Deputy minister tells son-in-law to resign as mayor over graft probe
Deputy Interior Minister Chada Thaiseth said on Wednesday that he had ordered his son-in-law, Weerachart Rasamee, to resign from his position as mayor of Talukdoo municipality in Uthai Thani province to facilitate a fresh election.
Weerachart and four others were arrested in a sting operation on Tuesday by police officers of the Anti-Corruption Division after a construction contractor accused the group of demanding a bribe of 1 million baht.
After negotiating the amount down to 600,000 baht, the contractor reportedly arranged a money drop-off on Tuesday in Muang district of Uthai Thani province in exchange for Weerachart letting him continue projects to lay waterpipes in two subdistricts of the province. The contractor had earlier been given the contract.
Following Weerachart’s arrest, Chada said that his son-in-law must resign to allow the election of a mayor in Talukdoo subdistrict so as to avoid creating a vacuum in the local administration.
The deputy minister added that allowing the deputy mayor to stand in as mayor until the case is resolved may not guarantee efficient implementation of pending development projects in the subdistrict.
“To maintain the standard of local administration, an election for a new mayor must be held as per the laws,” he said. He said the order given to Weerachart was his responsibility as deputy interior minister and as head of the family.
Chada also asked fan clubs of political parties, as well as their teams responsible for information operation to avoid posting photos of his children and grandchildren online as part of the so-called witch hunting operation.
“You can blame me if you want, but one day you will regret doing so,” he said.
The deputy minister refused to comment on his role in the investigation into the corruption allegation against Weerachart.
The five suspects were granted bail on Tuesday at 400,000 baht each, after police vouched that they had permanent addresses and were not a flight risk.
Chada has been tasked with spearheading the Interior Ministry’s efforts to register so-called influential figures throughout Thailand in a bid to eliminate mafia-like operations at the provincial level.
Chada was earlier criticised for owning 23 guns, which were included in his assets list submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. He responded to criticism by saying that he was only a firearms collector.
