It seems the question was posed in the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok recently: What better way to teach our law enforcement officials a lesson than through public humiliation? And, truly, what greater shame could be inflicted on a staunch, over-bearing asian man than to having to wear a hot-pink accessory depicting Hello Kitty, Ambassador of All Things Cute and Girly? It seems that when the Thai want to teach you a lesson, they really get you where it hurts.

Starting this month, police officers guilty of minor offenses (such as littering, being late to work, or parking in an off-limits area) will be forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for a day. Sadly, while wearing the armbands they will not be made to go out in public, instead they will be confined to their division office for time-out.

The goal of all this, of course, is to ensure the officers feel suitably ashamed of their actions to not repeat them again. “[Hello] Kitty is a cute icon for young girls,” says the policy’s mastermind, Pongpat Chayaphan, “it’s not something macho police officers want covering their biceps.” Well done, sir, well done.

Apparently, they tried this trick earlier, but instead of the armbands being pink, they were in a sort of manly plaid. They didn’t work, though, as the police officers they were issued to took them home as keepsakes (which boggles my mind). Only one of the original ten given out was returned afterward. That’s when the Crime Suppression Division decided to bring out the big guns, I suppose. Maybe they figured, If it worked for Darth Vader, it can work for us. Sound logic, if you ask me.

Source (and photo): CNN and The New York Times

* Not really. Pretty much just since this month.