Article-44 order aimed at maximising law enforcement: Sansern
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s Article-44 order to control Wat Dhammakaya compounds is aimed at integrating efforts of all agencies to maximise legal enforcement and protect lives of the innocent in the area, said the Government Spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
“The order has been thought through to solve this complicated case,” Sansern said “It is needed because the defendants last time did not cooperate with authorities and stopped officers from entering concerned areas,”
The order, issued Wednesday night under Prayut’s absolute power provided the interim charter’s Article 44, should facilitate authorities to take more effective controls over logistics, utilities, communication and traffic systems in the temple, Sansern said.
While the operation is held responsible by the police and its Department of Special Investigative, the military will provide supportive forces outside the said compounds, he added.
The order is considered the second major attempt from Prayut’s authority to curb the temple’s honorary abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, who is officially wanted on money-laundering charges related to the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case.
Its first time was last year when the DSI tried to enter the temple’s compounds but were blocked by thousands of Dhammachayo’s dedicators, causing the attempted arrest to fail.
