine there which is what the legal process dictates you should do. It could take time which is
why many opt to shorten the process, which officers are usually happy to do. Police officers
only make about 2,000 baht a month so the bribes are more of a supplemental income.
