Big Joke fights for his name as summons rumours swirl around him linked with gambling sites

[webfact]

Deputy National Police Chief General Surachate Hakparn or ‘Big Joke’ insisted he was not connected to any probe into illegal online gambling websites. General Surachate said there was no link between him and illegality. The top cop instead suggested that a campaign was afoot to discredit him and linked it to a bizarre police raid on his home in Bangkok in September 2023. This was days before he lost out in his bid to become Thailand’s police chief. At the same time, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol (inset right), on Friday, tried to broker talks between General Surachate and General Jaroonkiat Pankaew (inset left) of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). This police unit is leading a probe into online gambling. In short, this includes a network called ‘Minnies’ which investigators claim is linked to subordinates of General Surachate.

Big Joke’s reputation is threatened as an online gambling scandal rocks the Royal Thai Police. The high-profile deputy chief stoutly denies allegations amidst an intense ongoing investigation. There is now open internal strife within the force. The Prime Minister urges fairness and defends General Surachate’s right to be presumed innocent. Public trust in law enforcement is now at another low ebb. It comes as a further murky affair threatens the reputation of a policeman who has long been seen as an anti-corruption campaigner and hero.

On Friday, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol moved to try to limit reputational damage to the Royal Thai Police. It comes as the country’s most popular police officer, General Surachate Hakparn, finds himself battling to protect his good name. It came amid reports that the deputy police chief was on the verge of being summoned by investigators over alleged links to online gambling websites. General Surachate vehemently protested his innocence. At length, he also linked the swirling reports to a bizarre police raid on his home last September.

 

This occurred just days before the new police chief was chosen. The senior officer had been widely tipped for the role.

On Friday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin emphasised that General Surachate was innocent of any charges until proven otherwise.

 

by James Morris and Son Nguyen

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2024-02-24

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[mark131v]

Thai Police=?mafia number 1

 

Lemmings, when they reach maximum population they simply throw themselves off the cliffs and die, please see Joe Ferrari, Big Joke and the present RTP Behaviour for clarity

 

Thank <deleted> I am not Thai.....

 

 

 

[soi3eddie]

Everyone knows that the police are a mostly corrupt and dishonest bunch. Same for many other countries too. Can't see anything changing though. Too much money involved.

 

 

[mikebell]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol moved to try to limit reputational damage to the Royal Thai Police.

No sense of irony here when the very uniform is a daily symbol of corruption.

 

'Big Joke fights for his name' - I  see no reason why his name should not be applied to RTP as a whole.

[Mavideol]

we foreigners question RTP officer's way of living owning many houses/properties and expensive cars and affording all of that on a Police officer salary, it's normal that people have to wonder where all of that richness come from, quite sure is not from working a second "hard" job 555

[soalbundy]

I was framed with a misunderstanding.

[chang1]

6 hours ago, mikebell said:

No sense of irony here when the very uniform is a daily symbol of corruption.

 

'Big Joke fights for his name' - I  see no reason why his name should not be applied to RTP as a whole.

The reason is to encourage others to do better. If you find a cop who is better even if only very slightly, they should be held up as a shining beacon for others to follow.

If you lump them altogether, there is no desire or advantage in being better.

Unfortunately most Thais can't understand this which is why they are so far behind.

[SunsetT]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

amidst an intense ongoing investigation.

So who is investigating the RTP? The RTP?  😂.

[spidermike007]

He cannot clear his name. He is guilty by association. He is not only RTP, he is the deputy chief. Please. Statistically, what are the odds the biggest joke was the exception? Vegas would likely put it at well under 1%. This is not a witch hunt, and there is nothing prestigious about his career. When he was chief of immigration, he made a constant fool of himself, by his ridiculous xenophobic rants. Recently, as deputy national police chief, he hogged the spotlight, with his fake crime buster image. I consider all the PR, all the grandstanding, all the hogging of the limelight, the nonstop press conferences, statements, declarations, and proclamations and crackdowns to be window dressing, meant to deceive the most naive among us.

