Chaiwat found not guilty in defamation case filed by ex-DNP chief
The criminal court said the DNP official was acting in his official capacity when he led a sting operation to expose Ratchada’s alleged bribery demands
The Criminal Court found a Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) senior official not guilty of taking steps to defame former DNP chief Ratchada Suriyakul na Ayutthaya.
The court ruled that as director of DNP’s National Park Institute, Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, was only carrying out his duty when he led the police to arrest Ratchada in a sting operation in December 2022.
Ratchada sued Chaiwat for allegedly defaming him by filing a police complaint claiming that as then-DNP chief, Ratchada had demanded bribes of 200,000 to 300,000 baht from his subordinates.
In his lawsuit, Ratchada claimed that Chaiwat had falsely told police that he threatened to transfer subordinates to remote posts if they failed to pay the demanded bribes.
He also accused Chaiwat of setting a trap to damage his reputation by planting an envelope carrying 98,000 baht in his office when he visited him on December 27, 2022.
Ratchada claimed that after allegedly planting the envelope, Chaiwat called the police to storm in, thus framing him to face a criminal charge.
Both Chaiwat and Ratchada had shown up in court on Tuesday, but only Chaiwat entered the courtroom to hear the ruling.
In its ruling, the court said that Chaiwat had filed a complaint with the police and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in good faith after learning about the bribe demands from his subordinates.
The court added that though Chaiwat gathered the cash to stage a sting operation, he had done it with the intention of carrying out his duty to have Ratchada face charges in line with the law. It said Chaiwat did not have an ulterior motive of defaming Ratchada.
Chaiwat left the courtroom with a smile on his face, saying the court believed in the evidence presented by his side and hence, dismissed the lawsuit.
He added that the Office of the Attorney-General still has to deliberate on the case after NACC decided to have Ratchada charged in court. In August last year, the NACC voted unanimously to charge Ratchada in court for allegedly demanding and taking bribes from his subordinates.
