Thai police ordered to keep foreign criminal cases on low profiles

[webfact]

Thai police ordered to keep foreign criminal cases on low profiles
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Jan 8 -- The national police chief ordered his subordinates nationwide to keep secret the information arrests of foreigners thought to be engaged in criminal activities because their cases can be sensitive.

Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung, the national police chief, order came in response to reports on Indian Gurmeet Singh who had planted a bomb, broken his jail and fled to Thailand.

Thai police arrested him in Chon Buri province on Monday

Gen Somyot said that the arrests of foreigners is a sensitive issue and might impact Thailand's international relations.

Therefore, he ordered police nationwide not to give information about the arrests of foreigners to reporters and to promptly carry out extradition procedures with the countries that wanted them.

Gen Somyot said that since he had taken office, more than 10 criminal suspects wanted internationally had been arrested here but he did not want their cases to hit the headlines. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2015-01-08

[NongKhaiKid]

Nice One Chief, now put keeping the BIB quiet on your bucket list along with them doing their job properly and stopping being corrupt.

[greenchair]

And if one of them is very depressed and commits suicide in his cell. That should be kept quiet also , since it is a very sensitive issue.

[Jack Mountain]

When you keep everything quiet then you can claim as many arrests as you want ...

[Jungle Jim]

Do they want to hide the fact that there are thousands hiding here in Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui and other tourist hangouts ?

[maapaa]

So ... NOT arresting them will have a good impact on international relations?

Dreamer!!!

[ezzra]

Really, chief? keep it a secrete?

what is it, and episode of 'get smart ' where the chief and Maxell smart sitting under the 'dome

of silence' and the chief ask him to keep the war on criminal gangs operating in Thailand a 'secrete'?

[arthurboy]

Or give the foreign criminals and authorities the peace and quiet they need to reach their mutually beneficial 'agreements'?

Given that some of them are operating here in plain site, can we expect them to be shut down and arrested in the near future?

Let me think about that one...

[mrtoad]

Would this include foreign victims of crime as well??

[yellowboat]

There is always something to hide in Thailand

[Briggsy]

Unable to silence social media, Somyot silences the police and the mainstream media will report nothing.

[binjalin]

"might impact Thailand's international relations" you gotta larf

translation:

"foreign governments might enquire into their citizens rights, might seek information and might even seek to protect their passport holders interests - so best not tell them na"

[Johnnie99]

Some of the comments here already are quite gormless.

Do you people not realise that Thailand has a tourist industry and that anything criminal, of any nature (however bad) affects the desire of people to visit?

Sitting in your ivory towers you must feel very self-satisfied.

[loonodingle]

Shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

[maidee]

oh i tought, keep crimes report low

as it might hurt their precious tourist billions

[2008bangkok]

More like they dont want a bad rep because of tourism, what about thee publics right to know that a person who is a danger to society is on the loose.

[Bluespunk]

"Therefore, he ordered police nationwide not to give information about the arrests of foreigners to reporters and to promptly carry out extradition procedures with the countries that wanted them."

He said while giving an interview on reports of the arrest of a foreigner to the media.

Further highlighting this arrest.

Might want to think through your own press interviews, sir.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Bluespunk

[Benmart]

Very odd indeed. I would imagine a retraction of the statement to be forthcoming and attributed to a misunderstanding.

[Mot Dang]

What a load of codswallop. It's not that he wants to keep quiet to the world cases that may be legally "sensitive", it is just that he does not want the world to know that there are increasing numbers of foreign criminals in the Kingdom. It used to be that the Thais were treated like mushrooms, now he thinks he can do this to the international community. Brilliant.

[Mot Dang]

Would this include foreign victims of crime as well??

Good point Toady.

[kamahele]

This declaration absolutely has me confused.

[soalbundy]

The BIB need a PR man with a brain

[RedNIvar]

There goes the photo op publicity and the arresting officer and his drinking buddies 15 seconds of fame.

[Rob8891]

IRONY ALERT.....IRONY ALERT.....IRONY ALERT.....IRONY ALERT.....

Gotta be good news for Myanmar, given their nationals' propensity for murder and sundry other crimes that Thais do not commit....

The whole idea is total BS....massage the crime figures in the name of tourism, and more worryingly it means that they can continue the arrests, shakedowns etc hoping it will no longer be reported

[slitsmyster]

Funny how the police love themselves here when they arrest somebody they can not get enough press photographers in there stations with criminals. It's almost like they love posing with them

[smedly]

Do they want to hide the fact that there are thousands hiding here in Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui and other tourist hangouts ?

That is the only reason I can think of for this idiotic statement

This man lived amongst us and under their noses for a long time, not that difficult to check records and see what passports arrived and didn't leave, furthermore he must have had associates that were protecting and hiding him - maybe even officials being bribed.

The more of these people that get caught here will send a message to those thinking that Thailand is a soft touch for hiding out, get the message out that they are being rounded up don't hide it

[Lupatria]

In other words: If there is life emerging under the carpet- we just move the furniture...

[Docno]

I wonder if something here got lost in translation... and I think some TV posters are also misinterpreting what's written in the OP.

First, note that the Pol Gen referred to the case of a convicted Pakistani terrorist captured in Thailand and that he also said: "... that since he had taken office, more than 10 criminal suspects wanted internationally had been arrested here".

So he's not referring to foreigners arrested for crimes committed in Thailand (what many posters here are referring to) but instead to foreigners sought by other countries for prosecution or imprisonment 'back home'. A fair number of these, as in the example he gave, will be wanted on terrorism-related charges, and that creates some concern.

So basically he's saying that Thailand wants to do the right thing by sending these people back to face prosecution, but it doesn't want to publicise this too much thereby becoming a target of international terrorism also.

[sweatalot]

Keep arrests secret - so it is easy for the arrested to disappear forever?

[CantSpell]

Some of the comments here already are quite gormless.

Do you people not realise that Thailand has a tourist industry and that anything criminal, of any nature (however bad) affects the desire of people to visit?

Sitting in your ivory towers you must feel very self-satisfied.

Yes sure...

Would like to see if you still have the same opinion after been arrested for a fake reason as it happen often.

Without no one been informed, left to rot forever in jail as happened a few times already to some foreigners....