Pol. Col. Suwan
Cheaonawinthawat.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Pol. Col. Suwan Cheaonawinthawat today is out of a job as
Pattaya’s police superintendent after Royal Thai Police commanders
removed him following a Banglamung District gambling raid.
Suwan was “transferred to an inactive post” at police headquarters six
days after the May 2 operation by district officials at three Pattaya
addresses that netted 11 arrests and the confiscation of slot machines
and 75,000 baht cash.
The chief’s removal was ordered in Bangkok and carried out by Chonburi
Police commander Maj. Gen. Khatcha Thatsart.
Suwan was en route to a conference in Chiang Mai at the time of the raid
and initial reports had only Banglamung District officials participating
in the raid. The superintendent quickly was recalled to Pattaya to
attend a press conference the day after the operation, during which
Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho went to great lengths to
convince reporters that police had indeed participated in the raid.
Royal Thai Police commanders in Bangkok weren’t convinced, however.
While Khatcha did not disclose the exact reasons for Suwan’s dismissal,
his non-participation in the raid made his higher ups believe that
either Suwan didn’t know about the casinos, or he had allowed them to
operate without police intervention. In the eyes of Royal Thai Police
commanders, either one was a firing offense.
Suwan becomes the second consecutive Pattaya police superintendent to be
fired or suspended due to gambling-related controversies. Suwan’s
predecessor, Col. Thummanoon Mankhong, was transferred to an inactive
post for 60 days last July for dropping charges against 74 people
arrested in a gambling raid.
That suspension came after a complaint from a Bo Win Police Station
commander who led a June 22 raid of a South Pattaya gambling den.
Thummanoon was accused of rebuking the raiding officers, releasing the
suspects and dismissing evidence without further interrogation.
