PATTAYA, Thailand – Bangkok just delivered the kind of policing Pattaya residents and long-term visitors have been begging to see for years: fast action, full accountability, and zero tolerance for petty corruption.
After a video went viral showing a traffic officer at Mo Chit demanding a 100-baht “parking fee” and claiming it was “tradition,” the Metropolitan Police didn’t stall, transfer him, or hide behind an internal memo. They fired him. And not quietly — they hit him with full criminal charges: bribery, malfeasance, and violations under the anti-corruption law.
The officer, Pol. Lt. Manas, was found to have abused his authority for personal gain. The disciplinary committee ruled it a serious breach of conduct. The anti-corruption body unanimously agreed it was a criminal act, not a misunderstanding, not a “miscommunication,” and definitely not “just how things are done.”
This is the kind of decisive response Pattaya desperately needs.
Not endless “investigations,” not soft warnings, not rotations to another desk.
Because every long-term visitor and local here knows the truth: small, everyday extortion erodes trust faster than any major scandal ever could.
Bangkok showed that it can be done — transparently, publicly, and with real consequences. Pattaya’s reputation, tourism economy, and long-term visitor confidence would all benefit from exactly this kind of backbone. When the public sees officers being held to the law instead of bending it, trust returns. And Pattaya could certainly use more of that.
