Big Joke faces 2 charges over financial links to gambling operators

[fondue zoo]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Don't want to piss on everyone's cornflakes but I'm pretty sure that being presumed innocent until proven guilty applies in Thailand, Asean Now Thai-bashers notwithstanding.

 

Stop it LL, with your even handed views and logical presumptions.

Inflammatory and jumping the gun statements only please.

 

[herfiehandbag]

Surachate Hakparn made a very determined bid for the top job. At one stage it rather looked as if he might succeed!

 

However the lines of succession for that job are thrashed out amongst a very small number of potential successors, and their various power brokers during the years leading up to the annual appointment.

 

He pushed himself into that line of succession, unwanted and uninvited.

 

Out of the window he goes!

 

His corruption or lack of it frankly is irrelevant.

Edited February 21 by herfiehandbag

[mark131v]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

 

Nobody who reaches the top of that cess-pool is a good guy, they're all rotten to the core and absolute examples of why the whole Thai establishment needs burning down and starting again, nothing else will work and anything else is a complete waste of time....

[proton]

1 hour ago, proton said:

What was the name of that senior honest cop who had to do a runner to Australia a few years ago? He found out the army were involved in human trafficking who were being protected by a very senior watch man. They wanted to post him off to the south were he was sure he would be done in, so he felt he had no choice but to leave. 

This was the honest Thai cop

 

 

[nahkit]

"Say it ain't so, Joe"

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, fondue zoo said:

 

Stop it LL, with your even handed views and logical presumptions.

Inflammatory and jumping the gun statements only please.

 

I do try but I just can't help myself.

[quake]

Just one more day

in the Hub of corruption.

Joker boy, has been thrown under the bus.  

next. 

[Danderman123]

I am amazed that Thailand cannot block websites that support online gambling. All it would take is one official to sit there with a smartphone and look for websites with slots and numbers, and then have them blocked on AIS and other major carriers and ISPs.

[stoner]

4 hours ago, John Drake said:

Personally, I know nothing. I see nothing. I hear nothing. Everything is fine. Just give me my extension without any changes. Yea police! Yea immigration! Yea authority!

 

i'm with this guy.

[lordgrinz]

Name one member of the upper-echelon of the RTP that is clean and got their without being as corrupt as the day is long.

[Danderman123]

I am sure this is all a misunderstanding.

[Mr Meeseeks]

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

 

Not me. I was shot down by many on here.

 

Glad it is finally all coming out. 

[mark131v]

40 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Name one member of the upper-echelon of the RTP that is clean and got their without being as corrupt as the day is long.

 

There you go made it even more accurate than the original!

[webfact]

Big Joke faces 2 charges over financial links to gambling operators
by Petch Petpailin 

 

Photo via Facebook/แก้ว เกลือสำเภาทอง

 

The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, faces two charges after financial transactions of his were found linked with the online gambling operators. Four other senior police officers were found involved but their identities had not yet been revealed.

 

The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) officers raided Big Joke’s home in September last year over his alleged involvement in the gambling website operation. Eight police officers who worked closely with the deputy commissioner also face the same allegations.

 

It was later confirmed that all eight subordinates were involved in the gambling ring. They were identified as Police Major General Namkiat Teerarotjanapong, Police Colonel Khemarin Pitsamai, Police Colonel Parkbhum Pitsamai, Police Colonel Arrit Kuprasitrat, Police Major Chanon Aumthorn, Police Sergeant Nattawut Watwaew, Police Sergeant Apisit Khonyong, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Karit Pariyakate.

Big Joke insisted on his innocence, saying that the charges against him were the result of an internal conflict within the RTP. He accused some officers of trying to tarnish his reputation and obstruct his promotion as RTP commissioner.

The development of the case was not made public until today, February 21, when the Deputy Commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Jaroonkiat Pankaew, provided an update on the case to the public.

 

Jaroonkiat explained that the suspects in this gambling case were divided into two groups. The first group included 61 suspects, and eight of Big Joke’s subordinates were in this group.

 

Jaroonkiat went on to explain that the second group included five high-ranking police officers who had financial transactions connected with the suspects in the first group. He then confirmed that Big Joke was one of the five police officers in the second group.

