OPINION

Roots of corruption

Re: "Truth of no importance", (PostBag, Feb 26).

"Tom Phuket" is absolutely correct. Truth is irrelevant in the matter of saving face. Mind you, from what I understand, Thai law does state that if the facts provided are honest and correct there is no case to answer. But why let the law get in the way when the rich and powerful are at the wheel?

In my own defamation case (concerning letters printed in the Thai press) I was "advised" by the police to plead guilty to my "crime" even before they had informed me of what I was to plead guilty to (and for some time they refused to tell me what that was. Very hush-hush indeed!).

Furthermore, as time went by, in a second round of interrogation, "additions" had been added to the initial "evidence". It's the way it's done here and there is apparently no shame in openly demonstrating a total disregard for justice and the rule of law.

I was even told who had provided the dirty brown envelopes to ensure a watertight conviction. The message was clear: "You now know who you're dealing with so don't mess with us." Bullies and criminals, the lot of them.

Re: "Rolls-Royce probe grinds to a halt", (BP, Feb 27).

Here's a way to get to the bottom of graft probes: You want to find out who is corrupt? Just ask all the employees of Thai Airways or whatever entity is suspected of corruption and/or bribe taking.

On second thoughts, maybe that won't work. I almost forgot: The same people who are corrupt are also liars, so they're not going to tell the truth. Okay, sorry. Forget my suggestion.

Back to business as usual.

Re: "Bangkok on the road to nowhere", (Opinion, Feb 26).

Bangkok richly deserves its infamy as having the world's second most congested roads and the most deadly traffic -- and a key reason is because we have excellent traffic laws, but don't follow them.

I suggest that vehicle dashboard cameras, which are becoming increasingly popular, play a major part in enforcing the law, as should using market forces to hold law-breakers accountable while encouraging compliance.

Whenever any driver sees the law being broken, he should upload a clip of the violation from his dash cam to the police, who can then track down and fine the violator; the fine the offender would have to pay could go towards offering a reward to the whistle-blower, with the rest going to the police unit processing the case, and the Police Department central fund.

If a whistle-blower gets, say, 100 baht from each conviction, drivers would be encouraged to keep an eagle eye on their fellow drivers, while they themselves would make sure that they are observing the law.

Let's use technology to save lives and time on the road.

Re: "No painting over 'sin city'", (Opinion, Feb 25).

How can we take our officials seriously when they make such fools of themselves by claiming that Pattaya thrives on nature tourism, not sex? Some authorities even go so far as to assert there is no prostitution in Pattaya!

Officials taking this kind of defensive attitude do a disservice to the city and the country, when blatant prostitution slaps every visitor to Pattaya directly in the face, immediately upon entering the city or stepping outside their hotel.

If officials are serious about changing the image of Pattaya, they must take action -- not simply pretend the problems don't exist.

A real make-over of the city will take decades of concerted effort, not a denial of reality.