Corruption runs very deep in Thailand. You don't have to be here for very long to realize that. Corruption exists all over the world and real justice and equality for all is a dream that doesn't really exist. However, you don't so readily notice it in places quite like you do in Thailand. Almost anyone is looking for a payout and various positions of power seem to be sought out not for the sake of bettering the communities or country as a whole, but merely for enriching ones self or the people they know.
I realize that this is how almost the entire world exists but I live in Thailand, where you can see corruption right in front of your eyes every single day.
There are stories about people getting out of drunk driving tickets by paying a moderate amount of money to have the officers look the other way, and there are also stories about people getting busted for driving absolutely hammered and they pay a fine and the police allow them to continue to drive home.
This is the sort of corruption that definitely needs to be stamped out because its mere existence endangers everyone that is around it. Some innocent people could die because of this and it does happen all too often here in Thailand.
But how bad is it when a senior official of the NACC (National Anti-Corruption Commission) is caught red-handed drunk driving where a fatality is involved and he does everything he can to make it look like it wasn't him.
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nobody is pointing at the truck though. How are we supposed to know what vehicle they are referring to???
The story goes that Jarong Kromoh, was driving late at night and struck a food delivery driver and the impact killed the motorbike driver. Then as witnesses have reported and given sworn testimony to, the driver tried to flee the scene but could not do so because of damage to his own vehicle. These witnesses have stated without any doubt that he was the only person in the vehicle.
When police arrived Jarong didn't attempt to flee, but according to reports he attempted to use his high position to threaten the local police into helping him as he claimed to have connections very high up in the government. Thankfully, I guess there are some decent cops out there in Thailand because they took him to the police station and tested his BAC (blood alcohol limit) and he produced results over 3 times higher (closer to 4) the legal amount.
Then things get even more tricky because the NACC then tried to claim that he is not with their organization and instead offered up some sort of vague title that he has outside of their organization. Then Jarong stated that he was drunk, but he was not driving the car, and then a name was provided for the person who he says was driving the car.
The thing here is, Jarong, multiple eye witnesses have stated that you WERE driving and even if their eyesight cannot be trusted or you can attempt to bribe them into changing their stories (which honestly and sadly, is very likely going to be the case) this doesn't change the fact that they all stated that there wasn't anyone else in the vehicle, let alone driving it.
One witness has this all recorded because prior to the crash, this witness had been recording something else unrelated but then quickly changed his view to focus on the vehicle after he heard the crash nearby. While the recording itself is not being released to the public, it is being reported that is is sufficiently clear that there was nobody else driving and that Jarong was the only person in the pickup, and it also shows that he attempted to flee the scene.
Now the question is, will anything actually be done about this.
There was a famous story a number of years ago about how the heir to the Red Bull fortune, nicknamed "boss" was driving drunk and crashed into and killed a police officer. He fled the scene, produced an alibi about someone else driving the car, and then a ton of money was being shifted around to attempt to get the family of the officer to drop the case.
This was a massive miscarriage of justice as "Boss" fled the country and didn't return for his court dates claiming a severe illness while simultaneously posting Instagrams of him partying at exotic locations all over the world. It was only because of international media pressure that anything ever came of this. "Boss" never faced any sort of justice though, but 8 police officials ended up getting sentenced to prison for their attempt to delay and coverup evidence. Boss never will face justice for this because Thailand has a statute of limitations and he can no longer be tried for this particular crime.
Charges are unlikely to ever be levied against the billionaire and at the moment the only charge he can legally face is reckless driving involving death and this will expire in 2027. While the government and the media do their best to keep this quiet, I don't think boss will ever return to Thailand and his family has the resources to make that happen.
Here's what you can do though: Boycott Red Bull.... and make sure people hear about why you are doing so.
This doesn't directly have anything to do with the NAAC person denying all of the charges against him but it is indicative of a very deeply-rooted system of entitlement that exists in Thailand. This NAAC guy knows that he is lying and so does everyone else. Next the media may likely get paid off or threatened if they continue to cover it.
I just think it is a truly horrible state of affairs when the anti-corruption official starts engaging in exactly the sort of behavior that he was meant to prevent.
