During an interview last week, Gov Chotinrin was asked whether investigators had uncovered any new evidence since he took office regarding former Phuket Provincial Palad Rungruang Thimabut, who was arrested last month, and whether authorities had identified any additional officials connected to the alleged corruption network.
Instead of answering either question directly, the governor spoke broadly about government policy to suppress influential figures and quoted Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s campaign to “eradicate thugs”.
“The term ‘thugs’ does not only refer to ordinary citizens,” Gov Chotinrin said. “There are also unruly government officials in every group.”
He said the Ministry of Interior had established a disciplinary investigation while the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) was pursuing a criminal investigation.
“The investigation is examining the evidence, particularly the money trail,” he said. “The case is now in the legal process.”
However, none of the information provided by the governor was new. The existence of the money trail, the parallel criminal and disciplinary investigations and the continuing enquiries have all previously been announced by investigators.
When asked a second time whether authorities had uncovered a wider network beyond Mr Rungruang, Gov Chotinrin again declined to directly answer the question.
Instead, he said only that all details remained within the investigation file and that disciplinary investigators would continue expanding their inquiries to identify anyone connected to the alleged network.
“There are two lines of work coordinating on this,” he said, referring to the criminal and disciplinary investigations.
WHIRLWIND
Gov Chotinrin took office on June 29 after the Cabinet transferred former Phuket Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn to the Ministry of Interior in Bangkok amid a sweeping reshuffle prompted by allegations of corruption, influential figures and internal conflict within Phuket’s provincial administration.
The corruption investigations and political controversy surrounding the province were already dominating national headlines before Gov Chotinrin arrived.
Yet, since taking office, he has largely avoided publicly addressing the issue that overshadowed the change in Phuket’s top administrative post.
His latest comments also came just days after Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee warned that corruption in the province was deeply entrenched, alleging that influential networks continued to operate within government while businesses were still being subjected to demands for unofficial payments.
SCANDAL WIDENS
The current investigations stem from Prime Minister Anutin’s visit to Phuket in May, when entertainment venue operators and other business owners complained of alleged bribery, extortion and abuse of authority by government officials.
Soon afterwards, the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) transferred five senior Phuket officials to Bangkok while it conducted a 30-day fact-finding investigation.
Among them was Phuket Provincial Palad Rungruang Thimabut, then the province’s most senior administrative official beneath the three vice governors.
The transfers quickly developed into a political controversy after Mr Rungruang publicly challenged the decision and petitioned Parliament, alleging political interference.
Central to those claims were leaked LINE chat screenshots allegedly involving DOPA Director-General Narucha Khosasilvilai containing the message ‘Help Namngern’ (‘Help the Blue’), widely interpreted as a reference to the Bhumjaithai Party.
Mr Narucha denied sending the messages and questioned their authenticity, while the government insisted the transfers were intended only to facilitate an impartial investigation.
When the 30-day inquiry concluded, DOPA ordered Mr Rungruang to return to his post in Phuket, saying the temporary transfer period had expired.
Mr Rungruang publicly thanked Mr Narucha and the investigation committee for what he described as restoring justice.
Within hours of resuming his duties, however, anti-corruption police arrested him under a warrant issued by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 9 in connection with an alleged bribery scheme linked to local government recruitment examinations.
The following day DOPA suspended him from duty pending the criminal proceedings.
SIDESTEP
Just days later, investigators announced a second and far more significant case.
At a multi-agency press conference in Bangkok, officials from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and DOPA alleged that Mr Rungruang demanded B1 million from a land claimant seeking assistance restoring land rights in Cherng Talay.
According to investigators, the complainant transferred the money electronically after allegedly being told payment was required to resolve the decades-old land dispute.
Financial investigators later traced the payment to a bank account connected to a completely separate investigation into alleged bribery surrounding local government recruitment examinations in southern Thailand.
Officials said the financial transactions established a money trail linking the two otherwise unrelated investigations.
Investigators have alleged that money received in the Phuket land case was subsequently transferred through accounts connected with people involved in the recruitment examination case before some funds were refunded through accounts allegedly controlled by associates of Mr Rungruang.
Police allege the financial trail became key evidence linking the two criminal investigations.
Mr Rungruang has denied all allegations.
Officials repeatedly stressed that the land case and the recruitment examination investigation remain separate criminal cases connected only through the financial transactions uncovered during the investigation.
Investigators also confirmed that further cases remain under investigation and indicated that additional arrests are possible.
‘INFLUENTIAL NETWORKS’
Just two days before Gov Chotinrin officially assumed office, Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee warned that corruption in Phuket extended well beyond a single official.
The People’s Party MP claimed influential networks remained embedded within the province’s administration and alleged that business owners continued to face demands for unofficial payments.
“The problem of bribery in Phuket is not just about under-the-table money,” Mr Chalermpong said.
“It is destroying the province’s economy, undermining legitimate businesses and affecting tourist confidence.”
He also claimed a respected police officer had warned him to “be careful” after returning to Phuket, which he described as evidence of powerful interests continuing to operate behind the scenes.
Mr Chalermpong criticised high-profile inspections by senior government figures, suggesting they risked becoming "window dressing" unless authorities dismantled the networks allegedly responsible for corruption.
He argued that government agencies already knew who the influential figures were.
“The issue is not a lack of information, but a lack of action,” he said.
STILL NO ANSWERS
Against that backdrop, Gov Chotinrin’s refusal to answer whether investigators have identified additional officials or uncovered a wider network leaves unanswered the central question surrounding the investigations that precipitated Phuket’s administrative upheaval.
While he confirmed that criminal and disciplinary investigations remain ongoing, the governor offered no indication whether the government’s understanding of the scandal has changed since he took office, whether additional officials have come under scrutiny, or how far investigators believe the alleged corruption network extends.
With investigators continuing to examine the money trail and repeatedly signalling that further cases are expected, the issue that brought Phuket’s provincial administration under unprecedented national scrutiny remains the defining challenge facing the province’s new governor.