City council president, foundation official held for demanding bribes

[Lite Beer]

City council president, foundation official held for demanding bribes
Kampanart La-ong
The Nation 

 

BANGKOK: -- The president of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council and the head of a foundation for the poor have been detained for allegedly extorting money from vendors.

The move came after complaints to police filed by several vendors with stalls outside Wat Hua Lamphong in Bang Rak district in Bangkok about council president Pipat Larpprathana and Uppatham Bang Rak Foundation secretary-general Prasert Prommi.

An informed source said yesterday that the suspects were now detained under martial law.

"This means they will not be able to intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence," the source said.

Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak, a senior expert-level inquiry official at the Crime Suppression Division, said police were gathering evidence against the pair.

"We have already uncovered some evidence such as receipts from vendors, and will also check CCTV recordings and speak to the vendors," he said.

The source said vendors were now daring to speak up after hearing that Pipat and Prasert had been arrested.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said his party had dismissed Pipat in mid-2013 for violating a resolution of the party's executive committee. Pipat is also a Bangkok councillor for Bang Rak district.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/City-council-president-foundation-official-held-fo-30241041.html

 

[thenation]2014-08-16[/thenation]

[NongKhaiKid]

I wonder when the foundation official will claim he only collected ' donations ' to the charity and he didn't benefit in the least ?

[lovetotravel]

If arrests like this continue, will there be many government officials left who are not in jail?? 

[EricBerg]

Good. If proven guilty it is another small success in the long fight against corruption. But now the victims have the courage to complain about the officials. It means there now is a climate where people feel safe to do so. Go, Prayuth, go! And please do not forget the big fish.

[Lupatria]

If arrests like this continue, will there be many government officials left who are not in jail?? 

The term self-imposed exile government comes to mind.

[Confuscious]

Good. If proven guilty it is another small success in the long fight against corruption. But now the victims have the courage to complain about the officials. It means there now is a climate where people feel safe to do so. Go, Prayuth, go! And please do not forget the big fish.

 

I fully support your cheerio.

 

And may I add, while SH Prayuth is doing a cleanup, he might have a look who was involved in the purchase of the worthless bomb detectors.

[jpeg]

If arrests like this continue, will there be many government officials left who are not in jail?? 

 

And who, exactly is in jail? Penny not dropped yet?   One here, one there 

Edited August 16, 2014 by jpeg

[spidermike007]

Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak, a senior expert-level inquiry official at the Crime Suppression Division, said police were gathering evidence against the pair. This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit! The fact that there is a battle against corruption going on at all is amazing. Now, the next question is, once the arrests have been made, are they going to be able to find a prosecutor and a judge who is not compromised? And courageous enough to put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht? This is what he deserves. He had a high position, and he filled his account abusing his position. He has been called out. The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally. This is a beautiful thing. Let us hope it continues, and let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends". 

[Big Spender]

It is one thing making arrests, these can just be token, you aint going to jail if you can get the money to the judges.

 

Most of the corrupt officials know this already.

 

I can tell you now that corruption is just as prevalent today as it was a year ago.

 

What is needed, is to see fast tracked, very severe prison sentences handed down with no right of appeal, and seizure of ALL assets and life bans from working at any government or civil service level.

 

Then, and only then will the people actually sit up and get scared.... Then it should fall dramatically.

[Bender]

... publicity stunt

[Basil B]

I wonder when the foundation official will claim he only collected ' donations ' to the charity and he didn't benefit in the least ?

I am sure an audit of his bank accounts and assets compared to his legitimate income may well prove or disprove your theory... 

[FangFerang]

Others share my opinion -- this is a publicity stunt, and not even well-organized.  Arrests count for nothing -- only convictions and punishments mean anything.  

 

Again, a publicity stunt, and a red herring.

 

Everyone look here!  Do NOT look at all those things we are doing nothing about!  This is the truth, and please take pictures.

[pisico]

Others share my opinion -- this is a publicity stunt, and not even well-organized.  Arrests count for nothing -- only convictions and punishments mean anything.  

 

Again, a publicity stunt, and a red herring.

 

Everyone look here!  Do NOT look at all those things we are doing nothing about!  This is the truth, and please take pictures.

 

Right you are.

I go daily to the Pinklao area. The taxis jamming traffic on the street in front of PATA, still there and no law enforcement in sight. Two officers: one in dark brown and the other in dark gray uniforms, make the daily rounds stopping at every stall for a few minutes getting freebies and pocketing money. A big sign in white was attached to a lamp post in Thai and a picture of a motorcy and a car NO PARKING. 5000 BAHT FINE. But cars and pickup trucks park there and other areas too on the footpath. Even Richard Barrow has published such photos.

Forget about penalties: lack of consistent enforcement of the law and disregard of laws are the roots of the problem in Thailand. Why then all the government officials caught perpetrating a crime of any kind are moved to inactive posts?

