   The following article, written by Michael Whitman, was intended to serve as a reminder that notoriously corrupt government officials enjoy great freedom in THailand and expect to run the government's anti-corruption agencies to retain their positions.

    The judiciary is the most corrupt branch of the government in Thailand. There are infinite reasons for complaints. Complaints against judges are passed around from one office of the judiciary to another without receiving proper consideration before they are finally squelched by Supreme Court justices and judges who serve as secretaries.

    Complaints must be resubmitted to offices outside the judiciary.

The result, however, is almost always the same.

    Thailand's leading anti-corruption agency is the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) and as such it is one office that receives complaints against the judiciary. Like other government offices, the NCCC is ineffective.

    For reasons having more to do with showing off one’s bureaucratic superiority than with enforcing proper ethics, the Supreme Court suspended all NCCC commissioners over the commissioners’ attempt to give themselves a pay increase last year. The Supreme Court forced all of the commissioners to resign nine months later, in 2005.

    Obviously, an agency with more power and authority than the NCCC should be created to keep the judiciary in check.

    Above all, the need for more transparency, allowing for closer public scrutiny, must be demanded by the local press. In August 2005, a government-appointed selection panel of dubious design and qualification and members of parliament in the senate are to select new commissioners for the NCCC. The press did not release the names of all 80 candidates and, by reference to merely a few candidates who are government officials, gave the impression that journalists and editors themselves had conflicts of interests.

    Certain sections of the article have been censored, as indicated by a series of hyphens (---------------).

Monsters in the Children's Playroom

Ghost Busters

The media in Thailand has long given priority coverage to the government’s anti-corruption office. It is the Thai media’s pride and joy.

The National Counter Corruption Commission, better known by the acronym NCCC, was set up eight years ago, as the Office of the Counter-Corruption Commission (OCCC), “under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office”, to check corruption and injustice by government officials. The office changed its name to the NCCC four years ago and, its officials claim, is now independent of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The public, however, considers the NCCC a “toothless paper tiger” and a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister - and the barrage of news about it sounds like a sick and tired old joke.

The press has tried to present the NCCC as an independent and effective agency by publicizing its scrutiny of the Prime Minister and cabinet, police and judicial officials, and the civil service. At best, the NCCC could be made into a court of last resort, to which one could appeal beyond the Supreme Court or the Privy Council, if victimized by corrupt officials. Thailand is in much need of such system. But besides a few cases that were given exposure in the press, the NCCC (or OCCC) does not seem to have done much in its eight years of existence.

For the past several months, the press has recounted and discussed the heated controversy over the qualifications of the present commissioners and candidates for the commission, the government officials who are selecting the new commissioners and the selection process, conflicts of interests, business and political influences, cronyism among government leaders and career civil servants, and the general lack of education of all.

The government panel that is selecting 14 new commissioners has made some pretense of searching for candidates with proper credentials. It rejected the candidacy of the former secretary-general of the NCCC, Klanarong Chantrik. He claimed he was the victim of partisan politics. Regardless, the entire NCCC staff of commissioners, assistants, secretaries and clerks - long notorious for their ineptness and intransigence - should be purged.

Goblins

The press has pointed out that some of the 14 candidates for the NCCC are clearly unworthy of a seat on an anti-corruption body. Curiously, however, the press has not commented about two candidates who are especially unfit for the commission.

That a former attorney general, Wichien Wiriyaprasit, is a candidate for the commission is inconceivable. As the local press has pointed out over the years, attorney generals in Thailand are notoriously corrupt - and they get extremely rich through corruption. When Kanith Na Nakon retired as attorney general in 1997, the press reported that he had collected nearly 100 million dollars in bribes alone.

It is surprising also that a judge, Prasert Kienninsili (Thai: ประเสริฐ เขียนนิลศิริ), is a candidate for the NCCC. Prasert was chief justice of Region 4, which is northeastern Thailand, headquartered in Khon Kaen, for several years before going to the Supreme Court.

Three years ago, while still in Khon Kaen, Prasert conspired with an international pedophile and prostitution ring that trafficked in women and children to obstruct recovery of a child who had been trafficked abroad and to murder the child's ------------------------------, who exposed the pedophile and prostitution ring, which included policemen, prosecutors and judges at the provincial, regional and national level. Prasert repeatedly conspired with others to ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Anyone who conspires to traffic in women and children, obstruct exposure of pedophiles and procurers of children, and obstruct efforts to recover victims should be barred from government service and prosecuted. Any judge who acted as Prasert did, alone or in conspiracy with others, should be impeached and prosecuted.

Despite many complaints to the police, the Supreme Court, the Judicial Commission and the NCCC, nothing was done about Prasert or other officials involved.

Obviously, Prasert should not be on the Supreme Court and one cannot help but wonder how he got there and what he is doing there.

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Ghouls

Two successive American ambassadors in Bangkok, Richard Hecklinger and Darryl Johnson, were cowed and intimidated by Prasert's hostility and ordered the embassy ------------------------------------------------------.

There is evidence, however, that the two ambassadors were actually in conspiracy with the pedophile and prostitution ring and sought to aid and abet Prasert.

