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THE
MAE HONG SON forced-prostitution ring scandal, that had landed numerous
policemen and a provincial governor in hot water, took another turn
yesterday.
A Nonthaburi local politician was arrested and
reportedly confessed to buying sex services from a minor last September
and also misrepresenting himself as the governor of Mae Hong Son.
As the scandal has unfolded, nine policemen have been dismissed from
civil service and seven civilians have been taken into custody. The then
governor of Mae Hong Son, Suebsak Iamwichan, who is accused of buying
sexual services from a minor despite his claims of innocence, was
transferred on May 2 to an inactive post until the investigation was
complete.
Chuchat Poungchin, a 56-year-old member of the Tambon Ban Mai
Administrative Organisation in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district, was
arrested yesterday morning for allegedly buying sexual services from a
minor under 18. He was taken into custody by investigators from
Provincial Police Region 5 led by deputy national police chief Srivara
Ransibrahmanakul.
Investigators said Chuchat confessed to paying
for sex with a minor, but initially denied that he drunkenly claimed to
be the governor of Mae Hong Son. However, while police was talking to
reporters following the arrest, Chuchat confessed that he had bought sex
services from an underage girl and also admitted he claimed to be the
governor.
“The girl saw my picture in uniform on my cellphone
and asked me what I do for a living so I said provincial governor,” he
said, adding that he apologized for the damage caused to Seubsak. Three
more Ban Mai politicians, accused of buying underage sex services, also
met police at the Bang Mae Nang precinct to give testimony and were
temporarily released.
The latest developments backed Suebsak’s
claim of innocence and followed the statement by Srivara on Thursday
that the ex-governor and several policemen were cleared of involvement
in the case.
Suebsak yesterday also showed photo evidence that
he was attending an Interior Ministry seminar in Bangkok from September
22 to 28 last year.
The results of the fact-finding committee’s
probe against Suebsak, led by deputy permanent secretary Prayoon
Rattanasenee and submitted to Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda
yesterday, also found no grounds of the alleged wrongdoing by Suebsak,
Anupong said.
After the Interior Ministry investigation cleared
his name, Governor Suebsak said he had no plan to pursue legal action
against those who had made the allegation against him.
“No, I
consider this case has already ended,” Suebsak said, “What I want to do
now is to solve problems in Mae Hong Son, particularly human-trafficking
issues”.
Meanwhile, Federation of Assistant District Chiefs of
Thailand chairman Boonyarit Nipawanit said that the mother of the
teenage girl who reportedly provided sex services to a senior official
had claimed she had been asked not to pursue charges against the accused
official. She was told that it was for the sake of country’s
reputation, he said.
Boonyarit said the Tambon Ban Mai
Administrative Organisation president would request that the Department
of Special Investigation (DSI) take up the investigation into the
scandal to ensure justice for all sides.
He added that Provincial Police Region 5 investigators seem to be rushing to close the case involving Ban Mai politicians.
Boonyarit claimed that the ring reportedly sent four girls to provide
sex services at a resort on September 22 last year and sent three girls
to provide sex services on September 23.
However, lawyer Kerdpol
Kaewkerd, representing the teenage victim’s mother who first exposed the
ring and another three alleged victims of the ring, said he did not
know about Boonyarit’s phone conversation with his client.
Kerdpol also said that the accusation against Suebsak stemmed from a
claim by one girl, whom he did not represent, that the man using the sex
services resembled the governor. He said it was within Suebsak’s right
to sue for defamation but they insisted the accusation came from damaged
persons.
He said the damaged persons he represented were content
with the result of the police probe that led to punishment of a
policeman running the ring and others procuring girls for the ring.
Meanwhile, 20 rights advocates led by Angkhana Inthasa, head of the
Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation’s gender equality
promotion, submitted a complaint to deputy police spokesman Pol
Maj-General Songpol Wattanachai at the Rights and Liberties Protection
Department to pass on to Srivara.
The complaint came after
Provincial Police Region 5 officers showed names and faces of the Mae
Hong Son investigation witnesses and interviewed them in front of the
media on May 11.
The witnesses in human trafficking cases must be protected, and police should not identify them.
They urged that the DSI take over the case to ensure justice and prevent criticism, as policemen were involved in the scandal.
Source - TheNation
