a pathetic attempt at mocking and a feeble excuse for corruption. those of us against corruption just have to accept the likes of you who haven't the courage or intelligence to stand up against it.you make life harder for us all but fortunately you are in the minority.
anticipating further ridicule i will not repond to your post and allow you to have the last word, as usual.
miked

Got a right hard on for this land office fast track/queue leaping affair I see.

I suppose you've never bought a fake watch, item of clothing, computer software, DVD, music CD etc. Never ate in a Thai family restaurant with underage kids serving/washing up, ditto shops and markets.

And if, heavens forbid, you or a member of your family was involved in a serious road accident harming a Thai you'd do the right thing and choose the 15 year sentence rather than pay the police 50k Baht.

Is that a halo hovering above you

SJ

Corruption and scams Ozzie style!

PRIVATE records of a Chinese-Australian businesswoman close to former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon indicate he received substantial payments as part of a campaign to cultivate him as an agent of political and business influence.

The confidential papers of businesswoman Helen Liu contradict claims last year by Mr Fitzgibbon - and his father, former Labor MP Eric Fitzgibbon - that they had no financial or business relationship with Ms Liu.

Mr Fitzgibbon resigned from Cabinet last June after it was revealed his brother, NIB Health Funds chief Mark Fitzgibbon, had used his office to lobby for defence health contracts.

The minister's political standing had already been weakened by his failure to disclose that he had accepted two first-class flights to China bankrolled by Ms Liu, a wealthy entrepreneur with high-level political and military contacts in Beijing. He was also renting his Canberra residence from the Liu family.

The documents obtained by The Age show Ms Liu recorded her 1997-98 payment of 850,000 Chinese yuan - approximately $150,000 at the then current values - to Joel Fitzgibbon under the heading ''money paid including expenses and gifts''.

The same document shows Ms Liu recorded the establishment of a joint venture with the Fitzgibbon family, including reference to ''Eric (Fitzgibbon) as agent. Regular visits to China. $3 million for start up''.

In a letter to a senior Bank of China executive, Ms Liu wrote that Joel Fitzgibbon would become a cabinet minister when federal Labor won power, adding: ''The money we pay him is worthwhile.''

The Age can also reveal that the office of Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was told in April last year by lawyers for a former business associate of Ms Liu that Mr Fitzgibbon may have had more extensive dealings with the businesswoman than acknowledged.

I slip the staff at a local supermarket a few quid to prepare and deliver my shopping in order to avoid wandering around the place and waiting at the checkout,parking etc. Is that corrupt ?

If they were insisting on it, or overcharging for a jar of pickle for those who would not pay I would say yes.

At best I would call it moonlighting if it were during company time. Opinions please.

Crazy 88

That's a different situation as the supermarket is not a government office with laid down tariffs and fees but is operating in a "free" market where prices are not fixed.

I understand your point regarding govt vs private. An analogy was my intent. I very much doubt that the prices are flexible in 7/11,villa,tesco,makro etc. certainly in mom and pop shops that will compete without head office direction of course.

Crazy 88

I waited until today, when my wife got back from Thailand, so I could ask her of her experience in the Hua Hin Land office last Friday.

They purchased 2 plots of land and 1 commercial property, the paperwork for these transactions was all done and dusted in less than 45 minutes.

They (her parents) paid half the transfer fees on the land deals and the developer paid all taxes on the commercial property transaction.

They had no prior appointment and the staff dealt with their transactions very quickly and efficiently.
No fees paid, either under, or over the counter to staff, other than standard fees applicable for the paperwork.

Mind you, they are in the land office several times a year and FIL being one of the BIB, would be most irate if asked to pay an "extra fee" to anyone.

I have to agree with SJ on the special fee for getting the paperwork done asap.

I don't say the practice is right, but who wants to spend hours in queue's, when for a few quid you could be out enjoying life? 2K Baht is not a lot to pay for a speedy service. Lets face it you do have a choice, as quick or slow, the paperwork will get done eventually.

I have been to that land office 3 times, my last visit was back in 2002 and it seems from what is being said, things may have changed since then.
Though I have to say from what I remember of my visits, they were all quick and painless.

Last week in UK, 10 of us went out for dinner and we tipped £45, because the service and food were excellent, yet that should be the least we expect when we buy something, so what's the difference.

Edit for typo

Pay people decent salaries and a whole lot of petty corruption disappears. Make their job worth more than the backhander potential.
Otherwise, it's when in Rome.....

I am not at all surprised by this attempt at extortion which probably works 9 times out of 10. Thai lawyers routinely advise their Thai clients to give a small present, like about B2,000, to land department officials to ease any difficulties such as errors in paperwork. This often goes a long way. In Bangkok a land officer was so helpful that he transferred a property in a deal I was involved in without caring that company documents were out of date and the signature of the authorized director of the selling company looked nothing like the original (because she had forgotten her original signature was in English not Thai). He later called and pleaded to get the signature done again because he got shit from his boss, even though the transfer was already registered. In Hua Hin they have got greedy and may be fed up with foreigners who don't give them a present. I would think that B100,000 a day is an understatement for black money taken by the Hua Hin office. In another transaction in Bangkok a land officer took B100,000 cash payment to make a tax bill of B550,000 that the buyer and seller had agreed to share disappear completely - big smiles from everyone except the Finance Ministry!