Thailand, a Southeast Asian country, has seized the passport of a female Chinese journalist over bribery allegations. The journalist identified as Guo Rui, also known as Gegee, has been detained by the authorities.
Reportedly, the journalist boasted of her links with top police officials and demanded millions in bribes to help in releasing an organised crime group in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Last week, police arrested her and imposed a travel ban on her. The police alleged that she misused her working relationship with national deputy police chief Surachate Hakparn.
According to sources and media reports, the Chinese journalist promised Navaporn Phakiatsakul, a Chinese woman with Thai citizenship, to release her from jail if she paid 33 million baht (US$947,000).
Phakiatsakul was arrested in April as part of a human trafficking investigation in Thailand. She paid the Chinese journalist 13 million baht. However, the Chinese reporter rejected those claims.
Keep Reading
According to the Bangkok Post, Phakiatsakul was running an illegal surrogacy network in Thailand. She is reportedly a gang leader of the group.
According to police, Phakiatsakul recruited Thai women to offer surrogacy to Chinese couples in the country so that the children would be given Thai citizenship. Illegal surrogacy is not allowed in Thailand.
The Chinese reporter has been temporarily released on bail. Further investigation on the matter is still going on.
Earlier this month, Thai and Chinese police launched a joint operation to arrest people who were involved in Visa scams. In recent years, Thailand has witnessed a rise in abductions involving Chinese nationals.
Thailand authorities have made efforts to remove corruption and crime from the country.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in Thailand investigates corruption complaints in the country. Thailand has adopted various laws to prevent and punish bribery and corruption offences in the country.
