Bangkok: "War" believes the government is aiming to cut short two major cases. Songkram Kitlertpairoj, a former advisor to former Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra, revealed that he was not surprised by Chaichanok Chidchob, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DE),'s refusal to address the DE Committee regarding the 40 million baht bribe he received during a parliamentary session. He stated that Chaichanok's choice to avoid the DE Committee's scrutiny may stem from a lack of response or fear of offending those close to him. Chaichanok himself stated that the person who approached him was a fellow member of his political party. Consequently, many are concerned that Chaichanok's actions may not be as successful in addressing cybercrime as previous governments.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Songkram added that it is well known that cybercrime costs Thai citizens tens of billions of baht. Over the past two years, Thailand's 1441 Anti-Online Crime Center (AOC) has found that the losses from call center scams are estimated at 1 billion baht per month, or 12 billion baht per year. If the government does not have a strong or clear policy to suppress these crimes, the public fears that these crimes will return and damage the Thai economy.
"After taking power, the government's claim that it would not interfere in the justice process has been completely different from its actions. This can be seen in its attempt to cut short the Khao Kradong and Senate collusion cases. The first order of Justice Minister Pol. Lt. Gen. Ruttapol Naowarat was to transfer officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), who were handling a major case involving a prominent Buriram official, to sit and swat mosquitoes in front of the minister's office. This cut short the investigation into the case. Furthermore, they were able to seize absolute power by appointing their own people to control the administration of the country, including advisory positions to the Prime Minister and ministers in several ministries. Therefore, the claim that they would not interfere in the Khao Kradong and Senate collusion cases is untrue. The phrase 'justice must not be destroyed' is simply a catchphrase, because the reality completely contradicts the words of the government leader," said Mr. Songkram.