Police pass Egat buck on to NCCC
The National Counter Corruption Commission, rather than the police, has jurisdiction over alleged abuse of power related to the Egat privatisation, police spokesman Lt-General Achirawit Suphannaphesat said yesterday.
"Police are not trying to evade responsibility, but any complaint about abuse of power should be lodged directly with the NCCC," he said. Achirawit was reacting to a complaint filed by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) charging caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cabinet with violations stemming from the privatisation of the country's largest electricity supplier. The PAD cited as evidence last week's decision by the Supreme Administrative Court to cancel two Royal Decrees enacted last year to pave way for privatisation. Achirawit said in some past cases involving political office-holders, police might have opened a preliminary investigation before forwarding their findings to the NCCC. Those cases involved allegations of abuse of power and related criminal violations, but the PAD's complaint focused entirely on abuse of power, he said, ruling out police involvement. Before lodging its complaint, the PAD led a crowd of 2,000 protesters to rally in front of the Royal Thai Police building.
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