Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the national police chief, maintains that one of his deputies, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, is not the victim of persecution or of foul play over the issuance of a summons for him to report to Thung Song Hong police station, to acknowledge money laundering charges related to the BNKMaster online gambling website.
He said that the enquiry officers are simply acting in accordance with the evidence already gathered, adding that this is the first summons issued for Surachate to report to them on Thursday.
He said it is up to Surachate whether he will report. If he does not, a second summons will be issued and, if he fails to report again, then an arrest warrant will be issued.
The national police chief insists that the enquiry officers are authorised to issue the summonses, because the case under their jurisdiction is separate from the one currently pending with the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Regarding the duplicate of the first summons sent to the national police chief, Pol Gen Torsak said it is now with the legal affairs department of the Royal Thai Police.
According to procedure, he explained that Surachate is required to report to the Royal Thai Police in his capacity as a suspect and, then, a fact-finding panel will be set up to consider disciplinary action against him.
Surachate’s lawyer is due to hold a press conference on Tuesday, reportedly to expose the money trail of the BNKMaster online gambling website and those benefiting from the gambling operations.
