Chanchao shunted over to PM's Office

Chanchao shunted over to PM's Office

Transfer follows 'criticism' of ministry

Chanchao Chaiyanukit: on Tuesday, permanent secretary, then transferred to a new, undefined post in the PM's offices of inactive bureaucrats who angered men at the top. (Photo via Public Relations Department)
Chanchao Chaiyanukit: on Tuesday, permanent secretary, then transferred to a new, undefined post in the PM's offices of inactive bureaucrats who angered men at the top. (Photo via Public Relations Department)

Permanent secretary for justice Chanchao Chaiyanukit has been transferred to the Prime Minister's Office amid speculation his remarks highlighting the ministry's budget crunch, implying internal mismanagement, have upset the government.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said the cabinet approved Mr Chanchao's transfer to the PM's Office, where he will serve as an inspector-general. He said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wanted Mr Chanchao to work on police and justice reforms.

Wisit Wisitsora-at, director-general of the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection (DJOP), has been made the new permanent secretary, Mr Suwaphan said. According to a ministry source, Mr Chanchao was on a work trip in Austria and was due to fly back on Sunday. The source said Mr Chanchao, who had held the position for more than a year, worked to his utmost to respond to government policy.

But after giving a newspaper interview during which he said the Justice Ministry had been hit by a budget crunch, forcing it to slash 2,000 temporary employees, his remarks may have been taken as damaging the ministry's reputation, the source said.

In March, Mr Chanchao and Tarit Pengdith, the former head of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), were sentenced to two years in jail by the Appeal Court, suspended for two years, for the unfair transfer of a senior DSI official in 2012.

The case was filed by Piyawat Kingkate, former director of the DSI's Bureau of Intellectual Property Crime. He accused Mr Tarit and Mr Chanchao of malfeasance in unfairly transferring him to a special post, a lower position, under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.

The transfer took place between March 30 and Oct 8, 2012, while Mr Tarit was director-general of the DSI and Mr Chanchao was deputy permanent secretary for justice. On Aug 11, 2015, the Criminal Court handed down a two-year jail term to Mr Tarit, without suspension, and acquitted Mr Chanchao.

Mr Wisit earlier served as deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Judicial Affairs (OJA) before being made the deputy director-general of the Legal Execution Department (LED) at the behest of Somchai Wongsawat, who was then permanent secretary for justice. He is said to have been involved in the drafting of an amnesty bill along with Chaikasem Nitisiri, the justice minister at the time. The bill was criticised for its broad coverage of wrongdoers of political violence and its allegedly implicit aim to benefit former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Meanwhile, Gen Prayut said he supported the idea that police should report to provincial authorities. The command structure must be clear and police could also help provincial governors, he said.

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