Srettha to pick new National Police chief on Wednesday
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will chair a meeting of the Police Commission on Wednesday to select the new National Police chief from four candidates, including embattled deputy police commissioner-general Pol General Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn.
Srettha is the ex-officio chairman of the Police Commission under the Royal Thai Police Act.
The commission is scheduled to meet at 1.30pm in the Sriyanonda Auditorium on the second floor of RTP Building 1 at the police headquarters.
Former PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha had said that he had left the task of appointing the new police chief to his successor.
On August 30, Pol General Damrongsak Kittiprapas, who will retire as police chief at the end of this month, had sent a circular to four of his deputies, informing them, for the sake of good governance, that the new prime minister would pick his successor from one of them.
The four deputies, ranked by their seniority in career, not age, are:
— Pol General Roy Ingkhapairoj (most senior): He graduated from Class 40 of the Royal Police Cadet Academy. He will retire in 2024.
— Pol General Surachate (second most senior): He graduated from Class 41 of the police academy. He will retire in 2031.
— Pol General Kitirat Phanphet (third most senior): He graduated from class 41 of the police academy. He will retire in 2026.
— Pol General Torsak Sukwimol: He didn’t study in the police academy but he got a bachelor’s degree in political science from Thammasat University before he took training in Class 4 to become a police captain.
