Mongkol Preesukkasem, a “fake” prosecutor who was recently arrested, was found to have been illegally appointed as a level-five prosecutor by the Thanyaburi Provincial Office of the Attorney General last year.
It was reported on Wednesday that a picture of a certificate issued and signed by the office on March 26 last year was shared in a Line chat group of prosecutors.
The letter certified that Mr Mongkol, who was the adviser to the then director-general of the Office of the Attorney General’s investigative office, Pol Lt Uthai Artiwet, held a position equivalent to a level-five prosecutor. Pol Lt Uthai is currently an acting deputy attorney general.
The letter also stated that Mr Mongkol was a disciplined, moral and honest person who had been helping and benefiting the Office of the Attorney General.
According to a source, the Thanyaburi office did not have the authority to issue the certificate since his advisory position was unofficial and could not be deemed equivalent to a prosecutor of any level.
A level-five prosecutor has the same level of importance as a provincial chief public prosecutor or expert public prosecutor.
Mr Mongkol was arrested by officers of Taling Chan police station in Bangkok while he was giving a lecture on law enforcement at a high school in Nonthaburi last Thursday. During the lecture, he was wearing a prosecutor’s uniform.
The arrest came after the Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on June 20 for impersonation, wearing a prosecutor’s uniform, fraud and inputting false information into a computer system.
Reports also stated that Mr Mongkol does not have the right to wear the uniform or claim to hold the advisory position as Pol Lt Uthai, who appointed him as his adviser, no longer holds the director-general position.