Yeah... and in Thailand a uniform is just a license to practice extortion with impunity. The Immigration supervisor at HKT extorted 2000 baht from me last time I was there. The police don't do anything... except collect 'tea money' at roadblocks (and with the military junta in power, there are roadblocks everywhere now).
If you're Thai 'Hi-So' (high society) you can drive drunk, kill nine people and 'get off' by becoming a monk for a week. If you're a tourist caught feeding the fish, you'll have bail set a 100,000 baht before your tried and found guilty. Koh Tao has become known as "Death Island"... especially for attractive, young, blonde, females. Plus, the lese-majeste laws are the strictest in the world (and the penalties Draconian) - you can't say anything about the new king being a spoiled, stoned, 'rich kid' gangster who'd rather be banging supermodels in Europe (unless you want to spend 30 years in the 'Bangkok Hilton').