Police Commission members voted unanimously on Wednesday to back the order of the acting national police chief to dismiss Pol Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, a deputy chief, from the force over his alleged connection with an online gambling network.
The 12-member body chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin spent three hours discussing the issue before reaching its conclusion.
Pol Gen Surachate, a high-profile figure with a flair for self-promotion, has attracted unwanted publicity in recent months because of allegations that he and four subordinates were involved in money laundering for the BNK Master gambling network.
The deputy chief has denied the allegations, saying they were concocted by rivals on the force to block his path to the police chief’s position.
The dismissal order was issued in April and signed by deputy national police chief Kitrat Phanphet, who was appointed acting chief after Pol Gen Surachate and police chief Torsak Sukivimol were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office, in a move to address a mounting rift within the force.
Pol Gen Winai Thongsong, a former deputy chief and a commission member, told his colleagues on Wednesday that he believed the decision made by Pol Gen Kitrat was lawful. It was also backed by the police disciplinary committee.
Pol Gen Surachate on Monday threatened to file a malfeasance complaint against the prime minister if he failed to have the order dismissing him from the force revoked.
On Tuesday the embattled officer filed a defamation lawsuit with the Bangkok South Criminal Court against a police general who is a member of the Police Commission. The general allegedly implicated him in online gambling right after the court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Pol Gen Winai responded on Wednesday by saying, “I am not worried as I can present evidence through the judicial process.”
“I believe this was an attempt to silence and disqualify individuals from voting in the meeting to determine whether to revoke Pol Gen Surachate’s dismissal,” he added.
As well as the Surachate issue, commission members reviewed a complaint filed against the prime minister over the appointment last year of Pol Gen Torsak as national chief when he allegedly did not meet the criteria.
Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said the NACC had previously invited the secretary of the Police Commission to provide details, but the explanation given was broad and did not address what Pol Gen Torsak had or had not done to meet the criteria.
Mr Niwatchai said that given the vagueness of the information, the meeting on Wednesday agreed to continue the investigation into the facts to determine whether sufficient performance details were presented during the selection process.
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