Hundreds of foreigners/teachers arrested in nationwide operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner

[europtimiste]

Illegal foreigners, now you don't need to worry anymore.

[Nereus]

'Big Joke' reports to police HQ

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... recent_box

Published: 8/04/2019 at 05:47 PM
Online news:

Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn reported to the police headquarters, but then left immediately.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate was seen entering the police head office on Monday to sign up for his new job. He left the building shortly afterwards without saying anything to the media.

It was the high profile police officer's first appearance since national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda signed an order on Friday night to shunt him from the post of commissioner of the Immigration Bureau to the Royal Thai Police Operations Centre -- with no reasons given for the transfer.

[buksida]

‘Big Joke’ goes to work with big smile, stays mum about transfer
FORMER Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Surachate Hakparn, until recently considered a rising star in the police force, kept mum yesterday about his sudden transfer to an inactive post.

In his first public appearance following the transfer order from the national police chief, Surachate reported to work at the Royal Thai Police headquarters late yesterday morning sporting a big smile. He also answered a phone call from a journalist who wanted to know about the transfer. “It’s inappropriate for me to talk about it. Let the boss provide the explanation. I don’t feel it’s right for me to talk,” the headline-making police officer said.

When asked if he was all right, the officer said there was no problem at all. On Friday, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda issued an order transferring Surachate out of the Immigration Bureau to an inactive position at the police operation centre, and there has been much speculation about the possible reasons.

Not accessible online At the same time, social media accounts under Surachate’s name, including Facebook and Instagram, could not be accessed. His Facebook account has more than 200,000 followers.

...

According to a source, the national police chief had assigned one of his deputies to investigate Surachate over six counts of wrongdoing, but this report could not be independently confirmed.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30367376

Big Joke must have really pissed off a Bigger Joke who wasn't joking!

[handdrummer]

As of 6 Apr. he was jailed.
He's in special detention at an undisclosed location.
His computer was seized and he's being investigated.

this comes from http://www.isranews.org./hot-mail-corru ... 261-news02 75261.html

Voravit Piak Jaroen (facebook page)

[HHTel]

As of 6 Apr. he was jailed.
He's in special detention at an undisclosed location.
His computer was seized and he's being investigated.

this comes from http://www.isranews.org./hot-mail-corru ... 261-news02 75261.html

Voravit Piak Jaroen (facebook page)

So the guy who turned up yesterday at Police HQ was in fact his twin brother!!!

[Nereus]

'Big Joke' shunted out of police force pending investigation

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... recent_box


Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has transferred Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, aka Big Joke, from the police force to the civil service, where he will serve as a special adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

The order was signed by Gen Payut on Tuesday in his capacity as chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and published in The Royal Gazette the same day, effective immediately.

The order stated that Pol Lt Gen Surachate was another official assuming a temporary position pending an investigation. The order did not elaborate on the inquiry.
As a result of the order, Pol Lt Gen Surachate is completely detached from his former position of immigration police commissioner under the Royal Thai Police Office.

Assistant government spokesperson Taksada Sangkhajan said the cabinet meeting on Tuesday acknowledged Gen Prayut's order. She did not know when Pol Lt Gen Surachate would report to the Prime Minister's Office, or which area of work he would be assigned to.

Prime Minister Prayut did not explain the issue on Tuesday.

Following his appointment as immigration chief in October 2018 Pol Lt Gen Surachate rapidly became the kingdom's most high-profile police officer, featuring almost daily in headline stories aggressively pursuing foreigners in the country illegally, visa overstayers and criminals alike, under the slogan “Good Guys In, Bad Guys Out”.

He was also made deputy director of Thailand's Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (Tactics), which targets cybercrime such as romance scams and online fraud.

He was abruptly removed from the job of immigration chief last week. National police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda transferred him to the Royal Thai Police Operations Centre on Friday night.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate was reported to retain close ties with Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, deputy prime minister, defence minister and deputy NCPO chief.

[Lost]

Very simply put. Big Joke was garnering too many positive reactions from the Thai public. That translates to power. Something that, in Prayut's eyes, needs to be squished before it becomes an issue. The Thai psyche isn't too difficult to work out.

[handdrummer]

Very simply put. Big Joke was garnering too many positive reactions from the Thai public. That translates to power. Something that, in Prayut's eyes, needs to be squished before it becomes an issue. The Thai psyche isn't too difficult to work out.

That sounds like a reasonable speculation.

[HHTel]

The Battle of the Bigs - Big Joke told to hand in his uniform by Big Tu

Thai Rath reported in their headline that Big Joke had been told to hand in his police uniform.

Big Tu - the prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha had condemned him to just being a civil servant from now on.

While Big Pom - deputy PM and defense minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan - cried off with tummy trouble.

And Big Pe - national police chief Gen Chakthip Chaijinda - remained tight-lipped and cancelled a meeting.

His deputy Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul was only slightly more forthcoming - but he told reporters not to speculate as he issued plenty of denials.

None of the Bigs were prepared to reveal the nature of any charges against the former immigration chief - though now it is known he is on a list of officials under investigation.

Meanwhile the man at the center of all the drama - Lt-Gen Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn - the former poster boy of the Royal Thai Police, shuffled around quietly reporting to one place and another like a naughty schoolboy.

He ended the day at 4.45 reporting for duty in a ten minute encounter with deputy PM Visanu Krua-ngarm to accept his role as "special adviser" in the PM's office.

Visanu said very little after except to tell people that Surachate had met with him.

