Thailand doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to its police force. Anyone who has lived in Thailand can tell you this.
It is known as one that takes kickbacks, bribes, handouts — whatever you want to call it, half the time just to do the job the average police officer should be doing simply because they are being paid for it.
So, it is not surprising that the Bangkok Post is reporting such widespread cheating in a Thai police exam, the Royal Thai Police Office is investigating.
The problem is, so many of those in the Royal Thai Police Office may have cheated their way through their police exams, it’s a bit like the fox investigating the fox guarding the hen house.
Meanwhile, the results of the nationwide police exam, held on Sunday, have now been declared invalid, as so many police officers cheated the police force really can’t believe any of the results.
The cheating in the police exams was apparently carried out by a gang that sold short-wave radios to police officers taking the exams. During the exams, the officers were then fed the answers to each question via vibrations received through the radios.
Buying a short-wave radio to be able to cheat in the exams cost 350,000 baht ($11,290), payable in installments.
Now Thais are wondering, how does a Thai police officer making on average 8,000 to 12,000 baht ($258 to $387) a month possibly afford $11,290 to pass an exam by cheating?
After all, corruption in the Thai police force is well-known, with most police officers getting hundreds of dollars a month in kickbacks and bribes, but $11,290 worth of bribes?
Besides, why didn’t it ever cross the minds of these Thai police officers, wouldn’t it be simpler and a lot cheaper to just study for the exam, and pass it the normal way?
By NOT cheating.
