Police General Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, appears to be embarking on a vendetta against those he blames for his recent fall from grace.
A defamation suit was filed today with the Criminal Court, against a member of the Police Commission, for allegedly disclosing to the media details of a police investigation report on an online gambling business, implicating him of involvement in money laundering.
He did not name retired senior police officer, but implied that he is a police general and a legal expert who was appointed, by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, as part of a fact-finding committee to investigate the feud between Surachate and Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the former police chief.
The embattled deputy police chief explained that the warrant for his arrest, which was issued by the Criminal Court, stemmed from his refusal to respond to a summons, not because of his involvement in online gambling.
He maintains that the role of the fact-finding panel is to submit its findings to the prime minister and not to tell the media.
He also threatened to file malfeasance charges against his superiors, among them Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the former police chief.
Meanwhile, Wissanu Krea-ngam urged Surachate to spare the prime minister from the malfeasance charge, for not negating a previous order removing him from police service now that the Council of State had ruled that the order was not legitimate.
As an advisor to the prime minister, Wissanu recommended that Surachate resort to another channel for his official reinstatement, such as the Police Virtue Protection Committee.
He asked Surachate to wait until there is a ruling on his case from the Police Virtue Protection Committee, which will take about a month.
Asked about Surachate’s career path, Wissanu said that every police general, including Surachate, is qualified to become the national police chief.
File photo : Deputy national police commissioner Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn
