Whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit took his anti-corruption crusade to Government House on Tuesday, calling on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to put an end to police-run gambling among other problems.
The former massage parlour tycoon and politician also challenged the prime minister to resolve a land conflict between state agencies and look into alleged irregularities in the Orange Line rail contract.
Mr Chuvit was taken to meet Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, secretary-general of the prime minister, in front of Command Building 1 at Government House around 2.15pm.
Speaking to a crew of reporters, the former politician said he discussed online gambling involving a police inspector “Sua”, who allegedly accumulated tens of billion baht in ill-gotten gains.
The wayward inspector has been identified in media reports as Pol Lt Col Wasawat Mukarasakul. He has been suspended from the force for absenteeism, pending the outcome of an investigation into the lucrative network he is alleged to head.
“There are many scales of online gambling — S, M, L, XL — depending on the amounts of money in circulation in each scale,” said Mr Chuvit.
He also raised the issue of a land conflict between two government agencies. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) have been at odds over the disposition of national park land.
The DNP wants to preserve national park status for the large tracts of land it manages, but the ALRO wants to see more land distributed to landless farmers, and not resort owners who are often found to be encroaching illegally on parks, said Mr Chuvit.
Finally, Mr Chuvit raised the issue of alleged irregularities in the bidding for the Orange Line electric train project, saying some 30 billion baht had allegedly been taken.
He did not elaborate, but the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) has been accused of rigging the bid terms for an extension of the rail line to exclude the skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc.
“I want to bring these problems up for discussion to make them clear to society,” said Mr Chuvit. “I think the prime minister is an honest person. He must act against these problems in a transparent manner if he wants to be in power for another two years.
“As a citizen, I have the right to know. I am not affiliated with any political parties, nor do I support any parties. I have no hidden agenda. I view that getting rid of corruption is the first priority (of the government).
“The prime minister used this issue to seize power eight years ago. I think the prime minister may be aware of these problems.”
He urged Gen Prayut to seriously tackle the problems he raised with Mr Pirapan, who is also leader of the United Thailand Nation Party (UTN). Gen Prayut joined the party last month and will be its prime ministerial candidate in the coming election.