Chakthip seeking Interpol assistance for ex-monk’s custody

By THE NATION

 

 

THAI ATTEMPTS to secure custody from Germany of Phra Phrommedhi, the fugitive former assistant abbot of Wat Samphanthawongsaram who is wanted for allegedly laundering millions of embezzled state funds, should be known on Friday, a source at the police head office said.

 

National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda flew to France with his team on Sunday night in what is reported to be an effort to seek help from the Interpol head office to secure the extradition of the fugitive monk, now known by his lay name Phra Chamnong Iam-intra. 

 

Chakthip’s previous trip to Frankfurt to take custody of the monk was a failure as Germany turned down the request and questioned “undemocratic” Thailand’s credibility, the source said. If coordination with Interpol were fruitful, Chakthip’s team would travel to Frankfurt to pick up the fugitive and return to Thailand on June 16 as previously scheduled, the source said. 

 

Meanwhile, the ongoing investigation has found more evidence of corruption. Bangkok’s Wat Sa Ket allegedly received Bt62.5 million from the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) on two occasions – Bt30 million on December 21, 2015 for dhamma training for children and youth; and Bt32.5 million on January 7, 2016 to propagate Buddhism – a police source said.

 

Under these projects, the temple said it would allocate money to 13 temple branches but the police probe initially found nine branch temples did not get any money while four temples got only Bt2 million each, the source said. The rest was wired to others’ bank accounts and allegedly spent on wrong purposes, the source said. 

 

Wat Sa Ket’s former abbot Phra Phromsitti (Thongchai Sukhayano) and assistants have been in custody over accusations of embezzling NOB budgets and money laundering.

 

Meanwhile, the president of the Network of Lawyers and People for Protection of Buddhism, Vorakorn Pongthanakul, led members to visit the five former senior monks at the Bangkok Remand Prison. 

 

Vorakorn told reporters that the five ex-monks – the former abbot of Wat Sam Phraya, the former secretary of Bangkok chief monk, and three former abbot assistants of Wat Sa Ket – had turned down his group’s offer of legal assistance as the ex-monks already had their own lawyers.

 

Meanwhile, Department of Special Investigation chief Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said the disciplinary committee probing senior investigator Pisitchai Sawangwattanakorn over his Facebook posts that raids and arrests would be made at four Bangkok temples should conclude their investigation in 30 days. Paisit said that Pisitchai had admitted that he had based the information for the posts about police’s ongoing investigation on news reports from media and his own imagination.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30347781

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-15

One would expect the good people at Interpol as well as the German authorities would understand that however corrupt the monk may be, those in Thailand that want him back including the 13 errand boys are also if not more so. I watch this case with great interest. 

43 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

Chakthip’s previous trip to Frankfurt to take custody of the monk was a failure as Germany turned down the request and questioned “undemocratic” Thailand’s credibility, the source said.

If Germany and Interpol questioned Thailand's 'undemocratic' credibility a few weeks ago and decided not to comply with Thailand's request, what has occurred since then to change their minds?

 

Face it Thailand, few, if any, countries believe that you have a fair system of Law and Justice. And, as few countries believe that Thailand has a reasonable system of Justice and Law, they ain't gonna turn people over to you.

 

May I suggest that you reform your Justice and Legal system before making further requests? It'll save you lots of embarrassment.

 

Or, you can continue to be a disrespected, scorned, international laughing stock...

 

I get the distinct feeling that National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has the imprint of the PM's boot right up his clacker for letting him get away in the first place. I suspect his neck will be on the block if he doesn't return home with him. An ultra-sensitive PM would not be a happy man over this embarrassing incident and the international publicity it would be getting.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Chakthip’s previous trip to Frankfurt to take custody of the monk was a failure as Germany turned down the request and questioned “undemocratic” Thailand’s credibility, the source said. If coordination with Interpol were fruitful, Chakthip’s team would travel to Frankfurt to pick up the fugitive and return to Thailand

how does that follow ? Interpol is not Germany; if Germany decides to keep the criminal , they can;

might be explained by the nitwit thinking of the thai police; trying , by means-not-likely-to-be-fruitful, to impose thai law abroad

Chaktip needs a haircut......not regulation short back and sides!

Yes, I’m sure Interpol will break a few rules to p*** off the international community by helping return a corrupt monk to a corrupt and unelected government. What do they have to lose? 

 

Thailand, look up the word ‘sovereign nation’.

an effort to seek help from the Interpol head office to secure the extradition of the fugitive monk

Matthew 7:7–8

"Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will

find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.

For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks

finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

Just doesn't seem to be working must be seeking help from the wrong people !

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Chakthip’s previous trip to Frankfurt to take custody of the monk was a failure as Germany turned down the request and questioned “undemocratic” Thailand’s credibility, the source said.

 

Bwahhahahahahaha. Ban on sauerkraut imports coming soon.

 

 

12 minutes ago, Darcula said:

 

Bwahhahahahahaha. Ban on sauerkraut imports coming soon.

