The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the petition of "Big Joke" Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, stating that the suspension order is lawful because it was issued while an arrest warrant was active in a gambling money laundering case at the Criminal Court.
On 9 Jan 2026 GMT+7, the Supreme Administrative Court, through a plenary meeting of its judges, ruled to dismiss the case filed by Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, former Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police. He had sued the National Police Commander, the Police Integrity Protection Committee (PIPC), and the Prime Minister regarding the National Police Order No. 178/2567 dated 18 Apr 2024, which suspended him from service. This followed allegations of serious disciplinary violations linked to involvement with online gambling operations, leading to a criminal case and an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on charges of conspiracy by two or more persons to commit money laundering and actual money laundering, with him acting as an official involved in the offense.
The court reasoned that the facts show the Criminal Court issued arrest warrant No. 1396/2567 on 2 Apr 2024 stating that Pol Gen Surachate was charged with conspiracy involving two or more persons to commit money laundering, actual commission of money laundering due to the conspiracy, and acting as an official jointly involved in money laundering. This justified the allegation of serious disciplinary misconduct without prior investigation. Furthermore, as a high-ranking police officer responsible for public order, safety, and crime suppression, being a suspect in such criminal offenses seriously undermines public trust and the police force's image. It constitutes misconduct involving untrustworthy behavior and potential interference with disciplinary and criminal proceedings or tampering with evidence.
The National Police Commander therefore had reasonable grounds to believe that allowing Pol Gen Surachate to remain on duty could harm the service, consistent with the Police Regulations on suspension and temporary removal from service of 2004. Thus, National Police Order No. 178/2567 dated 18 Apr 2024 is lawful. The appeal decision of the Police Integrity Protection Committee dated 5 Aug 2024, based on the same facts and law, and the Prime Minister's announcement removing the police officer from position dated 15 Aug 2024, as a consequence of that order, are also lawful.