Whistleblowers who recently exposed alleged police misconduct are being hailed by netizens for their bravery.
A Chinese tourist said she paid police to obtain VVIP treatment upon arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport, whereby time spent in the immigration queue was cut and a police motorcade was provided for her trip to a hotel in Pattaya.
Taiwanese actress Charlene An complained on social media that she was stopped by police near the Chinese embassy in Bangkok about 1am on Jan 4. She said her group paid 27,000 baht before being set free.
Meanwhile, police have launched a crackdown on the macau888 online gambling network after actress Arisara "Due" Thongborisut spoke about the website's operations and those involved via Facebook on Jan 15.
In the post, she said the network was run by "four brothers" including her ex-boyfriend Chaiwat "Benz Daemon" Kachornboonthaworn.
Mr Chaiwat has three younger brothers, the youngest being Pol Capt Kunakorn Kachornboonthaworn, a deputy immigration inspector. Police earlier said Mr Chaiwat and his brothers flew to Hong Kong around that time.
When the youngest brother returned, he was held for seven days at the Suvarnabhumi airport police station. He was released on Tuesday.
Former massage parlour tycoon and politician Chuvit Kamolvisit is a well-known whistleblower who exposed alleged police misconduct.
Recently, he claimed that two senior police, known as "Inspector Sua" and "General Jor", used their connections to run a gambling network even bigger than that of macau888.
He also exposed alleged shady businesses and underground activities operated by Chinese triads. Information was supplied to the police.