Ex-Mitsubihsi Power bosses admit to bribing Thai official

By The Nation

 

 

Former executives of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Inc have admitted in a trial on Tuesday to accusations that they bribed a Thai public servant over a power plant project in a case under Japan's first plea bargain deal, according to Kyodo news agency.
 

Fuyuhiko Nishikida, 63, and Yoshiki Tsuji, 57, admitted to the charges in the indictment during their first hearing at the Tokyo District Court.

 

The court adopted the plea bargain agreement signed by prosecutors and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power on June 28 as evidence, with the deal exempting the firm from indictment in exchange for cooperation in investigations and the trial, Kyodo reported.

 

 Conspiring with Satoshi Uchida, 64, who had managed the power plant project then, Nishikida, who was in charge of materials procurement, and Tsuji allegedly paid Bt11 million ($338,000) in February 2015 to the senior official of the Transport Ministry in Thailand to receive favorable treatment in unloading cargo for the local power plant project, according to the indictment.

 

 Thai authorities had told them that the Japanese company failed to meet necessary conditions for cargo discharge.

 

 During the hearing, Tokyo prosecutors said Nishikida and Tsuji sought Uchida's advice after the senior official of the ministry's port and harbor bureau allegedly requested a bribe.

 

 Uchida accepted the request because he thought a delay in the project would incur a loss and cause problems for clients of the Japanese company, according to the prosecutors.

 

 The first hearing for Uchida will be held Jan 11.

 

 The company came to know of the matter in March 2015, alerted by a whistleblower, and later reported it to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office following an internal probe, according to Kyodo.

 

The Yokohama-based firm entered into a plea bargain agreement in June. The plea bargaining system was just introduced in Japan that month.

 

In July, Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) member Vittaya Arkompituk disclosed that five Thai officials has been implicated in the bribery scandal.

 

He was speaking in response to news reports that Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems alerted Japanese public prosecutors about a Bt20million bribe made by some of its employees to Thai officials, after receiving a tip-off from a whistle-blower.

 

“The scandal surrounds the construction of a power plant in Thailand. It happened in 2013,” Vittaya said.

 

Thailand’s Marine Department confirmed earlier this week that it was now investigating the alleged bribe.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30361151

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-26

 

But, but, but ..... Thai officials can't be bribed.

So a group of Japanese executives have been charged and are on trial in a criminal case in Japan for allegedly paying the bribe/bribes in Thailand.

 

So have any of the recipient Thai officials as yet been charged in criminal court in Thailand??? For something that happened back in 2013 and has been known to the Thai NACC at least since the middle of last year????

 

Nooooo........ Of course not. Not even any Thai alleged recipients named in the news report.  Good job!!!!!

 

15 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So a group of Japanese executives have been charged and are on trial in a criminal case in Japan for allegedly paying the bribe/bribes in Thailand.

 

So have any of the recipient Thai officials as yet been charged in criminal court in Thailand??? For something that happened back in 2013 and has been known to the Thai NACC at least since the middle of last year????

 

Nooooo........ Of course not. Not even any Thai alleged recipients named in the news report.  Good job!!!!!

 

 

They have just admitted it today, and the trial, where the official they claim to have paid will be publically named, is on the 11th January, so of course the alleged Thai recipient is not named in the news as doing so would be a criminal offence.

24 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So a group of Japanese executives have been charged and are on trial in a criminal case in Japan for allegedly paying the bribe/bribes in Thailand.

 

So have any of the recipient Thai officials as yet been charged in criminal court in Thailand??? For something that happened back in 2013 and has been known to the Thai NACC at least since the middle of last year????

 

Nooooo........ Of course not. Not even any Thai alleged recipients named in the news report.  Good job!!!!!

 

 

Of course not, there is no corruption in Thailand, it's axiomatic under the reality distortion zone principle.

 

Thailand has a very, very big carpet to sweep things under.

 

Worked well so far. Worked once, will work again.

 

 

It should be called "easy as" here????

28 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So a group of Japanese executives have been charged and are on trial in a criminal case in Japan for allegedly paying the bribe/bribes in Thailand.

