Suspension part of conspiracy to stop my rise to top, says ‘Big Joke’

In the complaint filed with the Merit System Protection Committee (MSPC) on Thursday, Surachate also accused acting National Police chief Pol General Kitrat Panphet of conspiring to prevent him from rising to the top.

The MSPC falls under the Office of the Civil Service Commission.

The incumbent police chief, Pol General Torsak Sukwimol, is scheduled to retire on September 30 and now that Surachate has been suspended, he will not be in the running for the police chief’s post.

Both Torsak and Surachate were transferred to inactive posts at the PM’s Office on March 20 after the two began attacking each other over allegations that Surachate was involved in money laundering related to two online gambling networks.

On April 18, Surachate was moved back to the Royal Thai Police only to face a suspension order from Kitrat on grounds that a police fact-finding committee found grounds to believe he was allegedly involved in money laundering.

Surachate, however, claims that the plan to suspend him from service was part of a conspiracy to stop him from being nominated as a candidate for the post of police chief. He said he was suspended by Kitrat even before investigators sent his case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

If his case had been sent to the NACC first, he would not have been suspended until the NACC found grounds to believe his guilt, he added.

Surachate noted that the accusations against him first surfaced on December 2, when Torsak was still at the top of the police force.

“Had I really damaged the police force as charged by Kitrat’s committee, then Torsak should have suspended me immediately,” he said.

Instead, he said, he was suspended 29 days after being transferred to the PM’s Office, where he was already incapable of messing or interfering with the case against him.