Thailand jails four police officers for demanding bribe from tourists

The police officers were found guilty of malfeasance in office and corruption at a court on Wednesday, Bangkok Post reported.

The four were also ordered to return the amount of money they bribed to the tourists.

According to the indictment, the extortion happened on Ratchadaphisek Road on Jan. 5 as a Grab taxi carrying the group of Taiwanese tourists was stopped for a search at a police checkpoint.

Upon checking, police found they illegally possessed three electronic cigarettes and only one of them carrying a passport, Thaiger reported.

Possession of e-cigarette in Thailand is illegal and could be imprisoned.

Instead of taking the group of tourists to the police station for questioning, the four policemen demanded 27,000 baht from them in exchange for scrapping the charges.

One of the trio paid the police as demanded and the tourists were released.

The group of the tourists then shared their experiences on social media, prompting the Thai government to launch a criminal investigation.