welcome to the 3rd world where if u cant bribe em ur fucked. they who dont have the cash are 'made examples of', hapless (mostly) foreign tourists are ideal for this.
friend of mine was 'caught' in thailand before, 400 bucks later the charges were dropped.
another friend in a village near goa (india) was looking for acid for aaages until he noticed that the cops were the street corner dealers.
but extreme poverty does that to people, and it makes corruption in the western world seem even lamer