Chatchai Phromlert retired as Interior Ministry permanent secretary in 2021 but was back in the headlines last week after the prime minister appointed him to lead a committee tasked with investigating a damaging high-level conflict within the police force.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin last Wednesday appointed a three-member fact-finding committee comprising Chatchai, former deputy attorney-general Chartpong Jiraphanthu, and former deputy police chief Pol General Winai Thongsong to look into accusations against national police chief Pol General Torsak Sukvimol and his most senior deputy, Pol General Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn.
Exchanges between the two conflicting sides have fueled accusations ranging from bribe-taking and involvement in illegal gambling outfits to attempting to thwart Surachate’s chance of becoming the next police chief.
PM Srettha, who chairs the Police Commission, also issued an order to transfer both Torsak and Surachate to inactive posts at the Prime Minister’s Office pending a report from the panel, which was given 60 days to complete the investigation. Its findings are expected to help the boss of both police generals decide whether they should be reinstated.
One panel, two investigations
Last year, the three committee members were appointed to a different fact-finding team tasked with investigating a high-profile police raid of Surachate’s house in September, shortly before Torsak was appointed as the new police chief.
Last week, Winai said his team found that the police raid of Surachate’s house was conducted in compliance with the law although such an operation could have been carried out in a “more gentle way”.
The investigation report submitted to the prime minister suggested that the police should be more careful in its use of force, he added.
Regarding the new investigation, Winai said the trio would complete their task as soon as possible while ensuring fairness to both sides by “revealing the truth with details such as who did what and how.” He added that the task was not easy as there were many people involved but insisted the panel’s formation was not aimed at “buying time”.
The trio
Chatchai, 63, served as the Interior Ministry’s most senior bureaucrat under General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s post-coup junta.
Winai, 66, is regarded as being close to the Shinawatra family: his wife is a relative of Potjaman Na Pombejra, the former spouse of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Both Thaksin and Potjaman are thought to retain strong influence in the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Chartpong, who is in his early 60s, oversaw several corruption cases while working as a senior public prosecutor. He also is said to have a good knowledge of police circles as his late father, Pol General Supas, was a former commander of the Central Investigation Bureau and an elected member of the Police Commission.
Chief investigator
Chatchai was born on February 19, 1961, in the southern province of Surat Thani. He completed a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public administration at Chulalongkorn University.
In August 1984, he began a long career with the Interior Ministry as a deputy district chief in the Northeast’s Mukdahan province. He was promoted to minor district chief (head of a sub-district) in Nakhon Sawan in 1996.
Later, he moved to the ministry’s Department of Rural Development before joining its Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), where he became a deputy director-general in 2005.
Four years later, he was appointed a provincial governor for the first time in Lop Buri, before being promoted to director-general of the DDPM in 2012.
In October 2017, Chatchai rose to become Interior Ministry permanent secretary, serving in the top job until his retirement at the end of September 2021.
At the height of the pandemic in May 2021, he was appointed deputy director of a government committee tasked with coordinating between relevant state agencies to combat the worsening situation in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
His retirement from the Interior Ministry sparked rumors he would enter politics by joining General Prayut’s government as a deputy interior minister or a deputy prime minister. Observers also speculated he would set up a new political party to back Prayut’s bid for another term as prime minister.
Those rumors failed to materialize, but in March 2023 Chatchai was appointed as chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and later as an expert in the Police Commission. In December last year, he became chairman of the country’s energy giant, PTT Plc, while also serving as its independent director.
By Thai PBS World’s General Desk
