Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, says he does not seek vengeance against several senior officers for their actions against him, despite possessing secret information that he claims could portend their demise.
“I have no desire for vengeance. I am replete with information. If I reveal it, the entire Royal Thai Police will perish.
“However, I will not disclose it yet. “I still want to protect the [police] force,” he stated on Wednesday’s Channel 9 program.
Monday, Pol Gen Surachate’s rented residence in Bangkok was searched in a high-profile operation as part of an investigation into online gambling websites. The inquiry, which was authorized by Royal Thai Police superiors, was prompted by the discovery of financial transactions related to gambling websites.
The assault on Pol Gen Surachate’s rented Bangkok home was part of an operation codenamed “Big Cleaning Day,” which targeted 30 properties in Bangkok and five provinces: Phetchaburi, Samut Prakan, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Saraburi.
Several of the other properties belonged to police officers close to Pol Gen Surachate, who are suspected of being involved with online gambling sites operating in Laos and circulating approximately one billion baht.
Wednesday, Pol Gen Surachate instructed his attorney, Ananchai Chaidej, to file a complaint with the Criminal Court of Southern Bangkok, alleging contempt of court in the police application for an arrest warrant for eight of his subordinates.
According to him, the investigators who requested the arrest warrant neglected to provide their ranks. If investigators had done so, the court would have denied the arrest warrant and instead issued a summons, according to Pol Gen Surachate. He believed that issuing warrants to the authorities was inappropriate.
Pol Gen Surachate had previously filed a complaint with the Criminal Court alleging contempt of court in the police’s application for a warrant to examine five of his rented homes.
He argued that the application concealed facts by omitting to inform the court that he occupied the houses, and that the large armed force used to conduct the inspections damaged his reputation. “Had the court known that they were my homes, it would have acted fairly because I am not being prosecuted,” said Pol Gen Surachate.
However, he acknowledged on Wednesday that the five houses belonged to a businessman named “Taem” from Udon Thani. He rented the properties from him and allowed two of his subordinates to reside in them.