 

So have any of the recipient Thai officials as yet been charged in criminal court in Thailand??? For something that happened back in 2013 and has been known to the Thai NACC at least since the middle of last year????

 

Nooooo........ Of course not. Not even any Thai alleged recipients named in the news report.  Good job!!!!!

 

That is the biggest fail that they dont name the people involved at the Thai side, im sure that an under oath statement from Japan should be enough to at least reveal the names for the newspaper

Just now, robblok said:

That is the biggest fail that they dont name the people involved at the Thai side, im sure that an under oath statement from Japan should be enough to at least reveal the names for the newspaper

 

Its the same the world over, names are not released until charges have been made.  Its more important that the case against them is not jeapordised by their names being released than you knowing their names for no particular reason other than your curiosity. 

 

15 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

They have just admitted it today, and the trial, where the official they claim to have paid will be publically named, is on the 11th January, so of course the alleged Thai recipient is not named in the news as doing so would be a criminal offence.

 

It's not illegal or a criminal offense for the Thai police or other anti corruption authorities to announce that certain public officials are under investigation or have been implicated in some crimes. They do it all the time.

 

Quote

In July, Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) member Vittaya Arkompituk disclosed that five Thai officials has been implicated in the bribery scandal.

 

The question is, that comment by the NACC official was made almost 6 months ago, and the case in Tokyo has proceeded since then. What progress has been made in Thailand in dealing with the alleged bribe takers here?

 

The local silence is deafening!!!

 

2 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Its the same the world over, names are not released until charges have been made.  Its more important that the case against them is not jeapordised by their names being released than you knowing their names for no particular reason other than your curiosity. 

 

That's not true at all here. Just as one example, the governor of one of the upcountry provinces was publicly named and put under investigation in connection with the juvenile prostitution ring case going on up there -- before ultimately being cleared of any wrongdoing. AFAIR, he was never charged with any crime.

The whole court system in Thailand would need to be operating 24/7 365 days a year if all cases of bribes to get business in Thailand were brought to court !


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14 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That's not true at all here. Just as one example, the governor of one of the upcountry provinces was publicly named and put under investigation in connection with the juvenile prostitution ring case going on up there -- before ultimately being cleared of any wrongdoing. AFAIR, he was never charged with any crime.

 

It certainly is true, its both a criminal and a civil offense.  Find the case you are refering to, I expect you will find that he was charged and perhaps had the changes later dropped.

18 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

 

It's not illegal or a criminal offense for the Thai police or other anti corruption authorities to announce that certain public officials are under investigation or have been implicated in some crimes. They do it all the time.

 

 

The question is, that comment by the NACC official was made almost 6 months ago, and the case in Tokyo has proceeded since then. What progress has been made in Thailand in dealing with the alleged bribe takers here?

 

The local silence is deafening!!!

 

 

It is a criminal offence to name them if they are not yet charged, if you have some evidence to the contrary then please post it, but no more of this, "I think I recall a case a while back" nonsense, links or nothing.

 

The comment by the NACC official was that they were investigating 5 officials, we have no ides what progress has been made as it is an active investigation and so no proceedings can be published, something enshrined in most countries law as doing so puts cases in jeapordy and can result in the guilty walking free, and what would be the point in naming them anyway, just to satisfy an ex-pats desire to hear a name?

12 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

It certainly is true, its both a criminal and a civil offense.  Find the case you are refering to, I expect you will find that he was charged and perhaps had the changes later dropped.

 

You would expect wrong....

 

The governor was named, was transferred out of his job, was never charged with any crime, and ultimately was reinstated.

 

I could tick off a long list of cases where police have named suspected individuals publicly before they were actually arrested or charged with a crime, often saying they were under investigation for... or being summoned to be interviewed about....

 

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/police-arrested-governor-transferred-over-mae-hong-song-child-sex-ring.html

 

And then 6 weeks later:

 

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/mae-hong-son-governor-suebsak-reinstated-june-19/

 

This above case is just one among many that disprove your contention that suspects can't be publicly named here prior to formal charges being filed.

16 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

but no more of this, "I think I recall a case a while back" nonsense, links or nothing.

 

 

I think I'm providing specific cases and examples to support my position. You've provided none.

