You might be a romantic person, but have you ever taken your bae on a police helicopter ride across the beautiful Thai countryside?
No? Well, then you are losing out to this Thai cop who did exactly that.
Understandable that you haven’t tried it, though. After all, helicopter rides don’t come cheap: they’ll cost you fuel, pilot wages, and, of course, your illustrious career in the Royal Thai Police Force.
Cop Demoted After Taking His Wife On Police Helicopter Joyride
Akkarapol Yeekoh, a senior detective in the Udon Thani province of Thailand, decided to give his wife a special present on 28 September 2019, according to Asiaone.
Presumably using powers under disposal, he mobilised a police helicopter for a romantic ride with his wife, who also happened to be a TikTokker and did as every TikTokker did.
She filmed the whole thing.
Worst accomplice-in-crime ever.
In a clip that was quickly deleted but since copied and reposted, TikTok user keng_pakapawan could be seen posing in front of a helicopter bearing the Royal Thai Police livery. She then snuggled up to her husband, and showed off the scenic view from the ride.
Must have been satisfying to watch the ground fade away as fast as her husband’s career prospects.
When the Udon Thani police was alerted to the incident, Akkarapol was immediately demoted and transferred to an inactive post.
Internal investigations are still ongoing. Apparently, they also uncovered Akkarapol doing TikTok dances in his police uniform, leading to further investigations.
Oops.
Police Corruption Rife in Thailand
On a more serious note, corruption has become a systemic issue in the Thai police, and was recently the focus of large-scale protests following an opposition lawmaker’s expose of its evidence.
In particular, the critics and protesters trained their attention on “elephant tickets”, tickets to secure accelerated promotion authorised by figures at the very top of the political hierarchy.
They are quite literally for purchase: for millions of baht, higher ranks can be purchased and discounts can be issued on bribes needed for further promotions, according to Coconuts.
So that’s… corruption within corruption? Never thought it was possible.
The pressure to purchase these tickets also drives police officers to take bribes in their daily operations, further exacerbating corruption in the force as a whole.
The protest, which happened in late February, even involved police officers, with an open call for officers dissenting to the system of patronage to join.
Featured Image: TikTok (Keng_pakapawan)
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