National—
At 11:00 AM, on March 20th, 2024, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin summoned Pol. Gen. Torsak Sukvimol, the commissioner general of the Royal Thai Police, and Pol. Gen. Surachet Hakparn, the Deputy National Police Chief to the Government House of Thailand to clear up the conflict between the two parties.
After meeting the Thai Prime Minister, Pol. Gen. Torsak and Pol. Gen. Surachet held a press conference at the Royal Thai Police regarding the perceived conflict between the two which was misleading to the public.
The case of the online gambling network that allegedly involved Pol. Gen. Surachet and other high-ranking officers were handed to the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further legal processing, said Pol. Gen. Torsak.
Pol. Gen. Torsak publicly stated that he had never intended to thwart Pol. Gen. Surachet and there was no reason to do so. Pol. Gen. Torsak reportedly stated his concern for the conflict that circulated on social media. There were only 194 days of his service remaining and he wished to do his best duty on his remaining days.
To end the conflict, Pol. Gen. Torsak reportedly called Pol. Gen. Surachet to have a meeting with Srettha to discuss the matter today (March 20th).
Pol. Gen. Surachet publicly stated he would withdraw his legal action on all related police cases such as the police team searching Pol. Gen. Surachet’s residence on September 25th, 2023.
He would drop all the cases involving the police as he did not want to be criticized by the Thai Prime Minister and the public, remarked Pol. Gen. Surachet.
Pol. Gen. Surachet emphasized that the press conference today was not a drama to deceive the public.
At 2:30 PM, Srettha publicly revealed to Thai national media that in regard to the meeting with Pol. Gen. Surachet and Pol. Gen. Torsak, they were ordered to perform their duty temporarily for 60 days at the Office of the Prime Minister. Pol. Gen. Kittirat Phanphet, the deputy police commander, was appointed as the acting commissioner general of the Royal Thai Police.
Srettha stated that the temporary transfer was not to punish Pol. Gen. Surachet and Pol. Gen. Torsak as everything had been done under mandatory procedures and their salaries were still the same as they were still innocent unless proven guilty in a court of Thai law.
An investigative committee was assigned to investigate all the conflicts between Pol. Gen. Surachet and Pol. Gen. Torsak to clear the negative images to the public, said Srettha.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
