Positive results in graft cases point the way forward

The National Anti-Corruption Commission earlier this week agreed to ask the Office of the Attorney-General to confiscate assets to the tune of Bt64.7 million from former Transport Ministry permanent secretary Supoth Saplom.

The decision came amid an ongoing investigation into the origins of his wealth after burglars broke into his house in Wang Thong Lang district last November 12. The intruders allegedly discovered several million baht stashed in his home.

The NACC’s investigation is happening as society steps up the campaign against corruption and abuse of power by government officials. However, there have been doubts expressed about the effectiveness of the campaign, with previous and widespread allegations of corruption against officials and politicians regularly dismissed due to a “lack of evidence”. But the developments in this particular case can be seen as a positive response to the public’s demand for more explanations about the issues in question.

This week also, the Criminal Court found Senate Speaker Thiradet Meepien guilty of malfeasance in issuing a regulation to grant members of Parliament a pay increase when he was ombudsman. Essentially the move was seen as politicians gratuitous rewarding themselves at a time when many people are struggling with the rising cost of living and stagnating incomes.

Thiradet and Poolsup Piya-anant, another former ombudsman, were given two-year suspended prison sentences, while Pramote Chotemongkol, a former secretary-general of the Office of the Ombudsman, was given a 16-month suspended jail term.

The amount of the salary increase for the politicians may be small compared to the assets in question in the case of Supoth, but the court ruling is a positive signal that malfeasance will no longer be tolerated by society.

The two cases have received widespread attention because people want to see how these serious issues involving influential people will be resolved. Most of the time such allegations simply disappear after the initial fuss dies down.

Politicians and public officials all too often get away with questions over how they accumulate their wealth. As one politician once said, it is difficult to find evidence in corruption allegations because normally there are no receipts for “tea money”.

In this instance, although Supoth’s case is not over and he has not yet been found guilty, he will have a long battle to beat the charge of being “unusually rich”, and his case should remind others to be careful about accumulating wealth that may be difficult to explain away.

As has been stressed before, society as a whole has a part to play in bringing to light wrongdoing on the part of politicians and officials. Too often we judge people favourably because of their wealth instead of questioning the origin of their money. Some people in high positions like to flaunt their wealth because they believe the money earns them the respect of others. The problem is that some people think they too will gain a piece of the cake if they play along using the same methods. Some private firms also think expensive gifts to individual officials can win them lucrative business deals. This kind of wrongdoing and misuse of power has to be highlighted and suppressed because it runs against the national interest. People who engage in corruption do so at the expense of the nation and its citizens. 

The final verdict might find Supoth innocent, while Thiradet and the other two officials might fight on to try to clear their names. But whatever the outcome, the progress so far in these cases is of great service to the public, who should be pleased to see some truth finally being brought to light. This is better than leaving the issue unanswered and letting the public continue to contribute to negative stereotyping of officials and politicians.

In the meanwhile, we all needs to continue the momentum to combat irregularities or malfeasance, to restore public trust in national institutions. Everyone should be involved in the process to better our society. After all, it’s bad people who corrupt the system, not the other way around.