Politicians of all hues have put aside their differences to remember Yuwadee Tunyasiri v Pathum Thani monks reticent about finding fault with Phra Dhammajayo v City police chief Sanit gets a temporary reprieve from the Ombudsman
End of amedia era
The past week has brought together the movers and shakers, past and present, from across the political spectrum to remember a woman who became known as the "Government House matriarch".
It appeared a transient reconciliation was being played out for a few hours during the funeral prayers for Yuwadee Tunyasiri, the Bangkok Post's former senior reporter and the most recognised figure on the Government House news beat.
"Jae Yu", as she was called with both endearment and awe by reporters and news sources, died aged 71 at Phramongkutklao Hospital where she was receiving treatment for abdominal bleeding on March 9.
Her death was met with an outpouring of grief and shock by reporters, particularly those in the print media in which she spent the decades of her long, illustrious career as a reporter, and known to many politicians walking the halls of Government House, for firing off questions that were no nonsense and straight to the point.
The wife of a former defence permanent secretary, she was innately strong, both in her demeanour and the unreserved way she tried to get answers from sources. If anything, her record of interviewing 20 prime ministers attested unequivocally to the depth of her journalistic experience, which constituted a force to be reckoned with in media circles.
Even before her passing, noted politicians on both sides of the political fence visited Yuwadee in hospital. They included former prime ministers Yingluck Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva. Ms Yingluck came with former PM's office minister Suranand Vejjajiva and then later with Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, a former core figure of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party who could be in the running for Pheu Thai Party leader.
All roads this week led to the veteran reporter's funeral prayers at the temple in Bangkok attended by former prime ministers, high-profile former MPs, and bigwigs in the media industry. It was the first time in many months that the big names in politics and the media have turned out in droves at the same event.
However, the mingling did not proceed without some perceived hiccups, with at least two former premiers not seeing eye to eye when they were seated next to each other for a photograph in front of Yuwadee's coffin.
A source close to Yuwadee said that off the record, some leading ministers had confided in her the problems they faced running the country during their time in office. They even approached her for advice and consulted her about the difficulties in their jobs.
According to the source, some very important actors in the country's politics had grown close to Yuwadee as she inquired from time to time about their families.
Some prominent figures have stated their wish to write an obituary in Yuwadee's cremation book, which promises to be studded with memories of people who knew her professionally and personally.
Treading a minefield
The Pathum Thani chief monk, Phra Thep Rattanasuthee, early this week called a meeting with the acting abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, the temple's assistant abbots, and other leading monks to try to establish whether they had acted properly in compliance with the Section 44 order.
Also present at the meeting were officials from the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
The order issued under Section 44 of the interim constitution has declared the temple's compound as a specially controlled area.
The order is still in force even though the DSI on March 10 called off the 24-day search for the elusive former abbot Phra Dhammajayo, who is wanted for laundering money and receiving stolen assets in connection with the Klongchan Credit Union embezzlement scandal. The controversial monk remains elusive.
Pathum Thani chief monk Phra Thep Rattanasuthee, who is the abbot of Wat Khian Khet in the central province, told the Bangkok Post that monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya who faced summonses and warrants for defying the Section 44 order and resisting the DSI's temple search have now reported to the DSI and police to acknowledge charges.
Among them was Phra Thattacheewo, the temple's deputy abbot, who slipped quietly into Klong 5 police station to answer the charges instead of Klong Luang police station where an army of reporters was waiting.
"There is now only Phra Dhammajayo who is still running away from arrest warrants. The onus is now upon police to pursue him," Phra Thep Rattanasuthee said. "Regarding monastic action to deal with the matter, there are many procedures involved. I have already advised monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya to cooperate fully with state officials."
The monk said he will meet with monks who have governing roles in Pathum Thani to discuss action against Phra Dhammajayo as ordered by Somdet Phra Buddha Chinnawong, the chief monk who oversees the Central Plains region.
Somdet Phra Buddha Chinnawong is the abbot of Wat Pichaya Yatikaram in Bangkok, as well as a member of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) who attended an SSC meeting on March 10.
