Thailand's top cop: graft-buster or junta hatchet man?

[jayboy]

Any background to how he managed to acquire such fabulous wealth on a tiny salary? I am sure the answer is perfectly innocent.

Anyway he seems to be an ideal person to clamp down on graft.

Nearly ALL of the officer corps (police and military) come from well-to-do/connected families. It's the same with flight attendants with THAI. If you go to a Thai restaurant in Dallas, your Thai waitress almost certainly comes from a family more wealthy than yours to be able for her to study in the US. As everywhere, there are the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' and the 'rich get richer'. If you come from money and have good connections and proper advise, you will become richer than your parents (unless you run down a police sergeant with your Ferrari and drag his body hundreds of meters on your way to leaving the scene of the crime).

BTW, your sarcasm re: Somyot, is noted.

You are talking nonsense.The majority of the officer corps in the police and army do NOT come from rich and well connected families.A fair number in the army and less so the police come from middle class backgrounds.A relatively small number come from highly privileged and wealthy backgrounds.

The huge riches of many senior officers cannot be accounted for their privileged background or wealthy wives or any other ridiculous excuse.Corruption is a way of life among these people.

[NongKhaiKid]

It may be an overly simple generalisation but appointees are rightly viewed with suspicion as each administration puts in own people in top jobs so ability and merit need not play a part. It's good to know that your own man or woman is in particular posts and can be trusted to do what's wanted not necessarily what's right.

The PM defended his choice for the NCPO saying he knew and trusted them. he excused his handpicked people hiring relatives as ' aides, advisers etc ' saying it was natural as they were probably the only ones who could be trusted. A nice little earner too for family and cronies.

This attitude is how it is here and unfortunately always will be.

Somyot will probably run the BIB not as national police chief but as the junta's police chief.

[casualbiker]

Any background to how he managed to acquire such fabulous wealth on a tiny salary? I am sure the answer is perfectly innocent.

Anyway he seems to be an ideal person to clamp down on graft.

Nearly ALL of the officer corps (police and military) come from well-to-do/connected families. It's the same with flight attendants with THAI. If you go to a Thai restaurant in Dallas, your Thai waitress almost certainly comes from a family more wealthy than yours to be able for her to study in the US. As everywhere, there are the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' and the 'rich get richer'. If you come from money and have good connections and proper advise, you will become richer than your parents (unless you run down a police sergeant with your Ferrari and drag his body hundreds of meters on your way to leaving the scene of the crime).

BTW, your sarcasm re: Somyot, is noted.

You are talking nonsense.The majority of the officer corps in the police and army do NOT come from rich and well connected families.A fair number in the army and less so the police come from middle class backgrounds.A relatively small number come from highly privileged and wealthy backgrounds.

The huge riches of many senior officers cannot be accounted for their privileged background or wealthy wives or any other ridiculous excuse.Corruption is a way of life among these people.

You are correct. But to be fair there are a fair proportion of MiSo- HiSo applicants who achieve a higher ranking status on leaving the police academy and they certainly have family money and tend to go on and have several different companies etc while serving in the police force.

MiSo= middle income business owners, generally with a larger disposable income than western countries in the same segment.

Edited April 19, 2015 by casualbiker

[The Deerhunter]

Well, somebody had to do it as the BIB was way out of control and we all knew that their rising star was hitched to the shirt-tails of Thaksin. But where to find the person to do it? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!!!!" Here is the exact problem. You need someone who understands the system to know where the rot is. That someone will always be someone from within who is already exposed and therefore, tainted-by-association, if not in actual fact. There is no chance of a total outsider doing the job. He would not know where to start. A true outsider would be out-maneuvered by the rank & file BIB from day one. The best we can hope for in such corrupt system is a slow improvement of the levels of corruption. We have to try to be optimistic, despite the obvious contradictions in the only available solution. Or Thailand has no hope of breaking out of the circle of rampant endemic corruption.

Edited April 20, 2015 by The Deerhunter

[jayboy]

Well, somebody had to do it as the BIB was way out of control and we all knew that their rising star was hitched to the shirt-tails of Thaksin. But where to find the person to do it? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!!!!" Here is the exact problem. You need someone who understands the system to know where the rot is. That someone will always be someone from within who is already exposed and therefore, tainted-by-association, if not in actual fact. There is no chance of a total outsider doing the job. He would not know where to start. A true outsider would be out-maneuvered by the rank & file BIB from day one. The best we can hope for in such corrupt system is a slow improvement of the levels of corruption. We have to try to be optimistic, despite the obvious contradictions in the only available solution. Or Thailand has no hope of breaking out of the circle of rampant endemic corruption.

I understand your argument but I disagree with it.The problem of corruption is not unique to Thailand and there are quite a few examples of other countries where energetic reform has cleansed the system - not always but sometimes with an avenging angel from outside the system.In Thailand I suspect this will require the input of politicians.

Despite my criticisms of a politician like Abhisit I know he is personally clean; there are others like him in this respect and it is vital that reformers are accountable to the general population ( unlike the present band of misfits).The Thai people at large would welcome a real assault on corruption.Remember those pictures of Pacino/Serpico on the back of trucks.There was a reason they appealed to the popular imagination.

