Big Joke urged to resign by pundit Jatuporn Prompan after arrest warrant and guilty finding

[webfact]

Former redshirt political activist turned TV pundit Jatuporn Prompan (right), on Friday, urged General Surachate Hakparn, the under-fire deputy police chief, to resign. It follows a disastrous week for General Surachate or ‘Big Joke’ following an arrest warrant being issued against him by a Bangkok court and a prime ministerial panel pronouncing him guilty of money laundering.

 

Big Joke urged to resign amid scandal that has enveloped him. Pundit Jatuporn Prompan advises a career shift after preliminary guilty finding by the PM’s panel and an arrest warrant. Thailand’s top cop faces dire career prospects as an extended legal battle looms. Further shocking revelations in the Royal Thai Police corruption saga expected as activist lawyer Sittra Biebangkerd digs further.

Top current affairs pundit in Bangkok and former Redshirt leader Jatuporn Prompan, this weekend, advised embattled senior police officer General Surachate Hakparn to resign from government service. Mr Jatuporn advised the popular police officer to enter politics. It comes after a disastrous week for the top cop. On Tuesday, a court issued an arrest warrant for him related to money laundering. In turn, this was followed at the end of the week by another blow. That was when General Winai Thongsong, the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s investigative panel declared him guilty of money laundering in a preliminary report.

 

General Surachate has found himself in the vortex of a huge police corruption scandal. Certainly, his lawyers and others investigating the scandal, suggest he is innocent. Indeed, his lawyers claim a campaign to discredit him is at the root of his problems.

 

However, Mr Jatuporn, on Friday, warned the deputy police chief that the criminal case against him may take seven years to finalise. In the meantime, disciplinary proceedings against the top cop may ultimately end his career.

 

by James Morris and Son Nguyen

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2024-04-08

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe
 

[smedly]

PT  really don't like him, he is seen as a threat to the trough, couldn't have a police chief in place that didn't whistle their tune

[eisfeld]

Either he is innocent then why would he resign? He should then fight the case. Or he is guilty then instead of resigning he should end up in prison. To suggest in either case that he should switch from police to politics is unbelievable. What kind of message does that send? In the first case where he's innocent that would mean that there is no justice. On the other hand if he's guilty that means it's fine to have criminals in politics? Can only shake my head.

[spidermike007]

He is guilty by association. Being the national deputy director of the RTP means guilty until proven innocent. We pretty much know he's guilty, we just don't know how much he's guilty of collecting over the years. My guess is it's well into the billions, and this creep should have retired years ago when he was kicked out of immigration.

 

The numnuts who hired him to lead the police are completely insane, and made a terrible decision, as he is anything but a crime fighter. 

[RobU]

Seems like the pigs have finally got their way. I believe he is an honest man who does his job applies the law fairly and roots out corruption. I don't know how they framed him but it seems that he is going down. 

[soalbundy]

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Either he is innocent then why would he resign? He should then fight the case. Or he is guilty then instead of resigning he should end up in prison. To suggest in either case that he should switch from police to politics is unbelievable. What kind of message does that send? In the first case where he's innocent that would mean that there is no justice. On the other hand if he's guilty that means it's fine to have criminals in politics? Can only shake my head.

Politics would be his natural home if guilty.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Further shocking revelations in the Royal Thai Police corruption saga expected as activist lawyer Sittra Biebangkerd digs further.

Ohhhh the image of those who self serve.

[Sandboxer]

Sounds like the punchline has finally dropped.

[Almer]

This just about sums it all up, become a top policeman be found guilty of racketeering and enter politics, sheeesh.

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

He is guilty by association. Being the national deputy director of the RTP means guilty until proven innocent. We pretty much know he's guilty, we just don't know how much he's guilty of collecting over the years. My guess is it's well into the billions, and this creep should have retired years ago when he was kicked out of immigration.

 

The numnuts who hired him to lead the police are completely insane, and made a terrible decision, as he is anything but a crime fighter. 

One wonders whether the people who appointed him deputy chief of police, (and his boss too, if also proven guilty), need investigation. It just looks like his way was well paved since his prior inactive post... evil hands at work!

[Thingamabob]

He is both the target of a colleague who sees him as a rival, and of the establishment who se him as a threat to their income stream.

[2baht]

Are the Inactive posts all taken???

