100,000 royal prison pardons

[reader]

From The Thaiger

To celebrate two royal birthdays, His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Mother Sirikit, over 100,000 people in Thai prison have received some level of clemency. HM the King celebrated his 70th birthday this year on July 28 and yesterday the Queen Mother celebrated her 90th birthday.

In total 103,613 incarcerated people received a royal pardon, according to the Corrections Department. Of those to receive royal pardons, 80,791 inmates were granted a reduced sentence in their prison terms, while 22,822 were given an early release and were placed on parole.

The amnesty was extended to over 100,000 prisoners, but many noted that several high-profile inmates were passed over for royal clemency. Perhaps the most sensational, Pol. Col. Thitisan Uttanaphon, well-known as Joe Ferrari, was not granted any reduction or parole. He was sentenced to life in prison after horrific video footage was leaked showing him and six other police officers restraining a drug suspect with six plastic bags over his head in custody, who was tortured and suffocated to death.

Former Minister of Commerce Boonsong Teriyapirom was also passed over for any reduction or release. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison on corruption charges related to rice contracts between governments. And former Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong, who is currently serving two years in prison due to a vote-buying scandal in a local election in 2014, was also denied a royal pardon.

According to the director-general of the Corrections Department, the three notorious inmates were not eligible for royal pardons. To receive a pardon, prisoners must serve at least one-third of their prison sentence or at least eight years before receiving royal amnesty. There is not even an exception granted for elderly inmates over 70.

 

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, reader said:

 

To receive a pardon, prisoners must serve at least one-third of their prison sentence or at least eight years before receiving royal amnesty. There is not even an exception granted for elderly inmates over 70.

 

harsh but at least uniform for all

[PeterRS]

Pardons are one thing. Making sure that those who have broken the law, especially in the case of murder, are incarcerated rather than their cases getting tied up in legal wrangling and the passing of presumably very large amounts of cash, is another. When will the government, the police and the judiciary finally capture the Red Bull heir and place him in jail where he belongs for many years?

His crime in killing a policeman took place 10 years ago come next month. Why so much lying? The government's statement that he had been put on an Interpol wanted list was untrue, as it was easy for people like me to discover. That they say they are unable to find him is equally untrue, given that he has appeared under their noses in this country several times in recent years. 

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Pardons are one thing. Making sure that those who have broken the law, especially in the case of murder, are incarcerated rather than their cases getting tied up in legal wrangling and the passing of presumably very large amounts of cash, is another. When will the government, the police and the judiciary finally capture the Red Bull heir and place him in jail where he belongs for many years?

His crime in killing a policeman took place 10 years ago come next month. Why so much lying? The government's statement that he had been put on an Interpol wanted list was untrue, as it was easy for people like me to discover. That they say they are unable to find him is equally untrue, given that he has appeared under their noses in this country several times in recent years. 

good think that many people still remember that case ( it was mentioned to me by one of my guys in May ) and one day , I'm sure , killer will be repaid in kind. 

[PeterRS]

8 minutes ago, vinapu said:

one day , I'm sure , killer will be repaid in kind. 

I wish I could believe you. But when you come from the 2nd most wealthy family in this country with a net worth according to Forbes magazine of US$26.4 billion, you can buy your way out of almost any kind of trouble. As long as corruption remains endemic in the country and there is no change to the status quo, the mega-rich will never need to repay anythiing. This is Thailand!

[alvnv]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

I wish I could believe you. But when you come from the 2nd most wealthy family in this country with a net worth according to Forbes magazine of US$26.4 billion, you can buy your way out of almost any kind of trouble. As long as corruption remains endemic in the country and there is no change to the status quo, the mega-rich will never need to repay anythiing. This is Thailand!

It’s not unique for Thailand. It would be harder to get away with crimes in the “beacons of democracy”, however, there are plenty of examples for that, too. The mechanism could be different, it may involve “dream teams” of lawyers, close relations to the royal family, or fanatic political base. It could be easier (and less expensive) in Thailand, but there’s corruption in G7, or G20, or anywhere else in the World.

[PeterRS]

7 hours ago, alvnv said:

It could be easier (and less expensive) in Thailand, but there’s corruption in G7, or G20, or anywhere else in the World.

I quite agree. The difference with Thailand, in my view, is that corruption here is totally endemic - it is everywhere from villagers to the highest persons in the land. Of course it is not considered corruption at the lower levels of society. It is a way of helping out and getting things done. But as long as this acceptance of corruption for what it is remains rooted in society, Thailand is not going to change. The Prime Minister has said he will root out corruption in 20 years! By then he and his family along with his cronies will all have made their large retirement piles and it will be left to future governments to solve.

I have written before that the model for rooting out most corruption is very close by - in Hong Kong. By the early 1970s the territory was one of the most corrupt in Asia. This extended not just from the triads and their grass roots activities but right up the chain to senior civil servants, the police force and even the judiciary. In 1974 the then Governor, the much respected Sir Murray Maclehose, determined drastic action had to be used to clean up Hong Kong. He stablished the Independent Commission Against Corruption. In essence, this had its own police force recruited mostly from the ranks of British sergeants, a separate group of lawyers and even judges - all answerable only to the Governor. It took a few years, but eventually public trust in the ICAC was established after it had prosecuted many police officers, civil servants and even judges. One judge packed his bags as soon as the ICAC was set up and left the territory. One senior police official fled to the UK. He was eventually repatriated, charged, found guilty and served a term in prison.

The ICAC was not a total panacea but it resulted in one of the most corrupt territories in Asia becoming one of the cleanest. At the end of the millennium, the people of Hong Kong were asked what were the most important events over the previous century. The establishment of the ICAC came very high on that poll - around #7.