 

 

And the Thai Bratwurst will soon have three ends. 

 

Chakthip’s previous trip to Frankfurt to take custody of the monk was a failure as Germany turned down the request and questioned “undemocratic” Thailand’s credibility, the source said. If coordination with Interpol were fruitful, Chakthip’s team would travel to Frankfurt to pick up the fugitive and return to Thailand on June 16 as previously scheduled, the source said.

Interpol = International Thai Police? Could German cops just show up in Thailand, arrest somebody and that without a work permit? 

No one trust Thailand.

It sad.

3 hours ago, YetAnother said:

how does that follow ? Interpol is not Germany; if Germany decides to keep the criminal , they can;

might be explained by the nitwit thinking of the thai police; trying , by means-not-likely-to-be-fruitful, to impose thai law abroad

Oh, and the German and French justice systems are fantastic and both countries are prime examples of shining democracy?

In the EU they are, and that filthy body is highly undemocratic.

And more or less doing the bidding of France and Germany.

Sometimes I can't escape the feeling there is more democracy in Thailand as in the bloody EU.

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by hansnl

I am puzzled by this report.My understanding was that Interpol is essentially a co-ordinating agency acting in the interests of member countries to counter cross border crime and circulate information on accused criminals who had left their home jurisdiction.It has no significant independent powers.In this case a member country, Germany , has a Thai national in custody (or under close observation) so there is no issue of Chaktip's whereabouts.How then can Interpol help the Thais in the matter of extradition? If some explanation of the rules was needed for a small underdeveloped country was needed, I can see how Interpol might play a role.But we are talking about Germany here, a highly developed sophisticated country with very clear ideas about democracy and human rights.Surely the Thais dialogue should be directly with Germany.The latter will have its own procedures and if eventually it decides to extradite the whole process will need to be completed.They will abide to their own timetable and will not be dictated to by the Thais.

 

Am I missing something? I don't condemn the Thai authorities as on the face of it Chakthip has a case to answer.My puzzlement may be of course be because of The Nation's slovenly reporting.

It would be interesting to know if some of the money paid to the Wat by the NOB ended up back in the hands of those in the NOB..... If i was a betting man, i know which way i would bet.

5 hours ago, Cadbury said:

I get the distinct feeling that National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has the imprint of the PM's boot right up his clacker for letting him get away in the first place. I suspect his neck will be on the block if he doesn't return home with him. An ultra-sensitive PM would not be a happy man over this embarrassing incident and the international publicity it would be getting.

He could try the old sack-on-the-head rouse if he comes back empty handed although he'd probably need an orange batman suit too if he wants to be fully convincing...

 

 

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

Oh, and the German and French justice systems are fantastic and both countries are prime examples of shining democracy?

In the EU they are, and that filthy body is highly undemocratic.

And more or less doing the bidding of France and Germany.

Sometimes I can't escape the feeling there is more democracy in Thailand as in the bloody EU.

 

Drawing a long bow there, friend. A VERY long bow...

 

7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

If Germany and Interpol questioned Thailand's 'undemocratic' credibility a few weeks ago and decided not to comply with Thailand's request, what has occurred since then to change their minds?

 

Face it Thailand, few, if any, countries believe that you have a fair system of Law and Justice. And, as few countries believe that Thailand has a reasonable system of Justice and Law, they ain't gonna turn people over to you.

 

May I suggest that you reform your Justice and Legal system before making further requests? It'll save you lots of embarrassment.

 

Or, you can continue to be a disrespected, scorned, international laughing stock...

 

 

If, and given that Interpol and Germany haven't commented directly that's a big "if" that was the case then:

why does Germany have considerable business, economic, academic and NGO ties with Thailand which have increased over the last few years? And why hasn't Interpol suspended Thailand's membership and actually asked Thailand for help on occasions.

 

This smacks more like inept inefficiency of not have a clue how to correctly go about something in accordance with accepted international protocols and procedures. Usual attitude of not having a clue but still trying to boss everyone else doesn't cut the mustard in the real world.

 

All the usual buggers muddle but some how never ever the fault or responsibility of anyone here. Same old story. 

A troll/flame has been removed

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

the German and French justice systems are fantastic and both countries are prime examples of shining democracy?

I appreciate your passion but let's look at the statistics: The 2017 Democracy Index rankings (cited every year by Prayut) with their respective Category of democracy:

• Germany   13   Full Democracy
• France       29   Full Democracy
• Thailand  107   Hybrid Democracy

In terms of Civil Liberties (using only the first 15 descending groupings of scores from 10.00-5.88) covering 91 nations, Thailand places with four other nations (ie., Bangaldesh, Uganda) in the  lowest (15th) grouping (5.88 score); Germany places with three other nations in the third highest (9.41) grouping; and France places with nine other nations in the sixth highest (8.53) grouping.

So in terms of Civil Liberties, Germany and France are great examples while Thailand is among the worst of the 15 groupings (5.88) and bested by Haiti in grouping 6.18.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Thailand is thus far less credible as a democracy than Germany and France. Thailand is a shining example of failed civil rights.

