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Published on August 28, 2007

Sonthi said the CNS had talked to the AEC a few times expressing concern about bureaucrats who might be adversely affected by the committee's graft investigations.

An independent academic, Chatchawal Chatsuthichai, last week alleged that a high-ranking CNS official lobbied the AEC not to press charges against former transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, suspected to be involved in the alleged corruption surrounding the purchase of luggage scanners for the new airport.

Asked if the CNS specified that it did not want Suriya to be pressed with the charges, Sonthi said: "We were not that specific. We only talked in general about bureaucrats.''

Asked if the CNS met to discuss who was possibly behind the lobbying, Sonthi said "no".

He challenged the person who made the allegation to name the official so that the CNS could check. "It may be just a false report and I do not want to pay much attention to it,'' he said.

CNS deputy chief Air Chief Marshal Chavalit Pukpasuk said shrugged off the report as being baseless. He said the AEC members are judges and former judges who were unlikely to destroy their own reputation.

"If there is any unfair investigation, they can be questioned or sued after the general election," he said.

AEC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said none of the AEC members were lobbied not to press charges against Suriya and the agency will not take legal against the person who  made the allegation.

Meanwhile, a political group yesterday lodged a complaint against the AEC demanding the agency scrap the directive to reward those who give tip-off's with 25 per cent of the value of seized contraband and issued an ultimatum that the committee must revoke the directive within seven days.

They made the same demand last month. The group threatened to lodge a complaint with the Administrative Court to revoke the directive.

"This directive is unjustified because the AEC should know where the Bt73 billion from Shin Corp sale went. They do not need to be tipped off. Providing a Bt20 billion reward is dangerous because it is a large amount of money,'' Ruangdej Luangboribun, a leader of the group said.

He said his group would also lodge a complaint with the Supreme Court today to order judges who are on the AEC panel back to judicial duties for ethical reasons.

The Nation