NEW THAI POLICE CHIEF SHAKING THINGS UP, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 001081

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM ASEC TH
SUBJECT: NEW THAI POLICE CHIEF SHAKING THINGS UP, BUT
BANGKOK BOMB CASE REMAINS STALLED

REF: A. BANGKOK 00657 (BANGKOK BOMB INVESTIGATION HEADS
TOWARDS CRASH LANDING)

B. BANGKOK 00234 (INSIDE THE BANGKOK BOMBING
INVESTIGATION)

Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton. Reason 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary. New Royal Thai Police (RTP) Commissioner
General Sereepisuth Taeneeyaves has stepped into the top cop
job with a bang, calling on his senior leaders to "get
serious" and do their jobs. With less than a month on the
job, Sereepisuth--who has long cultivated the image of a
tough, decisive and impolitic cop--has already caused a stir
by reshuffling 57 top police positions, including police
commanders in Bangkok and the restive South, ahead of the
normal rotation schedule. The new Commissioner General's
tough calls for action have not yet resulted in any
significant movement in the investigation into the New Years
Eve bomb attacks in Bangkok, however, as the case has
dissolved into a public tug of war between the police and the
Ministry of Justice's Department of Special Investigation.
While police sources have told reporters that they have
identified a likely suspect who is also connected to the
southern insurgency from video footage of the crime scene,
our DSI contacts have told us that analysis of footage
enhanced by the Danish police has disproved this theory. End
Summary.

"TOUGH" NEW CHIEF READS THE RIOT ACT
--------------


2. (C) Sereepisuth, who one local paper has called a "tough,
serious and decisive" cop, wasted no time setting a new tone
at RTP headquarters following his appointment on January 29.
The new police commissioner called a meeting of top police
officials on February 6, according to police contacts who
attended, where he read them "the riot act," and exhorted
them to "get serious" and do their jobs. Sereepisuth's
public comments have been similarly blunt: stating that
previous police appointments were "inappropriate...and put
the wrong men in the wrong job."


3. (C) Sereepisuth's reputation as blunt and, at times
impolitic, appears to be founded on a series of actions he
took during the Thaksin Administration. Most notably,
Sereepisuth filed a legal protest to the promotion of then-PM
Thaksin's brother in law to a senior police position in 2004,
publicly labeling the move as nepotism that undermined the
seniority system. But his performance tackling vice in the
capital and around Bangkok--and cultivating the public
persona of a tough cop hard on crime--allowed Sereepisuth to
survive despite this seemingly fatal political move. While
ostensibly sidelined to the headquarters slot of Inspector
General in 2004--rather than a more lucrative command with
direct authority over police units--Sereepisuth engaged in a
series of high-profile anti-vice operations that won him
public applause, even if it showed up his colleagues at times.


4. (C) In the most memorable of these, the future police
commissioner conducted a well-choreographed and widely
publicized raid on a notorious Bangkok casino housed in a
high-rise building. This casino--a veritable fortress with
multiple, hidden entry/exit points and a network of
surveillants and guards--had resisted anemic police
crackdowns for nearly a decade due to alleged payoffs to
local cops and politicians. Sereepisuth, reportedly
concerned that the involvement of local cops would tip off
the casino's management to his raid, "borrowed" hundreds of
police from outside Bangkok to conduct the mission. The
operation, which also utilized specialized units rappelling
from helicopters onto the casino's roof, was also videotaped
in pure Jerry Bruckheimer fashion, attracting wide media
attention and winning Sereepisuth public acclaim. Within the
year, Thaksin charged him with broader authority to pursue
vice in Bangkok, including tackling local organized crime.
As recently as January 2006, rumors circulated that Thaksin
would replace then-Police Chief Kowit Wattana with

BANGKOK 00001081 002 OF 003


Sereepisuth.


5. (C) Following the September 2006 coup, Sereepisuth was
charged by the Council on National Security (CNS) with
investigating the Thaksin-era rice subsidy program. While
his boss, RTP Police Commissioner General Kowit Wattana
continued to founder as police chief, Sereepisuth swiftly
became the front-runner to replace him.


6. (C) Now ensconced in his new office at headquarters, the
new top cop's prevalence for swift action has made headlines
over the weekend and set senior police officials atwitter.
According to the media accounts, confirmed by these contacts,
GEN Sereepisuth visited the popular Bo Bae market over the
weekend, only to notice severe traffic congestion caused by a
number of illegally parked cars. Local police at the scene
were doing nothing to move these vehicles along, so
Sereepisuth relieved the traffic inspector responsible for
the problem and transferred him to an inactive post at police
headquarters. A police spokesman confirmed the account to
local press and even offered telephone and on-line tip lines
for the public to report "police not doing there job
properly."


7. (C) Sereepisuth went farther on February 21, reshuffling
57 senior police positions (Note: major reassignments
normally take place in April and October. End Note.),
including the commanders of the Bangkok Metro Division and
Region IX (which covers the restive South). Metropolitan
commissioner Lt. GEN Wiroj Jantharangsee--who Sereepisuth has
publicly criticized in recent weeks--will trade jobs with
Region VI commissioner Lt. GEN Adisorn Nonsee, a close aide
of Sereepisuth's. Lt. GEN Jettanakorn Napheetaphat,
currently serving as liaison between Police headquarters and
the PM's office, will be the new Region IX commissioner in
charge of the South. According to press reports, Jettanakorn
is PM Surayud's brother-in-law. Other changes include
reshuffles at Police Region III, the Inspector General
position and Immigration.

