Two retired deputy national police chiefs and four police associations submitted a petition to the Royal Thai Police today, calling for legal action against ex-deputy police chief Surachate Hakparn for describing the office as the biggest criminal organisation in Thailand.
They also demanded a comprehensive investigation into corrupt officers involved in illegal online gambling and scam activities.
Surachate, who was dismissed from the police service for his alleged involvement in a major online gambling network, known as ‘Meanie’, and Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, head of the ‘Help Crime Victims Society’, appeared on TV talk-shows, denouncing police for being behind most scam call centre and online gambling networks in the country.
The police associations and the retired senior police officers, Pol Gen Winai Thongsong and Pol Gen Aek Angsananont, claim that Surachate’s defamatory remark against the Royal Thai Police has caused serious damage to the image of the service as a whole.
They propose that the national police chief forms an independent committee to investigate the charges levelled by Surachate, while challenging him to present any evidence he may have, which would be helpful in the investigation, to the Royal Thai Police.
The police spokesman, Pol Lt-Gen Yingyos Thepchamnong, said today that the national police chief, Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, will not respond to Surachate’s accusation directly, but will launch an investigation to uncover the truth.
