The meeting, held at Provincial Hall in Phuket Town today (May 26), introduced Naphat Em-on as acting Phuket Provincial Palad. Mr Naphat has been transferred “temporarily” from his post as an inspector with the Department of Provincial Administration main office in Bangkok.
Mr Naphat’s appointment comes less than a week after Mr Rungruang and five other Phuket administrative officials were ordered to assist duties in Bangkok pending an investigation into complaints alleging bribery and extortion linked to entertainment venues in Patong.
During the meeting, Gov Nirat told officials that all government officials must perform their duties “with honesty, strictly adhering to the law and discipline”, while warning against exploiting the names of superiors for personal gain.
“Government officials in all sectors must perform their duties with honesty, strictly adhering to the law and discipline. They are prohibited from falsely claiming authority over superiors to seek personal gain,” Gov Nirat said.
“Anyone found guilty of such misconduct will be held personally accountable and prosecuted without exception. This is to collectively safeguard national interests and build confidence in the government sector as a true source of support for the people,” he added.
The warning came amid continuing public attention surrounding the transfer of Mr Rungruang, who had recently attracted attention for his involvement in high-profile land and beach encroachment cases at Freedom Beach, Bang Tao Beach and Nui Beach.
Former Phuket MP and lawyer Sutha Prateep Na Thalang on Monday (May 25) publicly challenged claims made by Mr Rungruang regarding the recovery of encroached land at several Phuket beaches.
Mr Sutha stated that the land title for Freedom Beach was issued during the time that Wichai Praisa’ngob was the Governor of Phuket, around 2011. Mr Wichai the following had been appointed Senator for Phuket.
The disputed 65-rai Freedom Beach land plots had already been revoked nearly a decade ago through action coordinated by the Land Department, Anti-Money Laundering Office and Royal Forest Department, before Mr Rungruang later joined enforcement operations alongside forestry officials, Mr Sutha said.
Mr Sutha alleged that Mr Rungruang’s recent statements had “misled the public” and argued that the official’s transfer was instead related to the ongoing investigation into alleged entertainment venue bribery complaints in Patong.
SHADY ACCUSATIONS
Of note, Sutha ‘Goh Tui’ Pratheep Na Thalang is best, or barely, remembered for winning the MP seat for Phuket Constituency 1 in the 2019 national election. Mr Sutha was a candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party, led by 2014 coup leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The 2019 national election was the first election since the 2014 coup that installed Gen Prayut as prime minister. Despite serious concerns raised by election observers, the 2019 election count saw Gen Prayut “democratically” installed as prime minister.
In Phuket, Mr Sutha’s victory stunned many election observers, especially considering that Phuket had for decades remained a stronghold for the Democrat Party. Until then, it had been nigh inconceivable that any other party would claim a political victory on the island.
Mr Sutha had somehow, with little to no campaigning, had somehow defeated then Democrat Rewat Areerob, who now serves as President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO).
More stunning was the fact that Mr Sutha was dismissive of his online presence. His victory statement posted on Facebook received just 205 Likes and only 20 Shares – despite Mr Sutha winning the seat with 32,338 votes.
After his election, Mr Sutha’s public presence, and any further achievements, were barely reported.
OLD ACCUSATIONS RESURFACE
Separately, leaked disciplinary documents published by several Thai media outlets over the weekend detailed a previous Ministry of Interior investigation involving Mr Rungruang during his tenure as district chief in Narathiwat.
According to the documents, and as previously reported by The Phuket News, Mr Rungruang had been investigated over the issuance of 26 firearm licences without sufficient background checks, as well as alleged financial links connected to online gambling transactions.
The documents stated that investigators ultimately deemed the conduct a non-serious disciplinary offence, resulting in a salary reduction of 2% for three months.
The memorandum recommending disciplinary punishment was signed in July last year while Gov Nirat was serving as Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration before later becoming Phuket governor.
Mr Rungruang has publicly questioned the leaking of the disciplinary documents, saying the matter had already passed through the justice and disciplinary processes.
“The facts have been proven, the judicial process has investigated, and the disciplinary action has been completed,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (May 24), while suggesting the leaks were intended to undermine his credibility.
MORE TALK, NEW DDPM CHIEF
At yesterday’s meeting, provincial officials also reviewed several ongoing Phuket issues, including beach encroachment, law enforcement involving foreign tourists, flood preparedness, waste management, traffic congestion and provincial tourism development plans.
Also introduced at the meeting was Warat Surawadee, who has transferred from Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center Region 10 in Lampang to become head of the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM Phuket).