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.
Krit Suwanpiyawong (left) is taken into custody by Maj. Wasu Sangsuksai (right), chief of Pattaya City Hall’s regulatory enforcement department.
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.
