
So now it is time to go after the judiciary.
On Tuesday, a lawyer representing a big-time politician brought a gift to the office of the Supreme Court, which is now handling cases related to various politicians. A senior court official there opened up the gift and found Bt2 million stuffed inside.
At this point, we don't know who the lawyer wanted to meet. The court official did not accept the money and handed it back to the lawyer.
When this story leaked out, the Supreme Court could not stay idle. Supreme Court president Viraj Limvichai ordered an investigation into the matter. A three-member panel of judges was formed to probe what looked like an attempt at bribery.
For the moment, Supreme Court spokesman Saravuth Benjakul will not reveal the identity of the lawyer or to whom he was seeking to give the money.
There was a report that the court official had photos taken of the gift. But Saravuth said he would not speculate on that. It would be best to leave the matter to be investigated by the panel of judges.
The Supreme Court will be conducting hearings into cases against Thaksin over alleged irregularities in a Ratchadaphisek land deal, against Yongyudh Tiyaphairat over alleged election fraud, and against Watana Asavahame over alleged corruption in a water treatment project in Samut Prakan.
Strangely enough, if the lawyer indeed attempted to bribe the Court, the official involved should have called the police to nab him. The money could then have been confiscated as evidence. But the lawyer was released and the money disappeared.
Democrat Party member Thavorn Senneam called on the Supreme Court to reveal the identity of the lawyer. He believed the lawyer was acting on his client's order because no lawyer would have dug into his own pocket to pay Bt2 million. Thavorn praised the official who had refused to take the money from the lawyer.
Pongthep Thepkanchana, a spokesman for Thaksin, looks upon the incident as a joke. He says no lawyer with a sane mind would have taken Bt2 million to the Supreme Court in broad daylight like that. It was part of a scheme to discredit Thaksin.
Well, we have to keep an eye on the development of this case, which might prove a turning point for Thai politics.