By Thai Newsroom Reporters
AN ONLINE casino interest, deemed absolutely illegal in Thailand and previously owned by Bhumjaithai MP Suchada Tansap’s spouse, namely Taiyang Zhang, was apparently intensifying to the extent that it could probably hold Digital Economy & Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob, son of de facto Bhumjaithai boss Newin Chidchob, responsible.
Chaichanok, who concurrently acts as secretary-general of the Bhumjaithai, core of the coalition government, could probably be held accountable for last year’s phenomenon in which Suchada performed as his secretary attached to the Ministry of Digital Economy & Society whilst Taiyang and she herself were covertly owning a 1.47% share in the online casino registered in Curacao by the name of Shuffle.com, according to House Committee on Law, Justice & Human Rights Chair/People’s MP Rangsiman Rome.
Chaichanok, who currently holds onto the position of digital economy & society minister in the sustained Bhumjaithai-led cabinet under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, had launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on gambling businesses, either in gambling dens or online, whilst certain online casinos such as the likes of Shuffle.com had ironically remained intact until recently, the opposition lawmaker said.
Suchada had not admitted to the fact that her spouse, an Australian national of Chinese descent whom she married in 2024, had held the online casino share, which could have brought mega millions in value, albeit held in paltry portion, until last week and excused that he had sold it off last January, prior to her having been elected an MP in last February’s general election.
Access in Thailand to Shuffle.com has been shut down at the height of scandals surrounding the Zhang family, however.
The Rangsiman panel is reconvening tomorrow (Oct.22) to consider the online casino interest previously held by the first-time Bhumjaithai MP and her spouse as well as allegations that some of their assets had not been declared to the National Anti-Corruption Commission but acquired by illicit means and concealed from the authorities. The Zhang family had formally filed an estimated 1.9 billion baht in co-owned assets but they were suspected to keep a lot more undeclared.
Meanwhile, the digital economy & society minister, who is among a total of 18 members of cabinet including the prime minister being targeted by the People’s-led opposition bloc to grill during a marathon censure debate next week, will certainly be taken to task over his allegedly inefficient handling of the law-defiant online gambling activities amidst allegations of Suchada being more or less associated with them and himself being held accountable for them.
Former Democrat MP Sirichok Sopa charged that ill-gotten gains from such online casino businesses might probably be covertly funneled to a certain party for use with their electoral campaign riddled with vote-buying shenanigans and other expenditure.
Each MP of the unnamed party was alleged to have quietly received a range of 400,000 to 600,000 baht in cash monthly from their camp in addition to 113,000 baht in monthly pay out of the taxpayer’s money at parliament, the ex-MP said.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Digital Economy & Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob, left, and Suchada Tansap, right. Photo: Amarin TV
Insert: House Committee on Law, Justice & Human Rights Chair/People’s MP Rangsiman Rome. Photo – Naewna
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