Court suspends chief judge from duty



BANGKOK: -- The Administrative Court's board of administrative judges voted 8-3 to suspend the president of the Supreme Administrative Court from duty after he was found guilty of asking the commissioner of the Royal Thai Police to consider promotion for a police officer.

The board reasoned that the president of the Supreme Administrative Court, Mr Hasavudh Vithitsiri, was guilty after he asked the secretary-general of Office of the Administrative Court, Mr Direkrit Janklongtham to unofficially write to the commissioner of the Royal Thai Police to consider promotion for a police officer.

The suspension takes immediate effect.

The board also agreed that his successor will be considered from seniority.

There are two judges under consideration, Mr Piya Patangta and Mr Kasem Kongsattham.

The board will meet again to select the acting president of the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday.

Earlier the board had voted 9-2 to set up an inquiry team to probe the controversy and ordered his suspension from duty to facilitate the probe after considering that if he was remained on duty, it would cause damages to the state.

The chief judge remains as government official pending disciplinary probe of the offence.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/court-suspends-chief-judge-from-duty


-- Thai PBS 2015-03-31

It gonna be a busy summer!

As has been noted many times before....................a dead fish rots from the head.

Some senior businessman had mentioned that the Thai vocabulary does not have a word similar in meaning to 'Integrity'.

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

Morals, ethics etc ?

If the proposed committee is established they'll have their work cut out to say the least.

Morals, ethics etc ?

If the proposed committee is established they'll have their work cut out to say the least.

You mean Jesus's teaching? He who is without sin cast the first stone?

Morals, ethics etc ?

If the proposed committee is established they'll have their work cut out to say the least.

You mean Jesus's teaching? He who is without sin cast the first stone?

so the best of a bad bunch setting rules etc for the worst but since they'll all be pals one way or another it won't mean much or go very far except maybe for the occasional sacrifice who will be someone who's fallen out of favour.

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

......even more so when it is observed to be cleaning its own house.

You want us to trust a PTP government - when was the last, any, time a PTP MP reported any of the corruption rampant in that government's ranks?

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

......even more so when it is observed to be cleaning its own house.

You want us to trust a PTP government - when was the last, any, time a PTP MP reported any of the corruption rampant in that government's ranks?

What are you talking about? This is about the judiciary, not any political party.

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

......even more so when it is observed to be cleaning its own house.

You want us to trust a PTP government - when was the last, any, time a PTP MP reported any of the corruption rampant in that government's ranks?

What are you talking about? This is about the judiciary, not any political party.

Both Thai institutions, but the one you refrain from trusting is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption, while the other wallows in it.

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

......even more so when it is observed to be cleaning its own house.

You want us to trust a PTP government - when was the last, any, time a PTP MP reported any of the corruption rampant in that government's ranks?

What are you talking about? This is about the judiciary, not any political party.

Both Thai institutions, but the one you refrain from trusting is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption, while the other wallows in it.

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

If removing somebody for cronyism isn't reducing corruption, what is it?

Come on, I'm sure you could dream up some silly conspiracy theory.

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

If removing somebody for cronyism isn't reducing corruption, what is it?

Come on, I'm sure you could dream up some silly conspiracy theory.

If you think removing one person for cronyism is demonstrably reducing corruption then that is up to you. A cursory glance over the years at various reports, although all quickly swept under the carpet would tell you that this is unlikely to be a crack down on corruption.

Do you think that they might misspell the names of prominent Thais so westerners can't goggle who they are? Just put both names in for the replacement judge, nothing came up?

But quick off the mark with a replacement? Hope they are good'ole boys.

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

If removing somebody for cronyism isn't reducing corruption, what is it?

Come on, I'm sure you could dream up some silly conspiracy theory.

If you think removing one person for cronyism is demonstrably reducing corruption then that is up to you. A cursory glance over the years at various reports, although all quickly swept under the carpet would tell you that this is unlikely to be a crack down on corruption.

Well nobody is standing behind a big sign saying STOP Corruption, unable to keep a straight face, so maybe it is not a crackdown. OTOH it is one more step than observed from the laughing hypocrites.

If you think removing one person for cronyism is demonstrably reducing corruption then that is up to you. A cursory glance over the years at various reports, although all quickly swept under the carpet would tell you that this is unlikely to be a crack down on corruption.

Well nobody is standing behind a big sign saying STOP Corruption, unable to keep a straight face, so maybe it is not a crackdown. OTOH it is one more step than observed from the laughing hypocrites.

Why are you continuing trying to make this political? The judiciary needs reforming, it has needed to be reformed since the beginning of time, this is not about political parties.

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

You didn't even have to casually mention the judge was too close to the police for comfort, and already you manage the 'right' level of suggestion.

If you think removing one person for cronyism is demonstrably reducing corruption then that is up to you. A cursory glance over the years at various reports, although all quickly swept under the carpet would tell you that this is unlikely to be a crack down on corruption.

Well nobody is standing behind a big sign saying STOP Corruption, unable to keep a straight face, so maybe it is not a crackdown. OTOH it is one more step than observed from the laughing hypocrites.

Why are you continuing trying to make this political? The judiciary needs reforming, it has needed to be reformed since the beginning of time, this is not about political parties.

The judiciary needs reforming, but so do all parts of the justice system, including laws that were deliberately written with loopholes and in vague ways to allow much "interpretation". And whose job is it to create, word and amend laws?

A senior judge breaks the rules and is suspended. Very good. Hardly going to solve corruption on its own. But, judges being suspended, police being prosecuted and put in jail, their assets seized, civil servants being dismissed, politicians and civil servants facing criminal charges - all starting to look like a change. More so than the previous government who simply ignored corruption, especially their own.

