Toughen laws to crack down on corrupt officials
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It seems staggering that a senior police officer was able to spend many years amassing assets, including 11 houses, without anyone apparently noticing or thinking it odd that a public official on a modest salary could acquire such wealth.
Since Thailand is now involved in the process of reform and the government has made stamping out corruption a priority, I would like to suggest that the reformers consider promulgating laws similar to those adopted by Hong Kong with devastating effect when it undertook a similar initiative against corruption in the ’70s.
The Hong Kong Prevention of Bribery Ordnance of 1971 makes the possession of unexplained property by government officials a crime.
Any official who “maintains a standard of living above that which is commensurate with his present or past official [pay] emoluments or is in control of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his present or past official emoluments…” can be sent to prison and this is a regular occurrence there.
Prosecutors don’t need to “produce receipts” or prove corruption. The law simply assumes guilt if there is no adequate explanation of unusual wealth.
George Morgan