[Andycoops]

3 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Either he is innocent then why would he resign? He should then fight the case. Or he is guilty then instead of resigning he should end up in prison. To suggest in either case that he should switch from police to politics is unbelievable. What kind of message does that send? In the first case where he's innocent that would mean that there is no justice. On the other hand if he's guilty that means it's fine to have criminals in politics? Can only shake my head.

There are already criminals in government one is a convicted drug smuggler...

[sammieuk1]

There will now be a stampede of little jokes jostling for a cut of a very lucrative pie  🤔

[IvorBiggun2]

Big Joke certainly had me convinced, in the beginning, as to being an honest cop. I'm sure many others were believers too.     😦 

[Gandtee]

46 minutes ago, Almer said:

This just about sums it all up, become a top policeman be found guilty of racketeering and enter politics, sheeesh.

Surely, anyone found guilty of a criminal offence should be banned from being a politician. But if the offence occurred in a foreign country for smuggling flour and was sent to prison it 

doesn't matter.😉

[spidermike007]

8 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Big Joke certainly had me convinced, in the beginning, as to being an honest cop. I'm sure many others were believers too.     😦 

He had an extremely good PR machine and he was a very convincing. He played a very good game, though I never bought it for a nanosecond. But it sure seemed like a lot of people did. He never fought crime, or corruption. He practiced crime and corruption. He just hogged the limelight, that's who and what he was.

 

I hope they lock him up for a long time, though I suspect that's just a dream. He won't be convicted. They rarely go after their own. 

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Former redshirt political activist turned TV pundit Jatuporn Prompan (right), on Friday, urged General Surachate Hakparn, the under-fire deputy police chief, to resign. It follows a disastrous week for General Surachate or ‘Big Joke’ following an arrest warrant being issued against him by a Bangkok court and a prime ministerial panel pronouncing him guilty of money laundering.

 

Big Joke urged to resign amid scandal that has enveloped him. Pundit Jatuporn Prompan advises a career shift after preliminary guilty finding by the PM’s panel and an arrest warrant. Thailand’s top cop faces dire career prospects as an extended legal battle looms. Further shocking revelations in the Royal Thai Police corruption saga expected as activist lawyer Sittra Biebangkerd digs further.

Top current affairs pundit in Bangkok and former Redshirt leader Jatuporn Prompan, this weekend, advised embattled senior police officer General Surachate Hakparn to resign from government service. Mr Jatuporn advised the popular police officer to enter politics. It comes after a disastrous week for the top cop. On Tuesday, a court issued an arrest warrant for him related to money laundering. In turn, this was followed at the end of the week by another blow. That was when General Winai Thongsong, the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s investigative panel declared him guilty of money laundering in a preliminary report.

 

General Surachate has found himself in the vortex of a huge police corruption scandal. Certainly, his lawyers and others investigating the scandal, suggest he is innocent. Indeed, his lawyers claim a campaign to discredit him is at the root of his problems.

 

However, Mr Jatuporn, on Friday, warned the deputy police chief that the criminal case against him may take seven years to finalise. In the meantime, disciplinary proceedings against the top cop may ultimately end his career.

 

by James Morris and Son Nguyen

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2024-04-08

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe
 

 

This report goes in all directions.

-It indicates there's an investigation which could take several years to finalize.

-It quotes Jatuporn who is way less than a credible commenter. 

-It quotes ' prime ministerial panel pronouncing him guilty of money laundering.' What is a 'prime ministerial panel, who appoints the panel and does the panel have the authority to state/declare someone is guilty of anything?' 

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

resign from government service. Mr Jatuporn advised the popular police officer to enter politics

Not yet adjudicated quilty, why resign?

But Jatuporn seems to indicate that criminality better sets with a politician than with law enforcement.

[scorecard]

8 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

He had an extremely good PR machine and he was a very convincing. He played a very good game, though I never bought it for a nanosecond. But it sure seemed like a lot of people did. He never fought crime, or corruption. He practiced crime and corruption. He just hogged the limelight, that's who and what he was.

 

I hope they lock him up for a long time, though I suspect that's just a dream. He won't be convicted. They rarely go after their own. 

 

I'm not convinced he's corrupt. There's been lots of claims he is, but there's never been any evidence.

 

No doubt he's ruffled the feathers of other senior cops who want the chief position, and my guess is that some of these seniors are corrupt and would have no hesitation to try to get big joke out of the picture.

 

But as said I've never noticed any published / reported real evidence that big joke is corrupt 

[bamnutsak]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

PT  really don't like him, he is seen as a threat to the trough

 

Is "PT" Pheu Thai Party?

 

If so I don't think this is correct. 

