Surachate loses court battle against his dismissal

The Supreme Administrative Court’s bench of judges ruled on Wednesday that the order firing former deputy police chief Pol General Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn from police service was lawful, a source from the court said.

The court voted 49:5 in favour of the three defendants, namely the Royal Thai Police commissioner-general, the police merit protection committee and the prime minister in the capacity of Police Commission chairperson, according to the source.

Surachate had sued the three parties to push for his dismissal order to be revoked. However, with the Supreme Administrative Court ruling against him, Surachate’s only chance of returning to the police service has been eliminated.-

The former deputy police chief had filed the case on August 27 and the Supreme Court president ordered that the case be deliberated upon by the Supreme Administrative Court’s full bench of 57 judges.

Thai PBS Channel reported that one judge abstained, and two others were absent on official errands.

The court also appointed a panel of five judge advocates to review the case and provide their opinions and findings to the bench of judges prior to voting.

The court declined to announce the result of the voting, saying it has yet to draft an official version to be announced to the public.

“The Supreme Administrative Court’s bench of judges debated the case intensely before voting 49:5 in favour of the defendants,” a source from the court said. “So, the order to dismiss Big Joke can be considered lawful.”

As the court refrained from announcing the result, there was speculation throughout the day that the ruling could go either way—either in favor of or against Surachate.

In his lawsuit, Surachate alleged that the national police chief had caused severe damages to him by ordering his dismissal from the police service on April 18 because he faced money laundering charges. Surachate was linked to the BNKMaster online gambling website but a court ruling on the case is still pending.

The lawsuit also said that Surachate had appealed against his dismissal with the police merit protection committee. However, the committee decided on August 5 to reject the appeal on the grounds that the national police chief’s order was within the realm of law.

The order was later ratified by the Police Commission, which is chaired by the prime minister.

Earlier reports indicated that the judge advocates had decided in favour of Surachate and recommended his reinstatement, but the report could not be verified and it is suspected this rumour was released by Surachate’s supporters.