The reason that permanent under secretaries of Transport keep hundreds of millions of Baht in a closet and nothing happens to him. The Luis Vuitton Monk who siphoned 300 million Baht whooping it up in California. The white Cayenne Nun and Vuitton bag not even received a slap on the wrist from the National Office of Buddhism. The ones responsible for overseeing and inspecting buildings under construction what happens to them? That and much more are components of the status quo of corruption which is inherent to Thai culture.

Publicity stunt to show they care and are doing their job. WINK, WINK, NUDGE, NUDGE. TIT.
 

[Cthulhu]

Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak, a senior expert-level inquiry official at the Crime Suppression Division, said police were gathering evidence against the pair. This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit! The fact that there is a battle against corruption going on at all is amazing. Now, the next question is, once the arrests have been made, are they going to be able to find a prosecutor and a judge who is not compromised? And courageous enough to put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht? This is what he deserves. He had a high position, and he filled his account abusing his position. He has been called out. The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally. This is a beautiful thing. Let us hope it continues, and let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends". 

 

This is a spendid example of what makes TV so unpleasant in so many ways.

1 The immediate assumption of the guilt of the accused.

2 The demand for an extraordinary degree of punishment: "put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht".

3 Reference to people in the most derogatory terms: "The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally".

4 Grovelling obsequiousness towards the new guys in power: "Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak...This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit".

5 And finally, the truly vile hope that they will suffer homosexual rape in prison: "let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends".
 

Appalling.

[spidermike007]

Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak, a senior expert-level inquiry official at the Crime Suppression Division, said police were gathering evidence against the pair. This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit! The fact that there is a battle against corruption going on at all is amazing. Now, the next question is, once the arrests have been made, are they going to be able to find a prosecutor and a judge who is not compromised? And courageous enough to put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht? This is what he deserves. He had a high position, and he filled his account abusing his position. He has been called out. The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally. This is a beautiful thing. Let us hope it continues, and let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends". 

 
This is a spendid example of what makes TV so unpleasant in so many ways.

1 The immediate assumption of the guilt of the accused.

2 The demand for an extraordinary degree of punishment: "put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht".

3 Reference to people in the most derogatory terms: "The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally".

4 Grovelling obsequiousness towards the new guys in power: "Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak...This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit".

5 And finally, the truly vile hope that they will suffer homosexual rape in prison: "let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends".
 
Appalling.

I would not withdraw one iota of the post. How many of these officials are NOT guilty? He was just caught. Apologize for him all you want.

[inzman]

I too am happy to see the military tackle corruption. Like I have said before. It is too rampant and ingrained in thai culture to go away in my lifetime. Even with such a goo start it will not be eliminated. I am a realist not an apologist.

[NeilSA1]

... publicity stunt

 

Always a negative response to the Junta, regardless......?

                                      Well, their 'publicity stunts' in law enforcement have been getting some very good results. 

[Cthulhu]

 

 

Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak, a senior expert-level inquiry official at the Crime Suppression Division, said police were gathering evidence against the pair. This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit! The fact that there is a battle against corruption going on at all is amazing. Now, the next question is, once the arrests have been made, are they going to be able to find a prosecutor and a judge who is not compromised? And courageous enough to put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht? This is what he deserves. He had a high position, and he filled his account abusing his position. He has been called out. The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally. This is a beautiful thing. Let us hope it continues, and let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends". 

 
This is a spendid example of what makes TV so unpleasant in so many ways.

1 The immediate assumption of the guilt of the accused.

2 The demand for an extraordinary degree of punishment: "put this guy away for many, many years, and give him and his family a massive fine, in the neighborhood of 10-30 million baht".

3 Reference to people in the most derogatory terms: "The rats are getting flushed out of the sewer finally".

4 Grovelling obsequiousness towards the new guys in power: "Pol Lt-Colonel Natteerit Harnsanehlak...This man is a hero. He should be given a parade down Sukhumvit".

5 And finally, the truly vile hope that they will suffer homosexual rape in prison: "let us hope these guys get locked up, where they can enjoy the company of some new "boyfriends".
 
Appalling.

I would not withdraw one iota of the post. How many of these officials are NOT guilty? He was just caught. Apologize for him all you want.

 

 

I'm not apologizing for anyone, but I have the good fortune to come from a country where publicly claiming someone is guilty of an offence after they have been arrested, but before they have been tried, is regarded as contempt of court and as detrimental to a fair trial.

 

I appreciate that this does not apply in Thailand (or even the USA) but it is a principle of justice that I personally admire. Also I do not refer to people as rats, or express the hope they will be homosexually raped while held in prison, on the basis that they have been arrested on as yet unproven charges.

 

But hey, we each have our own standards of what constitutes justice.

 

[BillyBobThai]

All elected politicians in Thailand should be thrown out of office at once, and be banned from politics for life.  The second in command will take control until the next election, when a new PM is elected.  This would insure that the whole country would be starting with hopefully less corrupt people in office.  This would amount to an amnesty for the ex politicians, and allow a fresh start.  If they chose to fight the decision, then the courts could settle the case, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

 

[belg]

time to build new jails, specially for crooked politicians, policemen & governement workers with long fingers