Any Thai official who conducts hostile acts against Americans, as a private individual or through his position, should not be allowed into the U. S.

At least 11 judges were implicated with the pedophile and prostitution ring. But for their complicity, several judges, including another justice on the regional court in Khon Kaen and a Supreme Court judge, were rewarded with visas to the United States.

It would be a mockery of the country’s new constitution to include Prasert on an anti-corruption commission. Even if the NCCC is a paper tiger, Prasert's inclusion would further ridicule it and impede attempts to make it the least bit effective.

Indeed, how and where did Prasert get the idea to seek a seat on the commission?

Some believe that cronies on the NCCC urged him to try.

Some believe that officials at the American Embassy in Bangkok who are complicit in the traffic in women and children are paving the way for him.

Signed:

Michael Whitman

E-mail: mwkhonkaen@yahoo.com

December 10, 2003

More Fiends and Witches

P. S.: In my letter, which I submitted earlier in shorter form, I mentioned that a former chief justice of a regional court, Prasert Kienninsili, and another justice, who I did not identify by name, were complicit with a pedophile and prostituion ring and conspired to attack an ---------------- who exposed it.

Someone pointed out that there are four justices on a regional court - one chief justice and three associate justices - and urged me to identify the other judge so as not to cast suspicion on innocent judges.

Actually, there were three regional court justices in Khon Kaen who were in conspiracy with a pedophile and prostitution ring and conspired to --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. They were Prasert, the chief justice, and two associate justices, Sootichoke Teptairat (Thai: สุทธิโชค เทพไตรรัตน์), and Nippon Jaisomran (Thai: นิพนธ์ ใจสำราญ).

There were at least three complicit judges in the Supreme Court, including Jiraniti Havanon (Thai: จิรนิติ หะวานนท์)), secretary to the chief justice.

Vampires!

November 7, 2005

On November 1, Thailand's senate selected nine commissioners for the country's number one anti-corruption office, the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC). All complaints of corruption against politicians and government officials must be considered first by the NCCC.

The senate selected the nine commissioners from 18 candidates.

There were many complaints that the selection process was seriously flawed. The 15-member selection panel, which selected the 18 candidates from a list of 80 in August, was composed of high present and former government officials and chaired by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. One member of the selection committee was himself the object of a complaint to the NCCC.

Complaints to the NCCC had been made against 12 of the 18 final candidates. A senate screening committee deemed five of the 18 wholly unfit to serve on the NCCC.

Most of the new commissioners are cronies of high politicians and government officials.

The commissioners are to serve for nine years - absurdly long terms - and it will be difficult to impeach them. Three to four-year terms would have been long enough.

Previously, the NCCC had refused to accept complaints against private or "independent" agencies, like the Law Society of Thailand and the Thai Red Cross Society, or so-called "non-governmental organizations", better known by the acronym "NGO", like local United Nations agencies. Apparently, the NCCC will accept complaints against these organizations now and investigate them.

One of the candidates for the NCCC, Prasert Khienninsili a former chief justice of the regional court in northeastern Thailand and an associate justice of the Supreme Court. While on the courts, Prasert conspired with pedophiles and traffickers in children and their accomplices in government positions to obstruct search and recovery efforts and to intimidate relatives of victims and complainants and witnesses. (There is documentary evidence to that effect.)

Twice, after his retirement from the judiciary, Prasert tried to get a commissioner's post on the NCCC. After he was rejected last year, he tried again this year, this time with the backing of the Prime Minister's political party. It appeared also that the local press was behind him. While, in fact, few expected him to get a post on the NCCC, the press described him as a "favorite". But the senate, meeting in full session on November 1, rejected his candidacy.

Prasert has yet to answer for his crimes. Complaints against Prasert have been made to the NCCC. But few expect the NCCC commissioners, former Supreme Court justices among them, to deal him proper justice.

Michael Whitman

Khon Kaen

The Un-Dead!

Perverts Masquerading as Juvenile Court Officials!

Prasert Khienninsilli is a retired judge in Thailand. Several years ago, Prasert was chief justice of one of the country’s four regional courts, region # 4, northeastern Thailand, located in the city of Khon Kaen.

More recently, Prasert was one of 87 judges on the Supreme Court, located in Bangkok. While on the Supreme Court, Prasert tried twice to get a post as one of the nine commissioners on the Thailand’s much-ballyhooed National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC). And twice he failed. The first time he reached the final list selected by the senate. The second time he was cut out early by the senate.

Stepping down from the Supreme Court, Prasert was posted as a consultant to the Juvenile & Family Court in Khon Kaen. How Prasert, who was in complicity with pedophile and prostitution rings, could get posted as a consultant to a Juvenile & Family Court should be thoroughly investigated.

Most recently, in July 2006, Prasert resurfaced in public in an attempt to get one of the five commissioners’ posts on the highly controversial Election Commission (EC). But he was turned down.

Evidently, Prasert’s ties to the Thai Rak Thai political party of the current prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, did not help him.

That should be the end of Prasert.

August 19, 2006