I simply don't believe that the problem in Thailand is one of excessive corruption not corruption itself, and that the evil can be dealt with by soldiers and politicians who are only a little bit corrupt.

Edited April 20, 2015 by jayboy

[natway09]

What do you mean, back to their old tricks,? What makes you think it ever stopped

[lucky11]

Any background to how he managed to acquire such fabulous wealth on a tiny salary? I am sure the answer is perfectly innocent.

Anyway he seems to be an ideal person to clamp down on graft.

Did you not read the whole article?

He announced where his limited wealth came from (£230,000) - that is not a massive amount for a top police man, really, considering he is due to retire soon.

[jayboy]

Any background to how he managed to acquire such fabulous wealth on a tiny salary? I am sure the answer is perfectly innocent.

Anyway he seems to be an ideal person to clamp down on graft.

Did you not read the whole article?

He announced where his limited wealth came from (£230,000) - that is not a massive amount for a top police man, really, considering he is due to retire soon.

It might not be a massive amount for a top policeman if we were talking about Baht 11.5 million from which you seem to have calculated your £230,000.

But the amount in the article is US Dollars 11.5 million not Baht 11.5 million.

[The Deerhunter]

A brief history of the guy:

Courtesy of Blomberg.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung served as an Independent Director of Tongkah Harbour Public Company Limited from December 13, 2012 to March 3, 2014. Pol. Lt. Gen. Poompanmoung served as a Director of Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Company Limited. He served as a Director at Capital Engineering Network Public Company Limited (formerly, Eastern Wire Public Company Ltd.) since January 2005. He served as an Independent Director at Matching Maximize Solution Public Company Limited from April 28, 2010 to August 17, 2010. He holds Master of Political Science from Puna University, India and Bachelor of Political Science from Police Cadet Academy.

Sounds like a boy from a rich family to me before he started earning himself.

[The Deerhunter]

Well, somebody had to do it as the BIB was way out of control and we all knew that their rising star was hitched to the shirt-tails of Thaksin. But where to find the person to do it? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!!!!" Here is the exact problem. You need someone who understands the system to know where the rot is. That someone will always be someone from within who is already exposed and therefore, tainted-by-association, if not in actual fact. There is no chance of a total outsider doing the job. He would not know where to start. A true outsider would be out-maneuvered by the rank & file BIB from day one. The best we can hope for in such corrupt system is a slow improvement of the levels of corruption. We have to try to be optimistic, despite the obvious contradictions in the only available solution. Or Thailand has no hope of breaking out of the circle of rampant endemic corruption.

I understand your argument but I disagree with it.The problem of corruption is not unique to Thailand and there are quite a few examples of other countries where energetic reform has cleansed the system - not always but sometimes with an avenging angel from outside the system.In Thailand I suspect this will require the input of politicians.

Despite my criticisms of a politician like Abhisit I know he is personally clean; there are others like him in this respect and it is vital that reformers are accountable to the general population ( unlike the present band of misfits).The Thai people at large would welcome a real assault on corruption.Remember those pictures of Pacino/Serpico on the back of trucks.There was a reason they appealed to the popular imagination.

I simply don't believe that the problem in Thailand is one of excessive corruption not corruption itself, and that the evil can be dealt with by soldiers and politicians who are only a little bit corrupt.

I like your optimism but the trick would be getting the Thai mindset to allow an outsider to run the RTP. I don't think that is a starter. It wouldn't be the truck drivers of Thailand you would be trying to get the idea past. I stand by my opinion that (the current fix) is probably the only available solution.

[thequietman]

A brief history of the guy:

Courtesy of Blomberg.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung served as an Independent Director of Tongkah Harbour Public Company Limited from December 13, 2012 to March 3, 2014. Pol. Lt. Gen. Poompanmoung served as a Director of Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Company Limited. He served as a Director at Capital Engineering Network Public Company Limited (formerly, Eastern Wire Public Company Ltd.) since January 2005. He served as an Independent Director at Matching Maximize Solution Public Company Limited from April 28, 2010 to August 17, 2010. He holds Master of Political Science from Puna University, India and Bachelor of Political Science from Police Cadet Academy.

Puna University, India does not have a distance learning program ! If he didn't go to India to study, how on earth did he do the degree? Also the language of the course is English and Indian, can he speak either?

[casualbiker]

A brief history of the guy:

Courtesy of Blomberg.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung served as an Independent Director of Tongkah Harbour Public Company Limited from December 13, 2012 to March 3, 2014. Pol. Lt. Gen. Poompanmoung served as a Director of Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Company Limited. He served as a Director at Capital Engineering Network Public Company Limited (formerly, Eastern Wire Public Company Ltd.) since January 2005. He served as an Independent Director at Matching Maximize Solution Public Company Limited from April 28, 2010 to August 17, 2010. He holds Master of Political Science from Puna University, India and Bachelor of Political Science from Police Cadet Academy.

Puna University, India does not have a distance learning program ! If he didn't go to India to study, how on earth did he do the degree? Also the language of the course is English and Indian, can he speak either?

Dunno.. Go and ask him..

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