3 hours ago, hansnl said:

Oh, and the German and French justice systems are fantastic and both countries are prime examples of shining democracy?

In the EU they are, and that filthy body is highly undemocratic.

And more or less doing the bidding of France and Germany.

Sometimes I can't escape the feeling there is more democracy in Thailand as in the bloody EU.

...and sometimes I can't escape the feeling, that you should at least wait until Happy Hour...

3 hours ago, hansnl said:

Sometimes I can't escape the feeling there is more democracy in Thailand as in the bloody EU.

Don't worry, Hansl. Feelings come and go. Facts and logic remain

5 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Could German cops just show up in Thailand, arrest somebody and that without a work permit? 

Koh Tao comes to mind when the British cops appeared and were not allowed to do anything (they might have found the truth...)

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

If, and given that Interpol and Germany haven't commented directly that's a big "if" that was the case then:

why does Germany have considerable business, economic, academic and NGO ties with Thailand which have increased over the last few years? And why hasn't Interpol suspended Thailand's membership and actually asked Thailand for help on occasions.

 

This smacks more like inept inefficiency of not have a clue how to correctly go about something in accordance with accepted international protocols and procedures. Usual attitude of not having a clue but still trying to boss everyone else doesn't cut the mustard in the real world.

 

All the usual buggers muddle but some how never ever the fault or responsibility of anyone here. Same old story. 

 

Very true.

 

Sadly. Thailand does not learn from being a pariah, nor a laughing stock, indeed, they seem to carry right on as if the whole world sees how special Thailand is. It's delusional, there is no other word for it.

 

"Usual attitude of not having a clue but still trying to boss everyone else". This really is all one needs to know about the Thai version of the role Thailand has in the world. Thailand really has come to believe in it's own lies about it's actual place, role and worth. And where did all those lies originate? In the attempt to persuade Thais that they are useful, looked after by a demi-God, and somehow special so they won't bother to look outside Thailand's boundaries in order to progress; so they will only ever need to pay attention to the fiction.

 

Thais really need to get rid of some of the BS they've come to believe about themselves. They're not special, they're not looked after by an Archangel or a demi-God, they're a rather backward backwater in a part of the world which has been backward ever since the people clambered down from the trees. If they taught proper geography and proper history in their schools, it would be a good start to the process of leaving their mythology and joining up with reality.

53 minutes ago, KiwiKiwi said:

 

Very true.

 

Sadly. Thailand does not learn from being a pariah, nor a laughing stock, indeed, they seem to carry right on as if the whole world sees how special Thailand is. It's delusional, there is no other word for it.

 

"Usual attitude of not having a clue but still trying to boss everyone else". This really is all one needs to know about the Thai version of the role Thailand has in the world. Thailand really has come to believe in it's own lies about it's actual place, role and worth. And where did all those lies originate? In the attempt to persuade Thais that they are useful, looked after by a demi-God, and somehow special so they won't bother to look outside Thailand's boundaries in order to progress; so they will only ever need to pay attention to the fiction.

 

Thais really need to get rid of some of the BS they've come to believe about themselves. They're not special, they're not looked after by an Archangel or a demi-God, they're a rather backward backwater in a part of the world which has been backward ever since the people clambered down from the trees. If they taught proper geography and proper history in their schools, it would be a good start to the process of leaving their mythology and joining up with reality.

"Thailand does not learn....." 

 

Simply because they are the hub of everything, including all knowledge, therefore there is nothing to learn - sad isn't it? 

 

National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda fled to France with his team on Sunday night in what is reported to be an effort to seek Asylum from the Interthirdworld head office to secure the wellbeing of the kind monk, now known by his lay name Phra Chamnong-Kissmaibuddprayuth. 

1 hour ago, Artisi said:

"Thailand does not learn....." 

 

Simply because they are the hub of everything, including all knowledge, therefore there is nothing to learn - sad isn't it? 

The educational hub of South East Asia with Mr. P as a politician and Tele Tubbies as cops produce World Class  Liars. Their cams on their helmets are awesome. 

7 hours ago, hansnl said:

Oh, and the German and French justice systems are fantastic and both countries are prime examples of shining democracy?

In the EU they are, and that filthy body is highly undemocratic.

And more or less doing the bidding of France and Germany.

Sometimes I can't escape the feeling there is more democracy in Thailand as in the bloody EU.

Very true.

 

If Germany and France had decent justice systems and wanted to uphold democracy, they would arrest Chakthip.

 

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by oldhippy
.

1 minute ago, oldhippy said:

Very true.

 

If Germany and France had decent justice systems and wanted to uphold democracy, they would arrest Chakthip.

 

Still time, he hasn't left Europe yet.

What would the charges be? 

18 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

Still time, he hasn't left Europe yet.

What would the charges be? 

Stupidity sounds like a reasonable charge or did you mean monitary charge - then 50Bht should be sufficient. 

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by Artisi