Transcript of the above video: 

I'm going to just jump right in here because I recently came upon an article in the Thai Examiner, that is thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Systemic VIP corruption alleged at Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok by rights activist 'Genius'. Now the title of this video says immigration Bureau mostly because they do oversee Susan Phlu, the Immigration Detention Centre. That said, at the end of the day, this pertains to affairs occurring at the Detention Centre itself, it doesn't it does not seem to go more broadly than that. But that said, the Immigration Bureau oversees that centre so that's the way things are looking, or at least that's the allegation as of the time of this video. Quoting directly: "One of Thailand's top activists and anti-corruption campaigners this week blew the lid off what he describes as systemic corruption at the Immigration Bureau's main detention centre in the heart of Bangkok. The Suan Phlu facility is already notorious as a "hell hole" for people detained for breaches of Thailand’s strict immigration laws. The complaint filed by the activist known as 'Genius' alleges a systematic scheme offering VIP services to inmates in return for hefty bribes. The payments are reportedly generating up to B100 million (correction) a year and even involved inmates themselves in collecting the money."

So, just for some further context, we here at the firm deal with Suan Phlu, not exactly frequently, but dealing with things like expedited deportations to get people basically out of there is something we've assisted with in the past. Now we ourselves have never come upon any of this sort of systemic corruption, as we'll get into here in a moment. It seems to be primarily being focused on the Chinese Expat Community. That said, yeah again, we deal with that Immigration Centre from time to time and haven't actually come upon anything like this. I don't know what I'd do if I had come upon it, but just for further context I think it's worth pointing out. 

Also, while I'm just kind of standing here, I think it's a good idea to throw in a plug every once in a while, for Pancake Palace. My better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. As the name implies, breakfast anytime. That's American style breakfast as well as American style diner food: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chilli bowls; we've even got tacos now. We've got buffalo wings best that I can tell in Thailand, so if you're interested, please feel free to come on down; link is in the description below, Pancake Palace.

That being said, quoting further: "Specifically, the scheme allegedly targeted Chinese detainees linked to international scam networks." So that is another further data point on all of this. As most folks are aware, Thailand has had this issue for going on 6, 8 months now along the border. Obviously we've had the border disputes, but these scam centres along the border seem to be if you will the sort of financial funding mechanism for some of that unrest at the border, because they have these scam centers that are targeting folks in Thailand, but also abroad and basically bringing in money, sort of duping people; it's my understanding it's kind of like boiler room type stuff. Duping old folks out of their savings or they are engaged in things like online gambling networks etc." That said, quoting further: "These networks operate large fraud operations across several countries. Therefore, many suspects arrested in Thailand are believed to control significant funds. One key method allegedly involved the operation of so-called "VIP detention rooms". These rooms reportedly offered greater comfort than the general holding areas. However, access required substantial payments. According to Atchariya, detainees paid around 200,000 Baht per person each month. The payments were allegedly made in cash. In exchange, detainees received improved accommodation and special privileges inside the rooms." 

Again, these are all allegations at this point. As I said, we ourselves, we have dealt with Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in the past. I've never found there to be particularly anything akin to systemic corruption. That said, again I'm not the end all be all authority on this and these allegations seem pretty substantial. The person who has lodged the complaint - and I urge those who are watching this video go check out Thai Examiner, thaiexaminer.com if you want to read that article in detail, because as usual, Thai Examiner does a really good job of basically covering the story. 

But again, these are allegations and people are innocent until proven guilty here in Thailand. So they remain allegations until they are proven up in some sort of adjudicatory capacity which remains to be seen. That said, we will certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as this situation evolves.