Four of six policemen involved in a highly publicized extortion of Taiwanese actress Charlene An in January have been sentenced to five years in prison each by the Criminal Court.
Six officers from Huai Khwang police station were detained in February after An accused them of extorting her THB27,000 from her and three of her friends. Four were handed down the sentence on Wednesday evening, while the other two were found not guilty.
The court also ordered them to pay back the THB27,000 and were denied bail, saying that the case had damaged Thailand’s image.
An, who warned social media to be aware of Thailand’s “bastard police” and that she would not set foot in Thailand ever again, posted on social media yesterday saying that justice has been served.
“The event caused me some trauma , but the [truth] is there is some corruption all over the world. Not just in Thailand,” she wrote with a picture of her at the Erawan Shrine. “I think the good outweighs the bad in Thailand and it’s [a] lovely culture.”
In January, An and her friends were in a taxi on their way back to their hotel from a night out when they were stopped at a Bangkok police checkpoint. The officers were going to process An’s party for not carrying their passports and for the possession of e-cigarettes, which are illegal under a rarely-enforced ban.
It was there that the officers tried to extort money from her. CCTV footage showed An and her friends talking to police for a considerable amount of time before they ended up taking a taxi without forking over any money.
An later posted a warning on social media for Taiwanese travelers to beware Thailand’s “bastard police.”
“They couldn’t find anything illegal on us, so they kept asking to check our visas. I gave them my visa, the VOA (visa on arrival), which was issued legally at the airport. The officers refused to let me pass, saying my visa was unacceptable. They said I had to carry the printed visa with a stamp from the official department only,” she said. “They tried every way to fake charges against me.”
An also said that her friends who filmed the encounter were ordered to delete the footage by the police.
The incident quickly gained international attention, highlighting the fact that there have been multiple accounts of Thai police officers extorting foreigners for money.
Initially, police responded to the actress’ allegations claiming that they were let go with only a warning and would prove her statements false.
An had sharply refuted the police denial.
“Why the twisted truth and lies? I sincerely thank you all for your concern & encouragement. I have agreed to a final interview with the media,” she wrote in English on Instagram. “I will be sharing details on my traumatic experience in Thailand for the final time. Please allow me some time & space during this difficult time.”
Later, the police did a 180 and admitted that they had indeed tried to extort THB27,000 from the actress, which was going to be divvied up between seven officers.
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