RUMORS SHAKE POLICE CONFIDENCE FURTHER
--------------


8. (C) While Sereepisuth's views on the Surayud government's
plans for dramatic police reforms are unclear, rumors about
major changes continue to have senior police officials on
edge. The latest posits that Sereepisuth will only remain in
office for a short period, before the Army-dominated CNS and
PM Surayud replace him with Army Assistant CINC Saprang.
According to this conspiracy theory, the CNS and Surayud want
to increase Royal Thai Army (RTA) domination over the police,
and placing an Army general in charge will ensure that reform
efforts are effectively implemented. Proponents of this
story argue that this move will also simplify a future RTA
reshuffle; Saprang and fellow Assistant CINC Anupong
Paochinda are widely known to covet the top RTA job. Police
officials believe that Anupong will be promoted to head of
the Army and that Saprang will get the police as a
consolation. (Note: we have pointed out to our police
contacts that, technically, the Commissioner General has to
be a career police official, and the Surayud government
appears to (post-coup) obsessed with following the letter of
the law. End Note.)

BANGKOK BOMB CASE STILL STALLED
--------------


9. (C) Meanwhile, the investigation into the New Year's Eve
bomb attacks in Bangkok remains stalled, with the RTP and
Ministry of Justice's Department of Special Investigation
(DSI) publicly arguing over who is in charge of the case.
DSI Chief Sunai Manomai-Udom fanned the flames earlier this
month by publicly suggesting that DSI, which has been
conducting its own investigation, take over the case.
Following public backlash by police officials, Sunai backed
off slightly, saying that DSI officials should act in a
supporting role in the investigation. Press reports over the

BANGKOK 00001081 003 OF 003


weekend quoted DSI officials as then saying that they were
ending their involvement in the blast investigation and RTP
officials have told us that Sereepisuth plans to "take the
case back" from DSI soon. Finally, senior DSI officials told
us this week that they plan to continue their investigation.
They confirmed that RTP officials have given them access to
evidence from the blasts, but claim that RTP officials did a
poor job of collecting evidence on the night of the blasts.
(Note: we expect a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms explosives expert who has worked with Thai forensic
efforts in the South to arrive in Bangkok next week, when he
will get a chance to review the evidence himself. End Note.)
Separately, police sources confirm that Assistant
Commissioner Panupong Singhara Na Ayyuthaya has been relieved
of his command of the police investigation, with Assistant
Commissioner Jongrak Juthanont replacing him.

10. (C) There appear to be no new leads in the case. While
local press has reported that the one individual caught on
surveillance video at one of the blast sites has been
identified as Thawalsak Paenae, who is wanted for
insurgent-related crimes in the South, our DSI contacts tell
us that this is not correct. According to them, forensic
analysis of the video footage--enhanced with help of the
Danish Police--has disproved this theory. DSI officers are
confident that the subject on the tape is not Thawalsak, but
they believe that the individual "is from the South." (Note:
Our contacts did not elaborate on the latter assertion, which
echoes the though-process used in many Thai police cases,
where authorities opine that they "know" who did it. End
Note.) The Criminal Court on February 16 approved a warrant
application from the police for the arrest of a suspect,
which DSI chief Sunai publicly criticized, asking on what
evidence the police fingered the suspect.

COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) The local media's fawning over Sereepisuth is as much
a product of his carefully cultivated image as it is a
reflection of the general distaste for his predecessor. The
new police chief's blunt style is just as likely to alienate
some senior police officials as inspire others, and the raft
of tough challenges facing the police--the Bangkok bomb case,
police reform, and the South--are likely to erode his
sterling image and put Sereepisuth's lack of patience on
display. While most of our senior police contacts are
notably heartened by his selection as police chief,
Sereepisuth's critics suggest that his claim to fame was
conducting aggressive operations in his colleagues' territory
vice his own, earning him several potential enemies along the
way. Still, some of his supporters cast Sereepisuth as a
good man in an impossible job. As one put it, "it doesn't
matter how effective a cop you are before you take the top
job, somehow it ruins you."

BIO INFORMATION
--------------


12. (U) Sereepisuth, born in 1948, is a career police
officer. He graduated with Class 8 from the Armed Forces
Preparatory Academy in 1966, and completed his studies at
Police Cadet school in 1970 with class 24, giving him two
more years until mandatory retirement. Prior to his
appointment as Acting Commissioner General of the RTP,
Sereepisuth served as RTP Inspector General (2004-07) and has
experience as a supervisor in the Central Investigation
Bureau, Police Regions 2 and 6, Bangkok Metro Division, and
Special Branch. He holds honorary masters and doctorate
degrees and traveled to the United States on official
business in 1985 and 1992. Sereepisuth is married with one
son and two daughters.
BOYCE