All sub-divisions of the Highway Police Division (HPD) were instructed on Friday to submit reports about any cases of highway lorry bribery occurring in their precincts within five days.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, commander of the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD), also acting as HPD commander, made the demand while threatening to take legal action against sub-division officials if their reports are later found to be untrue.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat was responding to revelations made by Move Forward Party (MFP) MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, who cited information supplied by Land Transport Federation of Thailand (LTFT) chairman Apichart Prairungruang about bribery involving the use of stickers.
The stickers were used by trucks operating illegally on roads after reportedly paying bribes to police and other officials to avoid arrest. A number of highway police officials and their associates are allegedly involved in the highway bribery network.
Pol Maj Gen Ekkaraj Limsangkat, commander of the HPD, has been transferred to an inactive post at the Operations Centre of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) following the claims.
Any police officials involved in this controversy will face legal and disciplinary action, said Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat, who has vowed to improve the HPD's image, starting with stamping out highway bribery.
Meanwhile, the police inspector general, Pol Gen Visanu Prasarttong-Osoth, has said the police's joint fact-finding committee -- which comprises members of the Inspector-General of the Royal Thai Police and the CIB -- are working in parallel on the same case.
Pol Gen Visanu said the committee had invited Mr Wiroj and the LTFT to give a statement about the alleged highway bribery. He said the committee is sending out teams to investigate the claims.
All found involved in the bribery case will be prosecuted and face disciplinary action, Pol Gen Visanu said.
According to an informed source, 46 people have been named as supplying and selling the stickers used in the alleged bribery, five of which are found to be linked to police officials.
Among the information supplied by Mr Apichart are claims that the wife of a deputy chief of the Nakhon Pathom provincial police was a supplier of the "bribe-paid" stickers.