The meeting concluded that monks with governing roles in Pathum Thani must take action against Phra Dhammajayo in accordance with Rule No.3 in the SSC announcement No.21 which deals with defrocking monks who repeatedly violate the monastic disciplinary code of conduct.
The SSC decision came after the NOB presented documents including investigation reports involving a money-laundering case and other cases against Phra Dhammajayo.
The documents were submitted by several agencies including the DSI, the Royal Thai Police and Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Phra Thep Rattanasuthee admitted that defrocking Phra Dhammajayo was not going to be easy. "We do not know for sure if Phra Dhammajayo has grossly violated the monastic disciplinary code that will lead to him being defrocked.
"If we accuse him of gross violation but he is later proved to be innocent, we, as monks, will also breach the monastic code of conduct ourselves," Phra Thep Rattanasuthee noted.
The monk admitted that the process of dealing with Phra Dhammajayo may be slow because the monks involved in handling the case have to exercise caution in proving whether Phra Dhammajayo was in gross violation of monastic codes as alleged.
Not enough evidence
City police chief Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn is out of the woods for now following the Office of Ombudsman's decision to drop its probe against him for alleged violation of professional ethics.
Pol Lt Gen Sanit, who is also a member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), came under fire for supposedly moonlighting as an adviser to a major alcohol conglomerate and earning extra income.
The information was based on his assets declaration submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) following his appointment to the NLA. The commissioner's assets declaration included a 50,000-baht monthly adviser fee from Thai Beverage since 2015.
Critics questioned the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) commissioner's integrity upon learning he was paid by the firm.
Not only is Pol Lt Gen Sanit a senior law enforcement officer, he is also a political office-holder. Getting paid by a liquor firm raised concerns about a conflict of interest in his duties as a lawmaker, as he may have to deal with legislation related to alcoholic beverages.
A civic group known as the Association for the Protection of the Constitution led by Srisuwan Janya sprang into action and petitioned the Office of the Ombudsman to look into a possible violation of the code of conduct.
The city police chief strongly denied taking a salary from the alcoholic drinks giant and insisted that there must have been a mistake in his assets declaration.
Thai Beverage, meanwhile, wrote to the Ombudsman's office, insisting the conglomerate never hired the senior officer.
As the public was being sidetracked by other issues, the Ombudsman early this week considered the accusation against the MPB commissioner and decided to end its investigation.
According to Raksagecha Chaechai, the secretary-general, the decision is due to insufficient evidence.
First of all, Pol Lt Gen Sanit denied having worked for the firm and claimed he had others handle the assets declaration form for him. Next, Thai Beverage also denied paying him.
According to Mr Raksagecha, the Ombudsman's Office has no further grounds to pursue the investigation.
The assets documents will not be examined by the NACC until Pol Lt Gen Sanit leaves office as an NLA member and submits another declaration to the anti-graft agency. It is then when it will be determined if his assets were "unusually" amassed during his tenure in the NLA.
The ruling by the Ombudsman's Office does not say if the MPB commissioner is cleared of the allegation or found in the wrong because that is the NACC's job to find out if he served as an adviser.
At this stage, the Ombudsman's Office can only consider the ethical matter and it has decided to put the matter to rest.
Aware that its decision is unlikely to please the critics, the Ombudsman's Office also agreed to send a warning to Pol Lt Gen Sanit over his alleged sloppy handling of such important documents.
"As a senior state official, he must be thorough and careful. An excuse [the documents were handled by others] is deemed inappropriate," Mr Raksagecha was quoted as saying.
The decision will also be forwarded to the petitioner and the NLA.
According to Mr Raksagecha, if enough evidence emerges to show that Pol Lt Gen Sanit picked up a pay cheque from the company, the Ombudsman will revive the issue.
While Pol Lt Gen Sanit is virtually off the hook, the Ombudsman's Office is not.
To some critics, the case proves that the Ombudsman's Office is yet another toothless public organisation.