Burglary hot potato could end up burning a lot of hands
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The mysterious Bt17 million recovered by police following a burglary at the home of Suphoth Sublom, the suspended permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, has become a hot political potato involving key figures of the previous government.
Former premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party, welcomed the Yingluck government’s move to investigate alleged corruption in this case, while Sophon Sarum, the former transport minister, yesterday held a press conference on the issue.
During a parliamentary session last Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung charged that the money stolen from Suphoth’s home in Bangkok’s Lard Phrao district was a kickback paid in connection with the bidding for several subway mass transit lines, which took place during the previous government’s tenure.
In response, Sophon, who was a key figure in Newin Chidchob’s Bhum Jai Thai Party, which controlled the Transport Ministry in the previous Abhisit government, told the press that he would file lawsuits against Chalerm for the latter’s false accusation.
Sophon urged the government to uncover the truth in this case, as he believes that the whole affair is politically motivated to cover up public discontent with the Yingluck government’s failure in managing the country’s massive floods and the botched effort to seek a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
“I will file defamation suits against Chalerm and the Pheu Thai MP who posed the questions for Chalerm during the parliamentary session,” Sophon was quoted as saying.
Chalerm told the House of Representatives, citing an account of the police investigation so far, that the robbers were ordered to break into Suphoth’s house by some politicians he did not name.
He claimed the politicians wanted their share of the bribe, as the money came from corruption involving the bidding for subway lines, namely, the Red Line, Purple Line and Green Line.
According to Chalerm, the government will ensure that officials involved in this corruption case will face legal action. So far, police have confiscated Bt17.8 million from the robbers, even though Suphoth earlier told police that only Bt5 million was stolen from his house.
Supot rose to the rank of permanent secretary during the tenure of the Abhisit government when the Bhum Jai Thai Party held the transport and other portfolios.
For the ruling Pheu Thai Party, Bhum Jai Thai is a political nemesis because its de-facto leader, Newin, switched camps to join the previous Abhisit government. Now, it’s time to take revenge and regain complete control of the Transport Ministry, whose annual budget is one of the highest among all government agencies.
Transport Minister ACM Sukumphol Suwannatat of the Pheu Thai Party needs a strong reason to remove Suphoth from the post of permanent secretary. Therefore, the mysterious millions of baht found by police following the burglary could serve this purpose, while the event also helps discredit the Bhum Jai Thai Party in the court of public opinion.
Both Newin and Sophon are the other two targets in this bizarre burglary, which happened when Bangkok was on high alert for floods.
Suphoth, the embattled permanent secretary who has already been transferred to an inactive post following the episode, reportedly turned off his house’s electronic security system for fears of electrical shock on that evening, as he and his family left the house to attend his daughter’s wedding reception.
