Cops on the Beat

By THE IRRAWADDY SEPTEMBER, 2010 - VOL.18 NO.9

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The sober reputation of Thailand’s police force was shaken up in August when a video showing a group of officers performing a hot dance routine found its way onto the YouTube Internet site.

The high-stepping troupe, members of Chiang Mai’s tourist police force, were filmed rehearsing for a police talent show, which they went on to win. The five-minute video spot has so far attracted more than 300,000 viewers.

“We never thought it would become this big,” Lt-Col. Tanakorn Doltanakan, one of nine members of the troupe, told the Associated Press.

The group impersonated a popular South Korean band, Super Junior, performing one of its hits, “Sorry Sorry.” The tourist police escorted Super Junior when it played recently in Chiang Mai—“and we saw how popular the group is,” said Tanakorn.

The hot cops have a hard task ahead if they hope to rival the popularity of Super Junior, which has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube. They can take heart, however, from improving the image of Thailand’s police force.

“People have told us they didn’t think the tourist police were this cute,” said Tanakorn.

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