The crime of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta continues to provide up-to-the-minute data and information in online portals, talk shows and even gossip magazines. His confessed murderer, Daniel Sancho, has spent almost two months locked up in the Thai prison of Koh Samui, waiting for the police force to finalize its investigation report. However, the authorities of the Asian country are involved in a mess of their own kind.
Surachate Hakparn, deputy director of the police force and publicly known as Big Joke, has publicly confessed to having made payments to “three or four” journalists who accompany him during his work outings. These statements come 48 hours after an investigation was opened against him, in relation to an alleged bribe of 3.6 million euros monitored by the person responsible for cybercrimes, an area in which he has no jurisdiction.
“When the reporters accompanied me to cover the news, I gave them 10,000 baht (270 euros) for their work. I have three or four journalists who have worked with me for a long time,” explained Big Joke. According to him, he was in charge of making these payments when reporters joined investigations within his own jurisdiction. However, Hakparn categorically denied that these amounts fell under the umbrella of bribery.
The deputy director of the Thai national police explained that he never requested any type of specific action from the journalists in exchange for payments, in the same way that none of them expressly approached him to ask for money. “It is known that journalists are not well paid,” he explained to justify the monetary transfer. The investigation centered around him also affects the appointment of the new director of the body, which should have occurred this Wednesday.
Hakparn is one of four candidates to become Thailand's top police chief, but the investigation could negatively affect his chances. This past Monday, the cybercrime department conducted a raid in relation to this alleged bribery. Big Joke allegedly participated in fraudulent online gambling operations, for which he received around 140 million baht (€3.65 million at the exchange rate).
The agent responded bluntly: “It is well known that the house is mine and that I usually stay there. So that's why I say the court was misled. I think those who requested the order from the court misled them. "They're not going to find anything." Similarly, he distanced himself from 30 subordinates who were arrested as part of the same operation: “If they are really involved in online gambling, they have to confess and be punished, since they are all subject to the same laws.” .
