BANGKOK: Four immigration officials at a busy Bangkok airport have been demoted after a probe found they were taking bribes from Chinese tourists to fast…
BANGKOK: Four immigration officials at a busy Bangkok airport have been demoted after a probe found they were taking bribes from Chinese tourists to fast-track their visa applications, an official said on Tuesday (Oct 9).
The Chinese make up about a quarter of Thailand’s 35 million tourist arrivals a year, making them the kingdom’s largest visiting bloc by nationality.
They usually wait in long lines at busy immigration booths at Don Mueang – one of the two international airports in Bangkok – where they pay 2,000 baht (about US$60) for visas upon arrival.
But Major-General Surachate Hakparn, the newly-installed chief of the immigration bureau, told AFP he was tipped off on how some are able to jump the queue.
« We recieved the allegations from tourists that they can fast-track their application services if they pay a 300 baht ‘tip’ at the (so-called) fast lanes, » Surachate said.
This prompted an investigation, which led to an official « admitting » to receiving the fees.