Do you think that they might misspell the names of prominent Thais so westerners can't goggle who they are? Just put both names in for the replacement judge, nothing came up?

But quick off the mark with a replacement? Hope they are good'ole boys.

The replacement judge will be another judge, so already working as judge. That automatically makes him a qualified person. One may wonder about the decision to select based on seniority, but that does seem the norm in the Thailand as we still have it. drastic changes one would not expect from a body which by function needs to be a bit conservative, as laws need to be somewhat stable

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If you think removing one person for cronyism is demonstrably reducing corruption then that is up to you. A cursory glance over the years at various reports, although all quickly swept under the carpet would tell you that this is unlikely to be a crack down on corruption.

Well nobody is standing behind a big sign saying STOP Corruption, unable to keep a straight face, so maybe it is not a crackdown. OTOH it is one more step than observed from the laughing hypocrites.

Why are you continuing trying to make this political? The judiciary needs reforming, it has needed to be reformed since the beginning of time, this is not about political parties.

The judiciary needs reforming, but so do all parts of the justice system, including laws that were deliberately written with loopholes and in vague ways to allow much "interpretation". And whose job is it to create, word and amend laws?

A senior judge breaks the rules and is suspended. Very good. Hardly going to solve corruption on its own. But, judges being suspended, police being prosecuted and put in jail, their assets seized, civil servants being dismissed, politicians and civil servants facing criminal charges - all starting to look like a change. More so than the previous government who simply ignored corruption, especially their own.

... "all starting to look like a change" ... for better or for worse. All seems a bit one-sided to me.

The judiciary needs reforming, but so do all parts of the justice system, including laws that were deliberately written with loopholes and in vague ways to allow much "interpretation". And whose job is it to create, word and amend laws?

A senior judge breaks the rules and is suspended. Very good. Hardly going to solve corruption on its own. But, judges being suspended, police being prosecuted and put in jail, their assets seized, civil servants being dismissed, politicians and civil servants facing criminal charges - all starting to look like a change. More so than the previous government who simply ignored corruption, especially their own.

More so than previous GovernmentS including military ones. You know as well as I do that the police etc who have been jailed was for different reasons, yes its good they have been pulled up but lets not pretend its a serious crackdown on the roots of the corruption problems in the police force. I drive 1000's of kilometers a month and have been pulled up as much, if not more in the past year and 'fined' than any time.

So i will agree with you that some action has been taken, but so far for me the action taken is of a selective nature, or 'disposable' persons rather than a concerted effort to really eradicate things.

I suppose only time will tell. We are still waiting for any 'reform' of any of the key institutions and we are now close to a year in.

So how did he get caught for this? Simply didn't ask with enough enthusiasm (cash)??

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Do you think that they might misspell the names of prominent Thais so westerners can't goggle who they are? Just put both names in for the replacement judge, nothing came up?

But quick off the mark with a replacement? Hope they are good'ole boys.

The replacement judge will be another judge, so already working as judge. That automatically makes him a qualified person. One may wonder about the decision to select based on seniority, but that does seem the norm in the Thailand as we still have it. drastic changes one would not expect from a body which by function needs to be a bit conservative, as laws need to be somewhat stable

Selection based on seniority? Not ability,integrity etc. But isn't this true of all institutions in Thailand.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? If affirmative then there are surely plenty of vacancies just waiting to be filled.

so cronyism=corruption.. Couldn't agree more.

How exactly were all these various offshoots of the NCPO/NLA picked again?

But its okay we are to have trust in the judicial system.....

......even more so when it is observed to be cleaning its own house.

You want us to trust a PTP government - when was the last, any, time a PTP MP reported any of the corruption rampant in that government's ranks?

They didn't see any because they were too busy indulging in it themselves.

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

If removing somebody for cronyism isn't reducing corruption, what is it?

Come on, I'm sure you could dream up some silly conspiracy theory.

Before you fall off your high horse, let me give you a little homework:

Check the background of the Chief of National Police Khun Somyot Punpanmuang.

Unusual wealthy and despite that handpicked by Prayut to the job.

Probably a pure coincidence that he wore a yellow shirt, when it was time for promotions!!

I don't trust any of them, but again i don't see what it has to do with any political party.

If you think the outing of one judge for cronyism is demonstrably acting to reduce corruption then you are completely naive. We will never know of course, but i would rather suspect there is far more to than this.

If removing somebody for cronyism isn't reducing corruption, what is it?

Come on, I'm sure you could dream up some silly conspiracy theory.

Before you fall off your high horse, let me give you a little homework:

Check the background of the Chief of National Police Khun Somyot Punpanmuang.

Unusual wealthy and despite that handpicked by Prayut to the job.

Probably a pure coincidence that he wore a yellow shirt, when it was time for promotions!!

Exactly how is the Chief of National Police related to the Administrative Court? Is he the one reported the judge?

Hmmm.

In my experience, when the official reason for removing a powerful figure is a relatively minor ethical transgression, the truth is not being told.

Yes, minor ethical transgression. The Judge apparently asked somebody to exert influence over a police promotion. It appears the request was not honored. So the influence did not occur. But the request was unethical, and the Judge should have been reprimanded, if that was all there was to the story. Instead, he was drummed out.

Transparency is not a major feature in Thailand.

Before you fall off your high horse, let me give you a little homework:

Check the background of the Chief of National Police Khun Somyot Punpanmuang.

Unusual wealthy and despite that handpicked by Prayut to the job.

Probably a pure coincidence that he wore a yellow shirt, when it was time for promotions!!

Exactly how is the Chief of National Police related to the Administrative Court? Is he the one reported the judge?

That is beautiful in its irony.