Think about how many of the guys he went after. Then research how many were actually convicted and jailed. Then consider the fact that he was one of the top cops in a land where cops are known to be crooked. The RTP at its inception seems to have been created with a status quo from the government. We will NOT pay you a living wage, but you have a franchise, and the limit of your income is based solely on your own creativity and initiative, and you will always be protected. Is that not the case? 

He spent alot of time and effort trying to convince the public he was clean, and a real crime buster. I always knew this was fake and that he was a publicity hound and loved the limelight.

He was the chief of immigration. Then the deputy police chief. Both of those are pyramid schemes. Few immigration and police officers are clean. And the money gets funneled to the top. So, the money laundering was necessary to clean what was likely billions of baht, over the years. This joker likely has a $20 million lakefront château in Switzerland or a penthouse in NYC, and multiple overseas accounts, where he is stashing his ill gotten gains.

 

The real mystery is why he was caught. The cops are above the law. He must have pissed someone off.

 

 

 

[kwilco]

The normal way of politics in Thailand is to avoid democracy and take people to court on corruption charges....which they can do because it will be a cold day in he'll before you can find anyone in power in Thailand who is not tainted by corruption 

[4MyEgo]

Yawn, any real news about someone, somewhere doing something good in Thailand, like a honest taxi driver returning 3 million baht cash left in his taxi by a Falange, give me a break please, Big Joke is as clean as a cars motor internally, oils ain't oils.

[RobU]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

we foreigners question RTP officer's way of living owning many houses/properties and expensive cars and affording all of that on a Police officer salary, it's normal that people have to wonder where all of that richness come from, quite sure is not from working a second "hard" job 555

This particular policeman was a wealthy man before he joined the RTP. He does not need his RTP salary to survive.I. Believe his wife also comes from a wealthy family. His wife has persistently tried to get him to resign because of the danger he faces from the corrupt ones in high places. There have already been attempts on his life. His team is composed of policemen without wealth. He owns other houses and rents them at a highly subsidised rate to members of his team as a method of preventing corruption i.e. they don't need bribes to survive and pay off debt.

Edited February 24 by RobU
Additional info

[Thingamabob]

The race is on for the top job. Someone's out to get him.

[bamnutsak]

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

His wife has persistently tried to get him to resign because of the danger he faces from the corrupt ones in high places.

 

I'm curious how you know such intimate details.

 

 

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

There have already been attempts on his life.

Puhleeze, the car was empty, bullet holes lower down on the door. Maybe he did it, maybe it was a message to back off Chakthip.

 

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

His team is composed of policemen without wealth.

Huh. His number two transferred 300 million baht (via Minnie).

 

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

He owns other houses and rents them at a highly subsidised rate to members of his team

 

Again how do you know this?

 

 

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

they don't need bribes to survive and pay off debt.

 

Because? They survive of their salary and the good graces of Hapkarn?

 

 

Edited February 24 by bamnutsak

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

On Friday, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol moved to try to limit reputational damage to the Royal Thai Police.

He's got his work cut-out... 

[TheFishman1]

Corruption from the top down, he’s absolutely guilty. I stopped the other day on my bike and the cop asked me for 1000 I said I’ll go to the police station they’ll charge me probably two or 300 he said OK give me two or 300 TIT.

[RobU]

28 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

I'm curious how you know such intimate details.

 

 

Puhleeze, the car was empty, bullet holes lower down on the door. Maybe he did it, maybe it was a message to back off Chakthip.

 

Huh. His number two transferred 300 million baht (via Minnie).

 

 

Again how do you know this?

 

 

 

Because? They survive of their salary and the good graces of Hapkarn?

 

 

It has all been reported previously and published in this forum. Is this the first time you have read anything about him in this forum (puhleeze 🤣😂🤣)

[Grumpy one]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy National Police Chief General Surachate Hakparn or ‘Big Joke’ insisted he was not connected to any probe into illegal online gambling websites. General Surachate said there was no link between him and illegality. The top cop instead suggested that a campaign was afoot to discredit him and linked it to a bizarre police raid on his home in Bangkok in September 2023. This was days before he lost out in his bid to become Thailand’s police chief. At the same time, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol (inset right), on Friday, tried to broker talks between General Surachate and General Jaroonkiat Pankaew (inset left) of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). This police unit is leading a probe into online gambling. In short, this includes a network called ‘Minnies’ which investigators claim is linked to subordinates of General Surachate.