Thai Rath presented a tumultuous day of comings and goings in a timeline from 8.30 pm to early evening.

The upshot was that none of the "Bigs" were saying anything of note and thus the speculation was as rife as ever.

The whole country is waiting for an explanation. Maybe we'll never know!

Source: Thai Rath

[Jack Sprat]

I read a very interesting article in the Bangkok post where somebody speculated why 'Big Joke' may have been removed.

Could he have 'facilitated' the visit by foreign embassey staff to the police station where K.Thanathorn was being read the farcical charges against him?
Seems like an astute observation to me.

[Nereus]

Border police chief to replace 'Big Joke'

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... e-big-joke

The chief of border patrol police has been named head of immigration police, replacing Pol Lt Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, a high-profile policeman who was transferred to an inactive position early in April.

Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang, commissioner of the Border Patrol Police Bureau, was transferred to lead the Immigration Bureau at a meeting of the Police Board, presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Friday.

Gen Prawit declined to elaborate on the sudden removal of Pol Lt Gen Surachate, who is believed to have close ties with him. “No panel will be set up to investigate into Pol Lt Gen Surachate. The case is closed,” he said, urging reporters to look for the cause of the transfer by themselves.

Police chief Gen Chakthip Chaijinda revealed Pol Lt Gen Sompong would replace Pol Lt Gen Surachate and Pol Lt Gen Wichit Paksa, commander of the Commissioner-General’s Office and police officer attached to the National Security Council, would substitute Pol Lt Gen Sompong as the border patrol police commissioner.

The reshuffle, which involves 55 positions of ranks ranging from major general to general, will take effect after it is published in the Royal Gazette.

Pol Gen Chakthip on April 5 transferred Pol Lt Gen Surachate from the Immigration Bureau to the central operation centre at the National Police Office and removed him from all task forces.

Four days later, the cabinet approved his transfer to the Prime Minister's Office as a civilian, indicating he was removed from the police force. On the same day, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha used his special powers under Section 44 of the interim charter to add him to the list of civil servants suspended pending an investigation for irregularities.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate shot to fame over the past few years after he was assigned several high-profile cases. He regularly held briefings on arrests involving at least 2-3 cases a day, ranging from street racing to illegal entry of some high-profile foreigners. He was deputy chief of tourist police before leading immigration police.

c1_1664060_190419140836_620x413.jpg (38.52 KiB) Viewed 941 times

[HHTel]

“No panel will be set up to investigate into Pol Lt Gen Surachate. The case is closed,” he said, urging reporters to look for the cause of the transfer by themselves.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha used his special powers under Section 44 of the interim charter to add him to the list of civil servants suspended pending an investigation for irregularities.

Seems they can't even agree amongst themselves. Case closed..... or not?

[buksida]

Raids net 478 foreigners

Immigration authorities have arrested nearly 500 foreigners for various offences as part of a crackdown in 20 provinces in the Northeast during the past five days.

Provincial immigration officers, led by Pol Maj Gen Natthawat Karndee, chief of Immigration Division 4, announced the arrests on Wednesday.

He said authorities have stepped up measures to prevent foreigners entering the country illegally and who may cause trouble ahead of His Majesty the King's coronation ceremony.

Of the 478 arrested, 335 entered the country illegally, nine overstayed their visas, 16 were working without permission, 116 had committed other offences, and two were wanted on arrest warrants. A Toyota Vigo pickup truck with a Khon Kaen licence plate was also seized.

Pol Maj Gen Natthawat also said 86 foreigners suspected of posing security risks had been denied entry into the country at immigration checkpoints in Khon Kaen.

Immigration officers also apprehended a 27-year-old Cameroonian man identified as Yemnai Darius who worked as a foreign language teacher in Kalasin. He was charged with using falsified visa stamps.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... foreigners

[Nereus]

New job for 'Big Joke' away from Govt House

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... recent_box

Surachate Hakparn has been given the first assignment for his civilian life -- giving advice to the Prime Minister's Office on how to improve public service.

Patcharaporn Intreyonk, the permanent secretary for the Prime Minister's Office, said the former Immigration Bureau chief reported to the Personnel Division chief at Government House on Thursday.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate was supposed to report to Ms Patcharaporn but she was busy with the preparations for coronation ceremonies.

Ms Patcharaporn said the former high-profile police officer would give advice to the public service centre. He will work at the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road and will come to Government House only to attend meetings as a consultant for other agencies, she added.

Nobody saw Pol Lt Gen Surachate at the Prime Minister's Office inside the Government House compound when he arrived on Thursday. He was shunted from the Immigration Bureau to the police headquarters and later to the civil service. No reasons have been given for the shock transfer order.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate has kept a low profile since then.

[Nereus]

Police chief, Prawit deny reports 'Big Joke' to return

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/po ... -to-return

The police chief and the deputy prime minister in charge of security have denied reports of the imminent return of Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn to the police force.

Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said on Monday it was not possible for Pol Lt Gen Surachate to return to the police force. He had left that career behind him.

The police commander also dismissed the possibility of to the former immigration chief returning in the annual reshuffle of officers.

Pol Lt Gen Surachate was in April abruptly transferred from the police force to the civil service, to serve as a special adviser to the Prime Minister's Office. The transfer was under a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Section 44 dictate to clear the way for an investigation. The allegations against him are still unclear.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Monday also denied the speculation Pol Lt Gen Surachate may return as an assistant to the police chief.

The order under Section 44 on his case remains in force even though the NCPO will be disbanded in the future, he added.