Pay police properly and they won't seek bribes

I have lived in this great Kingdom for years now and have broken traffic rules exactly three times. On the first occasion I had an inebriated policeman literally dance in front of my car in order to extract money from me. On the latter two occasions when I volunteered to hand over my licence in return for a receipt, the police officers advised that it would be easier for me to pay a little money in cash rather than Bt500 to the authorities. I guess I am just one of those crazy people who do not like to encourage the practice of bribery.

Maybe we should address the actual problem here. Ever try to bribe a bobby on the beat in the UK? You could end up in serious trouble. It’s not because he is more patriotic or more scrupulous. The reason is because he earns a reasonable salary with reasonable benefits, and the cost of losing his job is not worth the value of any bribe he might be offered. However in Asian countries, policemen – the physical protectors of our societies – are poorly paid. Therein lies the need and greed for bribes. I believe it is now time for us to appreciate the services provided by this workforce by affording them better standards of living and by making their terms of employment more attractive. 

Lopa Baweja