Big Joke’s reputation is threatened as an online gambling scandal rocks the Royal Thai Police. The high-profile deputy chief stoutly denies allegations amidst an intense ongoing investigation. There is now open internal strife within the force. The Prime Minister urges fairness and defends General Surachate’s right to be presumed innocent. Public trust in law enforcement is now at another low ebb. It comes as a further murky affair threatens the reputation of a policeman who has long been seen as an anti-corruption campaigner and hero.

On Friday, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol moved to try to limit reputational damage to the Royal Thai Police. It comes as the country’s most popular police officer, General Surachate Hakparn, finds himself battling to protect his good name. It came amid reports that the deputy police chief was on the verge of being summoned by investigators over alleged links to online gambling websites. General Surachate vehemently protested his innocence. At length, he also linked the swirling reports to a bizarre police raid on his home last September.

 

This occurred just days before the new police chief was chosen. The senior officer had been widely tipped for the role.

On Friday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin emphasised that General Surachate was innocent of any charges until proven otherwise.

 

by James Morris and Son Nguyen

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2024-02-24

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

 

 

 

And the Easter Bunny is real  

[ThaiFelix]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Everyone knows that the police are a mostly corrupt and dishonest bunch. Same for many other countries too. Can't see anything changing though. Too much money involved.

 

 

“The worst thing about corruption as a system of governance, is that it works so well.”
― Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram

[John Drake]

He'll be back. And when he does . . . beware! Because . . .

He's making a list
He's checking it twice
He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice

[bamnutsak]

10 minutes ago, John Drake said:

He'll be back. And when he does . . . beware! Because . . .

He's making a list
He's checking it twice
He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice

 

Meh.

 

His boss's brother is Sathitpong Sukvimol, who serves as Lord Chamberlain to the royal palace.

 

 

 

[Elkski]

I hope Thailand has a clean cop to try to sort things out.    I'm sure that person would face hell. 

[Cake Monster]

3 hours ago, Mavideol said:

we foreigners question RTP officer's way of living owning many houses/properties and expensive cars and affording all of that on a Police officer salary, it's normal that people have to wonder where all of that richness come from, quite sure is not from working a second "hard" job 555

The guy must have a huge revenue stream coming from somewhere if he can pay cash for 10 houses to give to his staff as living quarters

Just saying

[RobU]

11 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

The guy must have a huge revenue stream coming from somewhere if he can pay cash for 10 houses to give to his staff as living quarters

Just saying

He was already a very wealthy man before he joined the RTP. His wife also comes from a wealthy family

[wensiensheng]

“On Friday, National Police Chief General Torsak Sukwimol moved to try to limit reputational damage to the Royal Thai Police. “

 

he has a pretty big job on his hands. I’ve never heard anyone praise police honesty, thai or farang.

[Mavideol]

4 hours ago, RobU said:

This particular policeman was a wealthy man before he joined the RTP. He does not need his RTP salary to survive.I. Believe his wife also comes from a wealthy family. His wife has persistently tried to get him to resign because of the danger he faces from the corrupt ones in high places. There have already been attempts on his life. His team is composed of policemen without wealth. He owns other houses and rents them at a highly subsidised rate to members of his team as a method of preventing corruption i.e. they don't need bribes to survive and pay off debt.

it would have been nice to have links to support that.... hearsay is not a reliable source of information

[kidneyw]

Think I read he was worth 300 million baht. so not so squeaky clean.

[RobU]

3 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

it would have been nice to have links to support that.... hearsay is not a reliable source of information

It is all in previous articles posted and discussed in this forum. I am not going to spend time trawling through the ASEAN NOW website. Suffice to say that these were presented as facts by the Thai media. Use the search term 'Big Joke Thailand RTP' in a Google search or an ASEAN NOW search and see for yourself 

[bristolgeoff]

I,am sure he has a plan and it will work out for him.He seems to be able to get out of many problems

[geisha]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

it would have been nice to have links to support that.... hearsay is not a reliable source of information

It’s all been published and also on Asean Now.