The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has found a former chief of the Marine Police Division and two other senior police officers to be unusually rich.
The first case involved Boonsueb Praithuen, former chief of the Marine Police Division under the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), said NACC secretary-general Niwatchai Kasemmongkol.
Boonsueb was found to have demanded bribes from oil smuggling gangs and fuel traders. They were asked to make monthly deposits to five bank accounts held by him and his wife. The deposits totalled 36.77 million baht, some of which was spent to pay for life insurance policies.
The NACC found him guilty of being unusually rich and submitted its investigative findings and recommendations to the Attorney-General to ask the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases to confiscate the assets he had acquired illegally.
Boonsueb was earlier stripped of his police major rank and royal decorations in December 2015 after being fired from the force for gross disciplinary violations.
Boonsueb was a close aide of former CIB chief Pongpat Chayapan, whose criminal network was brought down in 2014. All are serving jail terms for numerous offences including soliciting and accepting bribes, malfeasance and lese majeste.
The gang led by Pongpat had amassed billions of baht in cash, property, jewellery and other valuables, as well as a huge collection of art and artefacts, all obtained from illegal activities between 2009 and 2014.
Pongpat Chayapan, former CIB chief, enters the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders in Bangkok in Feb 2018. (File photo: Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)
In the second case, the NACC investigated allegations that Pol Col Noppadol Ninmanon, while serving as deputy commander of the drug trafficking interdiction division under the Narcotics Suppression Division (NSD) between 2013 and 2016, created false informants to claim cash rewards from his agency for the arrest of suspects and seizure of drugs in 44 cases.
The rewards amounting to 61.65 million baht had been deposited into his bank accounts. He allegedly spent 6 million baht to buy a house and land in tambon Rim Kok in Muang district of Chiang Rai and another 1.3 million to purchase two plots in tambon Tha Sai of the northern province.
The NACC recommended that the Attorney-General ask the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases to confiscate the assets that he had acquired illegally.
A court ruling and the NACC report would be sent to the immediate superior of the accused officer to fire him from the police force within 60 days, said Mr Niwatchai.
The third case involved Pol Col Phetcharaporn Mongphonmuang, who served as a deputy commander of the drug trafficking interdiction division of the NSD between 2015 and 2017.
She had made many deposits in her bank accounts, purchased gold weighing 120 baht (1.82kg) and worth 4.9 million baht at today’s prices, purchased two land plots in Chiang Mai worth 2.2 million baht, and repaid debts amounting to 713,000 baht to a bank.
The NACC examined her income and found that her earnings were not sufficient to buy the accumulated gold as she claimed.
The NACC recommended that the Attorney-General ask the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases to confiscate the assets that she had acquired illegally.
A court ruling and the NACC report would be sent to the immediate superior of Pol Col Phetcharaporn to fire her from the police force within 60 days.
