Acquittal upheld on police station graft
PUBLISHED : 23 Aug 2023 at 04:00
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions yesterday upheld its previous acquittal of former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban and five other defendants on charges of corruption in the construction of 396 police stations and living quarters 10 years ago.
The other five defendants charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) with similar offences and also acquitted by the court were: former acting national police chief Pol Gen Pateep Tanprasert, Pol Maj Gen Satja Kochahiran, Pol Lt Col Suriya Jangsuwan, PCC Development & Construction Company, and Wisanu Wisetsing, the company’s managing director.
Upon hearing the ruling, Mr Suthep said he was preparing to discuss with his legal team about filing a countersuit against the NACC.
Mr Suthep said he was proud of being a politician who has never committed graft.
The projects were approved during the administration of then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, when Mr Suthep was a deputy prime minister. The NACC filed the case with the court, alleging malfeasance and price collusion in government projects from June 2009 to April 2013.
On Sept 20, 2022, the court found Mr Suthep and the other five defendants not guilty and acquitted them of the charges. The NACC appealed the decision. The court yesterday upheld its previous judgement to acquit all six defendants.
In this case, one of the projects related to the construction of 396 police stations, each costing 5.8 million baht, was endorsed by the cabinet.
Many of the police stations were left unfinished when the contractor, managing a number of sites at the same time, dumped the project.
The NACC also found grounds for allegations relating to the building of 163 blocks of police flats, which had been proposed along with the police station project.
Mr Suthep and Pol Gen Pateep were accused of wrongfully combining all the regional construction contracts into one. The contract was then awarded at an unusually low price to a single contractor, PCC.
Pol Maj Gen Satja and Pol Lt Col Suriya, who were on the bidding committee, were accused of failing to verify the quote.
Mr Wisanu, the managing director of PCC, was accused of tendering a quote that was too low and the company of failing to finish the work.
The court found the Royal Thai Police had the authority to decide how it would award the construction contract and Mr Suthep could not be held responsible for any malfeasance.
The court also found Pol Gen Pateep handled the project in compliance with regulations, and there was no evidence Pol Maj Gen Satja or Pol Lt Col Suriya had any vested interest.