Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the transfer of 23 officials, including the governor and chief prosecutor in Samut Sakhon, the hub of the country's seafood industry and the focus of many labour-abuse investigations.

The transfers were announced on Friday, just a day after Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited the province where tens of thousands of Myanmar migrants work.

Gen Prayut used the sweeping powers granted to him under Section 44 of the interim constitution to make the transfers, which also included 17 police officers. The order was published in the Royal Gazette on Friday.

In addition to Samut Sakhon governor Manrat Rattasukon, provincial prosecutor Vathit Suwanying and his deputies Manoch Rammasin and Nuntawut Utsahatan were on the list. Also transferred to inactive posts at their respective ministries were two officials in charge of industry and labour in the province.

The 17 police officers shifted to inactive posts included a lieutenant general, three major generals, nine colonels, two lieutenant colonels and a major.

The order did not say what allegations had been made against the officials involved, and not all of the cases were related to Samut Sakhon. Thai media reported there were believed to be three separate cases that involved human trafficking, forced labour and bribery.

The first was the crackdown on seafood-processing factories in Samut Sakhon by the Department of Special Investigation and the navy on Nov 9, 2015, when 17 child workers and 17 slave labourers were rescued.

The second was the raid on a gambling den on the Thailand-Malaysia border in Sadao in Songkhla district, on June 11 this year by a joint military, police and provincial administration forces, where 134 Thai and 90 Malaysians were arrested and 2.3 million baht seized.

The third was the raid on June 7 on the Nataree massage parlour in Bangkok by a special operation under the Interior Ministry's Provincial Administration Department. Seventy-seven illegal workers were found.

In some of the cases, records of kickbacks paid to officials were found. However, the authenticity of a ledger found at Nataree has yet to be determined.

Notably, the list did not necessarily indicate that the officials were involved directly in criminal activity. Instead, many were being investigated for tolerating corruption and criminal activity in their jurisdictions or helping their subordinates in previous investigations, Thai media said, quoting sources at the Centre for National Anti-Corruption (CNAC).

Gen Prayut was acting on the findings of the CNAC, a unit set up in late 2014.

The transfers are aimed at paving the way for transparent investigations by various offices into alleged wrongdoing. The investigations must be completed within 30 days.

If the investigations find the allegations have no grounds, those transferred would be reinstated. But if malfeasance is found, disciplinary action must be taken against them, the order read.

Police chief Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said on Saturday that he had instructed all units to hold meetings and explain to all policemen the stricter rules that apply under tightened policies.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by Bangkok Post

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