The appointment of new National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) president Suchart Trakulkasemsuk has been overshadowed by a leaked video showing his meeting with the Parliament president.
The 62-year-old former judge, an NACC member since July 2020, was elected as its new chief in a 5-2 vote by his colleagues on February 5. His appointment was endorsed by royal command on February 11.
Suchart replaced Vittaya Arkompituk, who had served as acting NACC president since September after former chief Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit stepped down upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Video leak controversy
The new chief came under intense scrutiny after the controversial clip was leaked to the media early this month. The video captures Suchart talking to Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the House of Representatives speaker who also serves as ex-officio Parliament president. The videoed meeting reportedly took place at Wan Noor’s house in early January.
Wan Noor accused suspended deputy police chief Pol General Surachate Hakparn of secretly recording the meeting after bringing Suchart to meet him without his consent. He also slammed Surachate for “failing to act like a man”.
The video shows Suchart and Wan Noor discussing the selection of a new NACC president and the petition against Suchart that Surachate had submitted to the Parliament president. It raised suspicions that Suchart was seeking Wan Noor’s help in his bid to lead the anti-graft agency.
Surachate’s complaint, backed by over 20,000 eligible voters, claimed Suchart was unfit to be NACC chief due to accusations he is “unusually wealthy” – a euphemism for corrupt.
The Parliament president then dismissed the complaint, declaring the allegation was groundless. However, lawmakers from the opposition-leading People’s Party rejected Wan Noor’s ruling and called for an investigation into his meeting with the NACC chief.
Suchart, meanwhile, remained silent over the video clip and the ensuing controversy.
Surachate is currently under NACC investigation into his alleged involvement in a major online gambling network, with results expected soon. Observers say the leaked video could benefit him by damaging the NACC’s credibility.
3 decades in judiciary
Suchart obtained a law degree from Ramkhamhaeng University in 1984 and attained his licence from the Thai Bar Association a year later. He earned a master’s in law from Dhurakij Pundit University in 1999.
Suchart had spent over three decades in the judiciary by the time he joined the NACC in July 2020. He entered the judicial system as an assistant judge before becoming a full-fledged judge at the Si Sa Ket Provincial Court in the Northeast.
In 2002, Suchart was appointed chief judge of the Sukhothai Provincial Court’s Juvenile and Family Court Division. He became deputy chief justice of the Central Labour Court in 2008 and a Court of Appeals judge three years later. In 2018, he was appointed chief judge for special cases at the Court of Appeals and, the following year, chief justice of Bangkok’s Min Buri Civil Court.
Suchart was also selected as a member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) under the NCPO junta following the 2014 military coup.
It was his membership of the NLA that sparked the investigation into whether Suchart was qualified to be an anti-graft commissioner.
The NACC law mandates that former MPs and senators must have vacated their seats at least 10 years before serving as NACC commissioners.
However, the junta-installed Senate ruled in June 2020 that its appointment of Suchart to the NACC complied with the Constitution and relevant laws, asserting that an NLA member was not considered an MP or a senator.
In August 2020, just a month after joining the NACC, the former judge said he switched careers in anticipation of a more interesting work environment at the “specialist” independent agency.
“Relying on criminal procedural law alone is not enough to bring true offenders to justice. You need special methods implemented by a specialist agency like the NACC,” Suchart said in a media interview.
