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 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS PACOM FOR FPA HUSO 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