PUBLISHED : 20 Feb 2024 at 15:55
National parks chief Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn remains unfazed as he faces a new battle, this time a request by graft busters that the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry penalise him for alleged misconduct in a construction project when he was chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park a decade ago.
Mr Chaiwat said on Tuesday that he had committed no wrong.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has accused him of misconduct in the handling of a housing construction project inside the park in Kaeng Krachan district, Phetchaburi province.
The NACC has sent a letter to the ministry, giving it 30 days to take disciplinary action against Mr Chaiwat, according to media reports on Monday. The NACC has provided no details of the case, including when it sent the letter to the ministry.
Mr Chaiwat said the construction work was carried out using the 2013 fiscal budget and included an office building and houses for staff, Thai PBS reported on Monday. It was built inside the park to facilitate a crack down on poachers hunting wild elephants in the forest for their ivory, he said.
On Tuesday, he said he would fight to protect his innocence, and that he had never taken bribes or other dirty money. “I am allowed to defend myself. I will fight and appeal the case,” he told Thai PBS.
Jatuporn Buruspat, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment, said the ministry would ensure fair treatment in the case. “I take good care of all officials under me and ensure fairness for every one of them,” he told reporters at Government House.
Mr Chaiwat is already on a collision course with the Agriculture Land Reform Office (Alro) over 42 blocks of land in Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district.
Mr Chaiwat, who now heads the Office of National Parks, is intent on preventing about 2,900 rai of land being given to farmers under Sor Por Kor 4 land reform certification. He is staunchly opposed to the move, insisting the land is inside the boundary of Khao Yai National Park.
On Tuesday he rejected the suggestion the fresh disclosure of his alleged misconduct was linked to the land dispute. “That is nonsense,” he said.
Mr Chaiwat is due to retire this year after a checkered career which includes a controversial acquittal on a charge of murder brought over the disappearance of Karen rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen in Kaeng Krachan National Park in 2014.
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