Thailand Ranks 84 out of 180 on Corruption Perceptions Index

[WannaGo]

Transparency International has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

It "ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. It is a composite index, drawing on corruption-related data in expert surveys carried out by a variety of reputable institutions. It reflects the views of business people and analysts from around the world, including experts who are locals in the countries evaluated.

The CPI focuses on corruption in the public sector and defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. The surveys used in compiling the CPI ask questions that relate to the misuse of public power for private benefit, with a focus, for example, on bribe-taking by public officials in public procurement. The sources do not distinguish between administrative and political corruption or between petty and grand corruption."

Thailand was 80 last year, so it's slipped four places.

Keep in mind that the CPI has been criticized for poor methodology in determining the rankings.

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[Bob]

Now, the only (Thai) logical way to improve Thailand's rankings is to pay a little tea money to Transparency International. I wouldn't doubt if it's been tried....hehe.

[Beer Chang]

Both Cuba and Colombia rank higher than Thailand. Ouch.

[Wino]

Both Cuba and Colombia rank higher than Thailand. Ouch.

And the US is #19. Ouch

[WannaGo]

Is "tea money" the euphemism for a bribe in Thailand? I've always liked what the Mexicans call a bribe, la mordida, "the bite." Seems pretty accurate.

[lvdkeyes]

Yes, Tea money is a bribe. I am not sure where it came from.

[Bob]

I'm not sure where the term comes from either but one online dictionary accurately describes it as follows:

Tea money:

–noun (esp. in parts of China) a bribe used to facilitate any business dealing.

[Thaimo]

On another board the orgin of 'Tea Money' is described as follows:

"The history of tea money is that Thai towns have always had massage places, soapys, and all other classes of brothels.. Because prostitution is illegal they couldnt then be taxed, but in the Thai way they wanted to tax the businesses.

So as a workaround all the P4P places were classed as 'Tea houses' and taxed on that basis.. So the money paid by 'Tea houses' to stay open then was 'Tea Money' and the term has become general use."

http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/684022-post5.html

[lvdkeyes]

Thanks for the explanation. Interesting!

[Thaimo]

Thanks for the explanation. Interesting!

The explanation seems plausible to me, but I have no idea what "soapys" are. For me, that is a new term.

[WannaGo]

Thanks for the backstory on tea money...in the States, there are places where you can get a soapy full-body rub (in reality, they are little more than handjob joints)...could that be what soapys are?