 

Here's another high profile example of a guy called Benz Racing aka Akarakit where the suspect was publicly named by police as being under investigation long before he was ultimately charged with any crime.

 

http://www.asiaone.com/asia/famous-biker-benz-racing-missing-after-leaving-pregnant-actress-wife

 

Quote

 

Office of Narcotics Control Board secretary-general Sirinya Sittichai yesterday said records showed Akarakit and Nattapon Nakkham, a drug suspect affiliated with Xaysana, had transferred assets back and forth over the past few years.
 

"Akarakit will have to explain how he has amassed his wealth," Sirinya said. "We expect him to contact authorities."
 

Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) chief Pol Lt-General Sommai Kongwisaisuk said Akarakit might face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering because there was clear evidence that Nattapon had delivered drugs for Xaysana.

 

 

Note the reference in the final pgh quoted above... Akarakit "might face charges".  He's all over the news and being called a suspect by the police well before any criminal charges were filed.  In this case, he ultimately was charged, convicted and jailed.

 

 

1 hour ago, Kieran00001 said:

Its more important that the case against them is not jeapordised by their names being released

 

????????????????

1 hour ago, HalfLight said:

Thailand has a very, very big carpet to sweep things under.

So true. They actually should file that carpet with UNESCO as intangible national heritage, as it is hundreds of years old.

 

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

You would expect wrong....

 

The governor was named, was transferred out of his job, was never charged with any crime, and ultimately was reinstated.

 

I could tick off a long list of cases where police have named suspected individuals publicly before they were actually arrested or charged with a crime, often saying they were under investigation for... or being summoned to be interviewed about....

 

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/police-arrested-governor-transferred-over-mae-hong-song-child-sex-ring.html

 

And then 6 weeks later:

 

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/mae-hong-son-governor-suebsak-reinstated-june-19/

 

This above case is just one among many that disprove your contention that suspects can't be publicly named here prior to formal charges being filed.

 

Except the police did not name him, the mother did, which as I made clear is a risky business considering that if he is not charged and found guilty then she puts herself at risk of prosecution, as it is a crime.

 

Now, name one where the police have named an uncharged suspect rather than the press reporting that a civilian has publicly done so.

Wonder what the tax paid on the bribe amounted to? Hope he declared the income and paid the proper taxes. 

Not bribery, just a facilitation fee. 

1 hour ago, Kieran00001 said:

Now, name one where the police have named an uncharged suspect rather than the press reporting that a civilian has publicly done so.

 

In the case of the governor, I don't know who publicly named him first, the police or the mother. But the governor was placed under investigation and named publicly by the authorities as an accused, as my linked articles above explain, without ever being charged with a crime.

 

But in the case of Benz Racing, as I posted above, it was the police.

 

Both cases I've mentioned above, and many others I could cite, contradict your claims.  The police here do it all the time, in all kinds of cases.

 

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai authorities had told them that the Japanese company failed to meet necessary conditions

They say that to everyone; once unloaded it's the Customs Officials' turn.

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

In the case of the governor, I don't know who publicly named him first, the police or the mother. But the governor was placed under investigation and named publicly by the authorities as an accused, as my linked articles above explain, without ever being charged with a crime.

 

But in the case of Benz Racing, as I posted above, it was the police.

 

Both cases I've mentioned above, and many others I could cite, contradict your claims.  The police here do it all the time, in all kinds of cases.

 

 

 

The link you posted quotes the mother the whole way through, she along with her lawyer went public, their choice, so that does not contradict my claim at all as they did open themselves up to prosecution in doing so whether or not they were charged I, and I think also you, don't know.

 

The Benz racing guy was charged in early March 2017 and released on a 500,000 baht bail bond, the link you posted to is from 6 weeks later, in April, when he had just fled before his court case that was coming up the next week, so again this does nothing to contradict my claim as he had already been charged.

 

Never mind, I know you thought you knew what you were talking about.

9 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

The link you posted quotes the mother the whole way through, she along with her lawyer went public, their choice, so that does not contradict my claim at all as they did open themselves up to prosecution in doing so whether or not they were charged I, and I think also you, don't know.

