India tops bribery rate survey in Asia Pacific region - Manila Metro
• Survey conducted by international anti-graft rights group Transparency International
• India had the dubious distinction of having the highest bribery rate in the Asia Pacific region
• India is followed by Vietnam in Asia Pacific bribery survey
NEW DELHI, India - A survey conducted by international anti-graft rights group Transparency International revealed India had the dubious distinction of having the highest bribery rate in the Asia Pacific region.
Some 69 percent in India said they had paid a bribe, followed by 65 percent in Vietnam - nearly two thirds of respondents said they had to pay a bribe to access basic services like public education and healthcare.
Pakistan was at 40 percent and China was much lower at 26 percent.
Japan had the lowest bribery rate at 0.2 percent.
South Korea also fared well at a just three percent.
Some 20,000 respondents were polled in 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region as part of the survey.
Some 900 million people were forced to fork over "tea money" at least once in the previous 12 months, according to the survey's findings.
The survey revealed that the police were the most common recipients of bribes, with just under a third of people who had come into contact with an officer in the past year saying they had paid a bribe.
Meanwhile, the poor were hit hardest by corruption - 38 percent of respondents in this category said they had to pay a bribe.
"Governments must do more to deliver on their anti-corruption commitments. It's time to stop talking and act. Millions of people are forced to pay bribes for public services and it is the poor who are most vulnerable," said Jose Ugaz, chair of Transparency International.
Ugaz added, "without proper law enforcement corruption thrives. Bribery is not a small crime, it takes food off the table, it prevents education, it impedes proper healthcare and ultimately it can kill.”
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