- I Paid A Bribe
- 12 years ago
- 1810 views
I was coming back from Thailand after a short holiday, with my wife,…
- Airports
- Airport facilities
- Paid INR 500
I was coming back from Thailand after a short holiday, with my wife, and her brother's family. As i was exiting the airport, a cop/ hawaldar sitting at the gate questioned me about my SLR camera bag. I showed him my camera, and said that i had purchased it in 2010, which is a fact. He said that i was lying, and if that was the case, i should have declared the same prior to departing for Thailand, and would have a corressponding document. He insisted that i had in fact bought it from Thailand, and can be fined for not declaring it. Never in my life has any airport official questioned me about my personal things, especially an old camera. Long story short, after a lot of haggling/ arguing, since my family was waiting, and there was a small baby as well, i asked him what he wanted. He calmly took 500 rs from me in front of the entire multitude of passengers. It is amazing how calm & unafraid officials are. In hindsight i realize that i could have clarified the issue with some senior officials there and then, however did not have the patience at that time. Now since there is a platform to share such incidences, i wanted to relate my story as well.