Banharn moves to defuse corruption clash between police and academics

Police and academics are engaged in a bitter battle over the extent of corruption in Bangkok.

Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa has intervened in a bid to resolve the dispute, which centres around claims that the police are accepting billions of baht in bribes to keep open illegal casinos.

Mr Banharn said yesterday there was to be no more bickering. Twenty-eight police precinct commanders have agreed to stand down after filing defamation charges against the academic who made the allegations.

Economics lecturer Sangsit Piriyarangsan of Chulalongkorn University - one of Thailand's two most respected universities - has admitted his research may need a little more substance. He claimed 300 illegal casinos were paying hundreds of thousands of baht a month to police station chiefs to stay open.

But democracy activists are unlikely to be satisfied with Mr Banharn's face-saving solution.

Thai police have long been at the wrong end of complaints that they are on the take to keep open brothels, casinos and even to keep murders quiet. They were blamed for trying to suppress murder investigations surrounding the embezzlement of millions of US dollars worth of Saudi royal jewels.

Prostitution in the city also flourishes, despite promises by the police to crackdown on the problem, starting with a 1 am closing time for clubs.