• 
• 

Published on August 10, 2007

"Colonel Charnchai Netirattakarn is still in the country and will surrender himself as has been arranged," assistant national police chief Lt-General Chongrak Chutanont said yesterday.

As a precaution, Jongrak alerted all immigration checkpoints to keep a watch for Charnchai in case he decided to flee abroad.

Chongrak said Bang Phlat patrolmen had reported that Charnchai was on a trip upcountry, and that his daughter confirmed he would keep his appointment with the police.

Charnchai used to serve in the police and maintained a regular place of residence, hence there was no justification to mount a raid to arrest him, Chongrak said.

Police procedure allows suspects seven days to surrender, unless they have committed heinous crimes such as murder and armed robbery, he said.

Since Charnchai is suspected to have acted as merely as a go-between in offering the bribes to the two judges, his statement might shed light on the mastermind, Chongrak said, admitting that police were unable to establish any links with the evidence uncovered so far.

One of the judges, ML Krairerk Kasemsant, had speculated on the identity of the mastermind but could not link Charnchai to the culprit, he said.

He refused to comment on activist Veera Somkwamkid's claim that a wife of one of the judges had unwittingly picked up Bt10 million in cash that was left at the gate of her home.

Justice Ministry permanent secretary Charan Pakdithanakul expressed confidence that the National Counter Corruption Commission could unmask the mastermind of the bribery attempt.

Democracy activist Suriyasai Katasila said he believed the culprit behind Charnchai would be the same individual who lobbied for a favourable ruling in the asset concealment case against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2001.

"The Thaksin regime has left its dark legacy on judicial tampering," he said.

He criticised the ousted government for condoning the practice of buying self-serving justice.