November 07, 2015•Update: November 09, 2015
By Max Constant
BANGKOK
A probe into a high-profile lese-majeste case involving Thai military officers has widened and is now focusing on possible corruption in relation to a military-run project in honor of past Thai kings.
The Bangkok Post quoted a highly placed police source as saying Saturday that an army general and a colonel are suspected of having solicited money while negotiating with contractors involved in a park where seven giant statues of past Thai monarchs have been erected.
"According to one factory operator, who asked not to be named, police questions included who contacted him to cast the statues, who paid him for the work, and if the actual payment and contract value were the same," the Post reported.
Corruption in Thailand takes on many forms, but one of the most common is when a civil servant charged with pricing a state-sponsored scheme asks a bidder to include an additional percentage on top of his usual price, which he then takes as his cut.
The 35-hectare (10,000 Sq. Meters) Ratchapakdi Park project, which opened last August near Hua Hin, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Bangkok at a cost of $20 million, was led by former Army Chief Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr.
Thai military TV channel, Channel 5, ran calls for donations from the public for the project, until the advertisements were stopped Oct. 1 by new Army Chief Gen. Theerachai Nakvanich.
The sudden disappearance of the ads led local media to speculate on tensions between the two officers.
On Friday, police were sent to the factories which cast the statues to interrogate owners about prices quoted to the state and "the real cost", reported the Post.
The colonel at the center of the new inquiry -- whose name has not been made public -- was also accused Wednesday of having solicited money from a private company who had been contracted to produce 100,000 T-shirts for a Dec. 11 “Bike for Dad” event -- a nationwide cycling tour in honor of ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
According to the Post's source, the price of the T-shirt contract was also inflated so money could be given to intermediaries, among them the suspected colonel.
The case is connected to the arrest last month of three high profile figures on charges of lese majeste: well-known fortune teller Suriyan Sucharitpolwong, his assistant Jirawong Watthanathewasilp and Police Major Prakrom Warunprapa, who was subsequently found dead in his cell Oct. 24.
Authorities have claimed Warunprapa committed suicide, but the Cross Cultural Foundation, a Thai NGO, has said that no independent forensic examination was conducted of his body.
The fortune teller Sujaritpolwong, who enjoyed close relationships with members of the ruling junta which seized power in May last year, is alleged to have played on his royal connections to extort 100 million baht ($2.79 million) from a large Thai beverage company in relation to “Bike for Dad”.
During such events, royalists countrywide buy such T-Shirts -- often sold as limited edition -- to show their love for their king.
The company, whose name has not been made public, alerted the police in mid-October, which led to the arrests.
The arrests come as the health of the 87-year-old highly revered King deteriorates, and the country prepares for the succession of unpopular Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn to the throne.
Vajiralongkorn divorced his third wife last year after members of her family became embroiled in a lese majeste scandal after they were accused of using their royal status for personal gain.
After the scandal broke, Vajiralongkorn stripped Srirasmi Suwadee's family members of their royal titles and she was “authorized" to resign from the Royal family a few days later.
