BANGKOK
The most senior Thai official wanted in a human trafficking scandal said Tuesday that he was planning to surrender to police while being prepared to defend himself against the charges.
Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpan, a senior Royal Thai Army adviser, maintained his innocence and told reporters he was headed to a police station in rural Padang Besar municipality in Songkhla province.
"I would like to ask the society not to jump to conclusions that I am guilty," the Bangkok Post quoted him as saying.
"I would like it to see information from both sides and let the court decide,” added Kongpan, a three-star general. “I am asking for justice... because I can explain this and I am ready to defend myself."
Thailand launched an anti-trafficking crackdown early last month following the discovery of dozens of bodies belonging to Rohingya Muslim and Bangladeshi migrants near the country’s southern border with Malaysia. Since then, arrest warrants have been issued for 82 suspects -- 51 of whom have been detained.
On Monday, national police chief Pol. Gen. Somyot Pumpunmuang said the arrest warrant for Kongpan, 58, had been approved Sunday by the Na Thawi Provincial Court.
Kongpan faces charges of human trafficking, detaining victims of human trafficking and holding victims for ransom in relation to a route through which victims were allegedly smuggled from Bangladesh and Myanmar through Thailand to Malaysia from Nov. 2012 until this May.
According to the Post, investigators said he became a suspect when police searching his home in Ranong province found bankbooks and financial records showing transfers to his name.
Lt. Gen. Prakarn Cholayuth confirmed Tuesday that Kongpan had contacted police regarding his surrender, and that he had appeared at a military camp in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in uniform to answer a disciplinary committee’s questions.
An unnamed army source had told the Post on Monday that junta leader-cum-Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha and Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon had approved of police efforts against Kongpan. The source also mentioned the ministry’s plans to suspend the suspect from duty.
Among the more than 50 suspects arrested since last month’s crackdown are top local politicians and police officers.
After more than 30 bodies were discovered in Thailand, Malaysian security forces launched an investigation that led to the discovery of 139 graves at 28 camps on their side of the border in the town of Padang Besar.
Malaysia has detained around ten policemen on suspicion of involvement in a human trafficking scandal that has led to thousands of Muslim migrants trapped on boats in Southeast Asia’s seas.