 

Thailand’s Persevering Police Problem

 

However, Joke (pre-cadet class 31; Police Academy class, or PAC, 47) is no common cop. His police officer father was the chauffeur for Thaksin Shinawatra’s wife Pojaman’s Police Lieutenant-General father. Perhaps this chumminess with Pojaman’s family had contributed to Joke leading police security for Thaksin when the latter visited Chiang Mai in March 2024. Joke’s father was also said to be close to ex-deputy premier General Prawit Wongsuwan and politico Sanoh Thienthong. Joke, who is married to a billionaire tycoon’s daughter, has admitted to paying journalists to write favorable stories about him. He is perhaps the fastest-rising police officer in recent Thai history, already a major-general at 42 but retiring only in 2031. (The police retirement age is 60 while officers usually reach major-general rank at about 50 years of age.)

 

Joke retains close ties with Prawit and has been described as “Prawit’s bagman” by a security sector source who spoke to the present author. Perhaps it is no surprise that Joke continued to win promotions each year that his patron Prawit dominated Thailand’s Police Commission (2014-2019) or that Prawit’s brother Police General Pacharawat exerted influence on police reshuffles (2019-2023). Joke was demoted twice, first in 2019 because he alleged that orders “to keep a Bahraini footballer detained came from ‘above’” and then in 2020 after he opposed a police-supported 2.1 billion baht (about US$57 million) biometric identification system, perceiving it as being laden with financial irregularities.

 

https://fulcrum.sg/thailands-persevering-police-problem/

[2baht]

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

an honest cop

🤣Show me ONE! 🤣

[Purdey]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

declared him guilty of money laundering in a preliminary report.

Seems they are giving him the bum's rush. No court or trial but declaring him guilty by bureaucrat. Something smells fishy. 

[ujayujay]

Jatuporn Prompan, ex-prisoner, a good-for-nothing who calls himself an actor and would end up in the gutter without his sponsor Thaksin!

[Scouse123]

He got out of the frying pan once when he was Chief of Immigration, now it looks like he's jumped into the fire.

 

Even if it is by association, Bosses are responsible for those who serve under them.

 

Perks of the job, he's rubbed several people up the wrong way, that is obvious.

 

With those lot, it's not down to honesty, because NONE of them are, it's about which group you are affiliated to and who is the flavour of the month.

[AgMech Cowboy]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

General Winai Thongsong, the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s investigative panel declared him guilty of money laundering in a preliminary report

Considering that there was no trial or court, Gen Winai, just "declared" him guilty, it's my opinion that they are probably projecting their own 'crimes' against Gen. Surachate.

[AgMech Cowboy]

3 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Surely, anyone found guilty of a criminal offence should be banned from being a politician. But if the offence occurred in a foreign country for smuggling flour and was sent to prison it 

doesn't matter.😉

He's not been found guilty of any crime. That was just a General in charge of some of the investigation that "declared" him guilty.  IMHO< this is just a bunch of deflecting their own corruption.

[ThaiFelix]

2 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Jatuporn Prompan, ex-prisoner, a good-for-nothing who calls himself an actor and would end up in the gutter without his sponsor Thaksin!

I recall him on TV during the riots, encouraging Redshirts to collect up benzine to bring to bangkok and burn it dow,  He was arrested and soon after it was discovered his punishment was confinement at a holiday resort in Sattahip lol!

 

Can you imagine the penalty for someone else doing this?    Lucky hes not Burmese.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Jatuporn Prompan, ex-prisoner, a good-for-nothing who calls himself an actor and would end up in the gutter without his sponsor Thaksin!

 

Prompan's probably just jealous that he got to spend time, repeatedly, in jail for his past criminal offenses, whereas Big Joke thus far has remained a free man.  🤭

 

In Thailand, politicians sometimes get sent to prison for their misdeeds. But Thai police very very rarely do.

 

 

Former red-shirt leader gets 2 years in jail for protest at Prem’s house

May 18, 2023

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40027766

 

 

Thai 'red shirt' leader ordered back to jail, cuts short comeback

July 8, 2021

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-red-shirt-leader-ordered-back-jail-cuts-short-comeback-2021-07-08/

 

Thailand 'Red Shirts' leader sentenced to prison

July 20, 2017

 

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/07/20/Thailand-Red-Shirts-leader-sentenced-to-prison/4251500574200/

 

 

Jail term for Thai red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan

28 January 2015

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31019510

 

[transam]

Perhaps after jail time, if that comes first..........🤗