Praise pours in for Thungyai park chief

Praise pours in for Thungyai park chief

Accused poacher Mr Premchai is confronted Sunday night at his camping area by Wichien Chinnawong, chief of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. (Photo courtesy Thungyai Naresuan Park official)
Accused poacher Mr Premchai is confronted Sunday night at his camping area by Wichien Chinnawong, chief of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. (Photo courtesy Thungyai Naresuan Park official)

The man behind the arrest of Premchai Karnasuta is praised for his courage and determination to defend one of the last forest frontiers - no matter how important the miscreants are.

And there are no better pictures to illustrate his hard work than the one posted by Patarapol Maneeorn on his Facebook page. The image shows Wichien Chinnawong, the chief of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, sleeping on his feet outside Thong Pha Phum police station after handing the president of the Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) and three others to police.

"Look at that. If he could not go to the limit, he could not sleep like this," writes Mr Patarapol, who is a veterinarian at the Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

"Take care, 'Chien'," he writes and invites others to show him support on the post.

More than 1,500 netizens have shared the post and the list of people sending him moral support keeps growing.

The FM91 Traffic Police station also posted his image on its Twitter account with a message saying: "He's the man."

Wichien Chinnawong, the chief of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, sleeps on his feet outside Thong Pha Phum police station after handing the president of the Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) and three others to police on Sunday night. (FB/Patarapol Maneeorn)

The network of Khao Yai conservation groups also issued a statement praising Mr Wichien and his team for their work to protect natural resources for all Thais.

Mr Wichien led his park ranger team on Saturday to Huai Pachee, an area in the park where camping is banned, where they found Mr Premchai and three other persons. They were stunned to find skinned carcasses of protected wild animals, including an Indochinese leopard, along with rifles.

All were taken out to Mr Wichien's office on 2.40am on Sunday.

The rangers went back to the location later that day to seize the remaining items and handed the suspects over to police in Thung Pha Phum district in Kanchanaburi on Sunday night to face nine charges.

Mr Premchai and his group denied poaching protected wild animals. They could face a maximum of 28 years in jail if found guilty.

The arrest of a famous businessman like the ITD president has raised doubt about Mr Wichien's future.

Sasin Chalermlarp, chairman of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation, told Thai PBS that the public should keep an eye on what happens to him and called on the public to protect the official.

Mr Wichien's job is safe, said department director-general Thanya Netithammakun, who picked him to take care of the western frontier of the country.

Mr Wichien said the policy from the department chief was clear: no kow-towing to influential figures.

Bringing violators of park regulations to justice is nothing new for him. In the past, he has arrested five people cutting payung trees in the Si Than Wildlife Sanctuary in Phu Si Than in Kham Cha-i district in Mukdahan, and seized 160 rai of land from a politician in Kanchanaburi for encroaching on Thung Yai.

But last weekend, he caught his biggest fish yet. 

"I will not bow to any pressure or interference after making arrests," he said.

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