Picture courtesy of Siam Rath

On January 9, the Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand will rule on the case of Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn. Known as “Big Joke”, Surachate was dismissed from the Royal Thai Police in 2024, and he contests this as unlawful. The decision will determine whether he can resume his position or end his police career.

Surachate, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, was suspended after being accused of grave misconduct linked to the online gambling site BNKMASTER. He faced criminal charges, including conspiracy and money laundering, leading to his removal by the National Police Office on April 18, 2024. He appealed against this order, arguing it was legally unjustified, but his appeal was dismissed on August 5, 2024.

Initially, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Administrative Court assessed the temporary protection order, but it was later referred for a full court discussion.

This resulted in a denial of temporary protection, which prompted criminal complaints against several administrative judges. The upcoming verdict is closely monitored, as it may significantly impact Surachate's future in the police force, reported Siam Rath.

Key Takeaways

• The court's decision will affect Surachate's ability to return to his police role.

• Allegations involve misconduct with ties to online gambling and money laundering.

• The case includes appeals and complaints against the judicial process.

Related Stories:

Police Raid 11 Sites in Probe Linked to “Big Joke”

Tracing the Career of 'Big Joke': Former Dep Police Chief Dismissed for Severe Misconduct

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Siam Rath 2026-01-06

 

 

it is hard to say whether it is a good thing if he is allowed to return to the police ...

Of course he will be back. He´s the next Police Chief.

12 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Of course he will be back. He´s the next Police Chief.

And if he is back, watch out all those who tried to undermine him.

Ridiculous state of affairs if he comes back yet again!

5 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Ridiculous state of affairs if he comes back yet again!

Why?

Just now, Artisi said:

Why?

Because he is tarred with every scam under the sun, from online gambling to Gold scams, etc.

He's equally as bad as all the rest, and the last thing needed is him coming back to run an agenda based on payback for all those he thinks betrayed him, instead of getting on with police work, which very few of them do.

1 minute ago, Scouse123 said:

Because he is tarred with every scam under the sun, from online gambling to Gold scams, etc.

He's equally as bad as all the rest, and the last thing needed is him coming back to run an agenda based on payback for all those he thinks betrayed him, instead of getting on with police work, which very few of them do.

Yep to be proved, all hearsay at the moment.

6 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Yep to be proved, all hearsay at the moment.

Way too much, and it isn't really hearsay when judges have upheld it. Anyway, each to their own.

The whole lot of them have crawled out of a cesspool, and they are ALL as filthy as each other.

The country needs to scrap the Police and start again from ground zero, the same as Singapore did many years ago.

Was that the honest judges or the others?

The bigger bet is on how much time he will get, or will he do a runner.

He’s like the Teflon Don he’s definitely guilty corruption in those high ranks run so rapid they’re all corrupt I think they should fire all the top officials to start from the ground up but this will never happen because TIT

3 hours ago, Artisi said:

Why?

The fiasco will continue, he will have enemies withing the force, he will be watching his back instead of doing police work.

43 minutes ago, TheFishman1 said:

He’s like the Teflon Don he’s definitely guilty corruption in those high ranks run so rapid they’re all corrupt I think they should fire all the top officials to start from the ground up but this will never happen because TIT

"He’s like the Teflon Don he’s definitely guilty corruption in those high ranks run so rapid they’re all corrupt....."

Are you saying that Big Joke is corrupt? Please share some real evidence.

This has been said before, but there's never been any evidence, NONE!

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

I tried to open this comment but it won't open.

I really want to see any details / evidence of Big Joe offering bribes / being corrupt.

Why the thumbs down emoji? Please share.

12 minutes ago, scorecard said:

"He’s like the Teflon Don he’s definitely guilty corruption in those high ranks run so rapid they’re all corrupt....."

Are you saying that Big Joke is corrupt? Please share some real evidence.

This has been said before, but there's never been any evidence, NONE!

Why the thumbs down emoji? Please share.

4 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Because he is tarred with every scam under the sun, from online gambling to Gold scams, etc.

He's equally as bad as all the rest, and the last thing needed is him coming back to run an agenda based on payback for all those he thinks betrayed him, instead of getting on with police work, which very few of them do.

Agreed, but that means he will fit right in?

You can't even become a high ranking RTP officer without being corrupt, so the whole lot of them should be purged, start over.

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

I tried to open this comment but it won't open.

I really want to see any details / evidence of Big Joe offering bribes / being corrupt.

It's opening in my Chrome and Firefox browsers!

It's pretty obvious that he can't and won't be reinstated.

6 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

He's equally as bad as all the rest, and the last thing needed is him coming back to run an agenda based on payback for all those he thinks betrayed him, instead of getting on with police work, which very few of them do.

I think the payback would be good for Thailand. It would expose the corruption publicly and perhaps bring about some actual change.

Big Joke for police chief.

A post with a blind link has been removed:

• Links to outside content should always include relevant commentary. Blind links to outside content with no context or explanation may be removed.

On 1/6/2026 at 11:27 AM, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Siam Rath

On January 9, the Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand will rule on the case of Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn. Known as “Big Joke”, Surachate was dismissed from the Royal Thai Police in 2024, and he contests this as unlawful. The decision will determine whether he can resume his position or end his police career.

Surachate, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, was suspended after being accused of grave misconduct linked to the online gambling site BNKMASTER. He faced criminal charges, including conspiracy and money laundering, leading to his removal by the National Police Office on April 18, 2024. He appealed against this order, arguing it was legally unjustified, but his appeal was dismissed on August 5, 2024.

Initially, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Administrative Court assessed the temporary protection order, but it was later referred for a full court discussion.

This resulted in a denial of temporary protection, which prompted criminal complaints against several administrative judges. The upcoming verdict is closely monitored, as it may significantly impact Surachate's future in the police force, reported Siam Rath.

Key Takeaways

• The court's decision will affect Surachate's ability to return to his police role.

• Allegations involve misconduct with ties to online gambling and money laundering.

• The case includes appeals and complaints against the judicial process.

Related Stories:

Police Raid 11 Sites in Probe Linked to “Big Joke”

Tracing the Career of 'Big Joke': Former Dep Police Chief Dismissed for Severe Misconduct

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Siam Rath 2026-01-06

 

 

Next prime Minister

His only problem is, he knows way too much. Add the fact that his peers were jealous, and there you have it.