The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. Government implementation of the law was weak, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year.
Corruption: Corruption remained widespread among members of the police. There were numerous incidents of police charged with abduction, sexual harassment, theft, and malfeasance plus reports that police tortured, beat, and otherwise abused detainees and prisoners, generally with impunity. Authorities arrested police officers and convicted them of murder, drug trafficking, and smuggling; police reportedly also were involved with intellectual property rights violations.
On February 6, the NACC ordered the asset confiscation of 296 million baht ($8.9 million) of former ministry of defense permanent secretary General Sathien Phoemthong-in and forwarded the case to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for further legal action. The commission had found him guilty of unlawful gains in 2013.