I don't want revenge, says 'Big Joke'

Surachate: Stash of damaging info
Surachate: Stash of damaging info

Deputy national police chief, Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn, says he does not want revenge on several senior officers for their actions against him, despite his holding secret information that he says could spell their doom.

"I don't want to get revenge. I have plenty of information. If I expose it, everyone at the Royal Thai Police [RTP] is doomed.

"But I will not reveal it yet. I still want to protect the [police] force," he said during a television show on Channel 9 on Wednesday.

Pol Gen Surachate was speaking after a high-profile search of his rented house in Bangkok on Monday as part of a probe into online gambling websites. The search was based on financial transactions related to gambling websites uncovered earlier.

The raid on Pol Gen Surachate's rented house in Bangkok was part of an operation code-named "Big Cleaning Day," which targeted 30 properties in Bangkok and five provinces.

Several of the other houses belonged to police officers close to Surachate, and they are alleged to be involved in online gambling sites operating in Laos with about one billion baht in circulation.

Surachate said on Wednesday he instructed his lawyer to file a complaint with Southern Bangkok's Criminal Court, alleging contempt of court in the police application for an arrest warrant for eight of his subordinates.

He said investigators who sought the arrest warrant failed to identify their ranks. If investigators had done so, the court would not have approved the arrest warrant, but would have issued a summons instead, Surachate said.

However, on Wednesday he admitted the five houses actually belonged to a businessman based in Udon Thani. He rented the houses from him and let his subordinates stay in two of them. 

Vocabulary

  • contempt of court: the offense and crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful of a court of law and its officers. -
  • doom (noun): death or destruction; any terrible event that you cannot avoid - เคราะห์ร้าย, เคราะห์กรรม, ความหายนะ
  • doomed: certain to fail, die or be destroyed - ซึ่งถูกกำหนดไว้ว่าจะเกิดเรื่องไม่ดี
  • expose: to make something publicly known because you believe it is illegal or dishonest - ตีแผ่ เปิดเผย
  • probe: an investigation - การสอบสวน
  • rank: someone’s official position in the armed forces, police, fire services, etc. - ยศ, ตำแหน่ง
  • reveal: to show or let something become known - เปิดเผย
  • revenge: something that you do to hurt or punish someone because they have hurt you or someone else - การแก้แค้น
  • subordinate: someone who has less power or authority than someone else - ผู้ใต้บังคับบัญชา สมุน
  • transaction: a business dealing - การติดต่อทางธุรกิจ
  • warrant (noun): a legal document that is signed by a judge and gives the police authority to do something - หมาย
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