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Published on August 11, 2007

said he would appeal the National Counter Corruption Commission's (NCCC) decision to indict him for malfeasance over his involvement in exporting 100 Bengal tigers to China in October 2002. Speaking at a press conference to respond to the NCCC's decision on Thursday, Plodprasop said he also planned to file the issue with the Office of the Civil Service Commission, and possibly move the Administrative Court for "protection" as he believed this was an attempt bully him even though he had retired.

Plodprasop said he was surprised by the indictment since a previous discipli¬nary probe into the issue had concluded that he was not at fault, the Council of State had found him not guilty, and pub¬lic prosecutors had not pursued the case.

"But the new NCCC revived this case and now says I'm guilty. This is unfair. I'm puzzled how the judgement then could be revised in retrospect, as I've been retired for years now," he said.

Insisting that the tigers were not from Thailand but imported legally from India, Plodprasop said their export should not affect Thailand's natural resources. The tigers belonged to Chon Buri's Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, "so they could be given to any¬one", he added

Besides, the Wildlife Protection Act's articles 23 and 26 authorised him, as the then Forestry Department directorgen¬eral, to approve the tigers' export, he said. The Chinese authorities also confirmed they wanted the tigers for research and that the animals "now lived comfortably and had multiplied to over 500", he said.

Plodprasop said he had "done good things all his life" and served as directorgeneral at three departments over a 14year period, so why should he be charged and accused of destroying what he helped create.

He said he was confident of winning if it came to a court battle, but currently he was "more concerned about my reputa¬tion".

Plodprasop said he was considering setting up a foundation for civil servants fac¬ing similar problems to come together and fight for justice. "Even when I was a direc¬torgeneral I was targeted by such bully¬ing, so what must it be like for lowrank¬ing officials? If possible, I might set up a foundation to fight this to prevent the pain I'm suffering now," he said.

Also present at the press conference were Plodprasop's second son, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources official Pinsak Suraswadi, his lawyer, and 10 Chiang Mai Night Safari employees.

Plodprasop, who looked relaxed, provided seven documents related to the tigers' export, plus the report of the previous disciplinary probe, articles 23 and 26 of the Wildlife Protection Act, and a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) report about the tigers' living conditions.

Janjira Pongrai

The Nation