 

Financial links

 

Jaroonkiat revealed that there was clear evidence leading to Big Joke, such as the bank account statement showing the financial transaction of over 300 million baht. The money from the gambling operation went to five police officers and their family members. The money was spent daily on house rent, car purchases, tuition fees, holidays, etc.

According to Jaroonkiat, Big Joke now faces two charges including:

 

• Section 149 of the Criminal Law: requesting, receiving, agreeing to receive property or benefits, and committing illegal acts while in an official position. The penalty is imprisonment from five to 20 years, life imprisonment, or a fine of 100,000 to 400,000 baht.
   
• Section 157 of the Criminal Law: dishonestly exercising any of official duties to cause damages to another person. The penalty will be imprisonment from one to 10 years, a fine from 2,000 to 20,000 baht, or both.

Jaroonkiat ensured that there were no internal conflicts or attempts to tarnish the reputation of this operation. The case was investigated based on justice, as it had a significant impact on RTP.

 

However, there is no report on the next steps of the operation and Big Joke has not yet responded to the matter.

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-02-22

 

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[flyingtlger]

Big Joke is the BIG JOKE now....

[scubascuba3]

6 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

Not me. I was shot down by many on here.

 

Glad it is finally all coming out. 

Did you have insider info about him? or just another cynical farang?

[AlexRich]

A big boy did it ... and ran away!

[Mickboy]

He'll get off with it the rat.

[Phil1964]

Only Thailand could have a chief of fuzz openly known by the nickname of Big Joke.

Pity over here we can't have Rishi Sunak openly known as PM Bad Joke for starters!

[Kleepanna]

Well I hope it isn't true. He may have a legitimate explanation for the assets (property) he owns. If not I will never understand why folks who are dirty show money they can't explain. It's been the undoing of several high profile people in the past. I remember WATCH GATE a few years ago. Wearing a flashy watch was all it took, it became a loose thread on sweater just pull.

[Bobydog]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

What good guys lol, TIT

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

I did for a while! Many years ago when people using immigration in Chiangmai were being subjected to all sorts of issues and needed to pay to get extensions. He appeared to arrive there and sort things out. 

[Kerryd]

Meanwhile the biggest crook of them all went from facing 8 years in prison to a 6 month vaca in an exclusive private suite before being "released" on parole, having served what, 3-4 hours of his sentence ?

In the current system, and with so many cops, it's almost impossible to climb the ranks without taking - and paying - bribes to get ahead. And unlike some countries, they don't pay the police enough to be honest and when they are caught they rarely face any real punishment.

So there's no incentive to change the system or be "honest".

It's literally impossible to reach the highest ranks of the police (or other services) without having a lot of dirt under your carpet. It's just a matter of how well you can hide it. 

[Colabamumbai]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

Reach for the top. 

[FarangJon]

Comon guys. He is innocent. There is no corruption in Thailand. Please show some respect for the hard working royal thai police. Big joke is a honest man. Cuz of him we all also know, there are no sex woker in pattaya and also no sex tourism. 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I did for a while! Many years ago when people using immigration in Chiangmai were being subjected to all sorts of issues and needed to pay to get extensions. He appeared to arrive there and sort things out. 

Maybe he did the white knight thing to disguise his much bigger dodgy dealings

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, anchadian said:

This follows the discovery of a financial connection between him and an illegal online gambling network through at least 4 mule accounts valued at 300 million baht, as reported by Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). He also said more than half of the 300 million was transferred to other high-ranking officers and used to cover Pol Gen Surachate's daily expenses.

So the RTP special cop who is their PR man when things go south is up to his neck in corruption.

If he's guilty then is there any cops who are "clean" ??

[HappyExpat57]

You can't rise to this level in politics/RTP (kinda same same) without accepting brown envelopes. He obviously upset the wrong folks who then turned on him.

 

Bets on how soon this turns into a circular firing squad?

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Did you have insider info about him? or just another cynical farang?

Was told by high up and connected ‘friends’ what he was up to and what he was known for. 

[soalbundy]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

And there was us thinking he was one of the good guys

Even Jesus hat an agenda. I'm sure that this misunderstanding will be cleared up soon and that the real culprit, corporal Somchai, will be arrested and charged.