 

The Benz racing guy was charged in early March 2017 and released on a 500,000 baht bail bond, the link you posted to is from 6 weeks later, in April, when he had just fled before his court case that was coming up the next week, so again this does nothing to contradict my claim as he had already been charged.

 

Never mind, I know you thought you knew what you were talking about.

 

The articles I posted support my position. All you've done is repeat the same unsupported claims without any supporting evidence.

 

If you want to be an apologist for a government that fails to investigate and punish corruption, more power to you. It's a barely free country. Done with you either way.

 

10 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The articles I posted support my position. All you've done is repeat the same unsupported claims without any supporting evidence.

 

If you want to be an apologist for a government that fails to investigate and punish corruption, more power to you. It's a barely free country. Done with you either way.

 

 

Except they don't.  The first is a quote from the mother asking the prosecution to press charges and in doing so choosing to publicly name the person she accused.  The second is from 6 weeks after the Benz Racing guy had charges laid on him and you mistakenly thought the mention of some other charges meant he had not yet been charged.  I already explained all this to you, now do you have an example that actually does support your position or just more misunderstandings on your part?

 

And I am no apologist, not suprised you're done though after that embarrassing display.

It all depends on how high up the money has gone, for the officials it is unfortunate that this led to a trial abroad, not so easy to cover up. A dismissal, a fine, and as long as they keep quiet about how much the big boss got they will get reinstated 6 months later. 

46 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The articles I posted support my position. All you've done is repeat the same unsupported claims without any supporting evidence.

 

If you want to be an apologist for a government that fails to investigate and punish corruption, more power to you. It's a barely free country. Done with you either way.

 

 

Oh, and newspapers are exempt from this law under the Press Regulation act of 2007, so they will print it if someone else has said it.

And yet the Thai-apologists will stoutly maintain that Thais are wonderful people (I have no doubt that many are - I just haven't met very many), no Thai is corrupt and like all noble savages, they are possessed of deep and mystical insights as befits superior and mystical beings. What claptrap.

 

Pure rolex, of course it is, but I regularly get people abusing me for saying that Thais are the closest to nature I've ever encountered and have the same control over their primal reactions and impulses as a hedgehog. Some people are so deluded they accuse me of not even living in Thailand at all (presumably because they are convinced that if I did I would see the world through the same rose-coloured glasses as they do - or horse-blinkers or whatever).

 

Which all goes to show that while entrepreneurs and divas of under-intelligent, Thais are far from unique, there are people everywhere who will believe what they wish to believe on the basis that they cannot deal well with reality.

1 hour ago, HalfLight said:

And yet the Thai-apologists will stoutly maintain that Thais are wonderful people (I have no doubt that many are - I just haven't met very many), no Thai is corrupt and like all noble savages, they are possessed of deep and mystical insights as befits superior and mystical beings. What claptrap.

 

Pure rolex, of course it is, but I regularly get people abusing me for saying that Thais are the closest to nature I've ever encountered and have the same control over their primal reactions and impulses as a hedgehog. Some people are so deluded they accuse me of not even living in Thailand at all (presumably because they are convinced that if I did I would see the world through the same rose-coloured glasses as they do - or horse-blinkers or whatever).

 

Which all goes to show that while entrepreneurs and divas of under-intelligent, Thais are far from unique, there are people everywhere who will believe what they wish to believe on the basis that they cannot deal well with reality.

 

A bit of an odd rant, it was Japanese executives who paid the bribe, do you also think they did this on the impulse of a hedgehog?

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I think I'm providing specific cases and examples to support my position. You've provided none.

 

Here's another high profile example of a guy called Benz Racing aka Akarakit where the suspect was publicly named by police as being under investigation long before he was ultimately charged with any crime.

 

http://www.asiaone.com/asia/famous-biker-benz-racing-missing-after-leaving-pregnant-actress-wife

 

 

Note the reference in the final pgh quoted above... Akarakit "might face charges".  He's all over the news and being called a suspect by the police well before any criminal charges were filed.  In this case, he ultimately was charged, convicted and jailed.

 

 

They even sold his car before he was prosecuted...