BANGKOK, May 29 (TNA) – The Land Transport Federation of Thailand (LTFT) will submit additional information about overweight truck bribe –paid stickers to the Move Forward Party on June 1, said Apichart Prairungruang, LTFT chairman.
Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn a list MP-elect of the Move Forward Party has revealed that drivers of overloaded trucks displaying special bribe-paid stickers could pass weighbridges without being stopped at checkpoints.
LTFT chairman said MFP executives came to listen to the problem at the LTFT about 3-4 months before the election. He did not know the issue would be disclosed to the public.
The bribe-paid stickers have been the problem for over 20 years and it has worsened. The bribe can be as high as 25,000-27,000 baht a month for each truck to carry unlimited weight.
For example, a 22-wheeler truck with a weight limit of 50.5-tonne weight may double the truck weight to 100 tonnes with the display of the special sticker, he said.
According to the LTFT’s evaluation, about two thirds of all 1.5 million trucks pay bribe for their overweight trucks. He said LTFT members operating about 400,000 trucks signed a Memorandum of Understanding not to violate the law. LTFT members are affected by the bribery as truckers paying bribe for carrying excess weight can cut their operating cost by half. Truck operators complying with the law could be forced out of business or have to pay bribe to survive.
The chairman said brokers collect the money from truck operators to deal with the police but he could not reveal the identity of the brokers to the media for fear of being sued.
Stickers depict various patterns such as a rabbit, a bird, the sun and numbers. It will change every month for update on bribe payment. Those trucks with special stickers can be seen using the right lane because drivers won’t be stopped by the police, he added. (TNA)
