Ex-police chief urges PM to step down over alleged cronyism

By Thai Newsroom Reporters

FORMER POLICE CHIEF Seripisut Temiyavej has pressed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to resign due to cronyism which he had allegedly exercised in breach of the constitution and political ethics.

Seripisut, currently the Thai Liberal leader, posted on his Facebook page to allege that the prime minister had ultimately violated the charter and ethics by abusing his power only to promote certain police officers as superintendents in nepotistic fashion following hush-hush requests earlier made by Pheu Thai MPs.

Srettha was quoted as saying to the Pheu Thai MPs during Tuesday’s partisan meeting that there had been too many of such informal requests for him to promote those police officers as superintendents to be based at police stations in their respective constituencies.

The Pheu Thai-backed prime minister who was quoted as saying that more of those government lawmakers would be disappointed than pleased with the newly-named superintendents had exercised the illegal cronyism just by doing so as alleged, the former police chief said.

Such remarks allegedly made by the prime minister during the Pheu Thai MPs meeting at the party’s headquarters were posted and circulated on social media, prompting a few Move Forward MPs and others to almost immediately take him to task.

Given such alleged wrongdoings on the part of Srettha himself, Seripisut concluded that the prime minister who has barely run the country for a few months is having no choice other than to step down.

No politicians ranging from prime ministers to elected lawmakers are legally empowered to interfere in a transfer or promotion of any police officers or other government personnel, the former police chief said.

Nevertheless, Srettha has bluntly denied that he had ever abused his power for the sake of the alleged cronyism by managing to promote any police officers as superintendents and that no Pheu Thai MPs had made any informal requests for him to do so in the first place.

CAPTION:

Former police chief Seripisut Temiyavej, left, and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, right. Top photo: Thai Rath, Front Page photo: Matichon

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