Extortion and immoral acts of traffic policemen
Stopping and walking your motorbike on the sidewalk because you drive without wearing safe helmet and installation of mirrors. So, you are fined. The amount of fine is up to each fault. It is fined 4,000 riel without mirror and 3,000 riel without wearing helmet but drivers do not forget to ask policemen to issue receipt in order to avoid the loss of government revenue.
After the implementation of road traffic law, traffic policemen have been deployed at the corner of traffic lights in Phnom Penh and along national road and streets in provinces. All people have to respect the rules, including the poor, the rich and powerful.
Even though, there are a lot of irregular issues happening to Cambodian people, and social injustice and bribery are also noted. While driving passes the traffic lights, I always spotted the impolite language, immoral gesture and extortion by policemen. It seems that law made is to apply to the poor. The rich and powerful still break the rules but not punished or fined, though they know that they are violating the current regulation and rules.
Those acts are presently happening along the streets in Phnom Penh and provinces, as following.
- Normally, traffic law violators have to be fined by policemen, but irregularity appears in the fine. Sometimes police ask drivers to pay less payment without issuing receipt. Therefore, the money from fine is running into police pockets. Will corrupt police be punished or fired from work?
- Drivers who do not wear crash helmet or without mirror are beaten by police by baton while trying to drive to avoid policemen. Sometimes, motorbikes fell to the grown and hit to other motors. To this point, police should be patient and be careful. If drivers meet accident, who will be responsible for?
- Police dare not to stop luxury cars and cars which are installed with police or RCAF license plates, while driving is violating traffic rule or light. Where is the equality of respect of law?
- Even though, both without wearing helmet and installation of mirror, policemen do not stop and fine them while they are wearing police or military uniform. Do they have rights to break the rules?
I just found out 4 points in the irregularities in the world of police’s fine. I hope that there are other points happening in current society. Do you meet and saw all of these indecent acts in public places? It does not mean that I try to strongly criticize traffic policemen but I want to show that it is corrupt and bribery issues in our country. In order to make people abide by the law, the law implementers have to respect the rule too.
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Dear Vutha,
Thank you for your blog related to road safety and some issue which not only you found this problem but you are right.
the problem is that how to aware the police and reduce the corruption among the some traffic police who know the law and break the law. to me i hope you keep continuous to rise this problem day by day.
I hope one day Cambodia will be have a good feature of traffic police.
Kim