Krit Suwanpiyawong (left) is
taken into custody by Maj. Wasu Sangsuksai (right), chief of Pattaya City
Hall’s regulatory enforcement department.
Boonlua Chatree
Unlicensed vendors allegedly trying to bribe their way
around paying rent at a recent Pattaya Beach cultural fair unexpectedly ran
into an honest city worker, who foiled the plot and turned over the group’s
ringleader to police for arrest.
Krit Suwanpiyawong, 32, was taken into custody July 25 by
Maj. Wasu Sangsuksai, chief of Pattaya City Hall’s regulatory enforcement
department, for allegedly collecting 2,450 baht from unlicensed merchants
trying to piggy-back on the Sea, Sand & Sun fair along Beach Road by paying
off a corrupt city hall cop.
The normal ticket for unlicensed sales at such events is
100-200 baht.
Krit claimed he was only trying to assist merchants who
had not rented official booths at the fair after an unnamed city regulatory
officer threatened to arrest and fine them for setting up unlicensed booths.
Krit volunteered to collect money from the vendors, as he was friends with
the unidentified officer. He’d then pay off their “tickets” with an unmarked
envelope at a later time.
Wasu noted that the municipal enforcement officers can
only legally collect fines after writing tickets and issuing receipts. Any
officer trying to collect funds any other way is doing so illegally and
should be reported.
However, the officer Krit claimed to be paying off was not identified and
only he was arrested. And, after paying off a 1,000 baht fine at the Pattaya
Police Station, the vendor was released without further charges.
