Bangkok: Senior police sought over missing Saudi

[Mid]

Thailand appoints new team to investigate Saudi murders

Thailand on Wednesday launched a new investigation into the unsolved murders of three Saudi Arabian diplomats and one businessman in Bangkok 17 years ago.

"We have set up a new team of investigators under Army Colonel Piyawat Gingkaet," said Sunai Manomaiubom, director general of the Department of Special Investigation.

The department, which is under the Justice Ministry, has been investigating the Saudi murder cases for the past two years after the case was taken away from the police. Several police officers remain key suspects in the murders.

There will be no former policemen on the new team of investigators, Sunai said.

"This case is difficult and problematic to get evidence because it happened a long time ago, but we still think we can solve it," the director general said.

The deaths of the three diplomats and the businessman, gunned down in Bangkok in 1990, were believed to be linked to the theft of millions of dollars worth of jewels from the palace of Saudi Prince Faisal bin Abdul Raish in 1989 by Thai labourer Kriangkrai Daechamong.

The theft, perpetrated by Kriangkrai while he was a gardener in the prince's palace in Riyadh, sparked a diplomatic row when Thai police, assigned to hunt down the missing jewelry in Thailand, ended up sending imitation stones back to Saudi Arabia.

Among the missing items was a priceless blue diamond.

One police officer was jailed for the theft, the assassinations of the diplomats were never solved and many items, including the diamond, were never returned.

Saudi Arabia downgraded its relations with Thailand as a result of the incidents, barring its citizens from visiting the South-East Asian kingdom and greatly restricting the number of Thais allowed to work in the oil-rich nation.

dpa sk pj ls
digitaljournal.com

[Likewise]

Only Thais can think that Saudis won't notice that the stones that got sent back were fakes. Another big master plan from the Thai police.

[Butterfly]

assigned to hunt down the missing jewelry in Thailand, ended up sending imitation stones back to Saudi Arabia.

priceless indeed

[Happyman]

Bloody hell ! Time flies!!!
I was working in Saudi at that time and our Thai driver along with all the other Thais working in the compound were given the "Third Degree" for the best part of the day when the theft came to light and the dodgy crap was returned !!!
Happy days

[Hootad Binky]

One police officer was jailed for the theft, the assassinations of the diplomats were never solved and many items, including the diamond, were never returned.

Why can't the Saudis understand that someone has already taken the fall? Looks like whoever has the diamond has fallen out of favour.

[Dougal]

^

I will not be surprised if this latest investigation concludes that Thaksin was the mastermind .

[keda]

so you're saying he's not involved? - ya, weak bladder!

[Mid]

Thai Foreign Minister plans restored relations with Saudi Arabia



BANGKOK, Feb 16 (TNA) - Thailand will implement a proactive foreign policy spearheaded by both political and economic aspects, including restoration of the former warm relations enjoyed with Saudi Arabia before diplomatic ties were strained by the 1980s gems scandal, according to Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama.

Comparing his ministry to a state-of-the-art 'hi-speed' bullet train rather than a 'we'll get there eventually' diesel workhorse, Mr. Noppadon said that the foreign ministry under Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej would move faster and be pro-active.

The ministry prepared to restore the relationships with foreign countries after formerly strong ties were strained by the coup in 2006, he said.

Mr. Noppadon said plans to normalise diplomatic relation with Saudi Arabia by concluding the Saudi diamond case and the murder of four Saudi businessmen and the disappearance of one Saudi businessman.

The case dates to the late 1980s when Kriangkrai Techamong, a Thai worker employed in the palace of Saudi Prince, stole jewellery and other valuables from the Saudi royal family's palace and escaped with his loot his Lampang home.

Thai police retrieved some of the stolen items, but a number of valuable gems and jewelry pieces have not been recovered.

Moveover, when the recovered treasures were returned to Saudi Arabia, the main jewel, the "Blue Diamond", proved to have been replaced with an artificial stone.

When one Thai police general went to prison for his role in the affair, the overall case is still unresolved, including murders of several Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of a Saudi businessman, which resulted in Thailand's diplomatic relations with Saudi being downgraded to the chargé d'affaires level.

The unresolved cases have hampered political, economic and trade relations between the two countries for 20 years.

Mr. Noppadon said the Foreign Ministry will focus strengthening economic ties and that in April Thailand would host the US-ASEAN Business Council meeting.

CEOs from the United States and ASEAN counties will meet in Thailand and Prime Minister Samak will host a reception at Government House, he said, adding that a French employers association will bring a group of leading investors to the kingdom in May.

He said French train technology was of the highest order and that France may join the bidding to build the extended electric rail system in Thailand.

Mr. Noppadon said he will attend an ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat in Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday and is sure that the meeting would have fruitful results.

He expects to meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the visit.

The minister also hinted that he would soon unveil the ministry's agenda on Myanmar but he stopped short on giving details. (TNA)-E003

enews.mcot.net

[blackgang]

He said French train technology was of the highest order and that France may join the bidding to build the extended electric rail system in Thailand

This new PM don't seem to be wrapped to tight does he,, damn, they can't keep that fucking toy train on the tracks now and it takes 27 hours to make the trip and they want a new French train that will make CM-BKK in 2 hours flat..
To damn heavy a technology for a Thai to grasp, fuck, they can't even keep new INTERNET connecting equipment up and running.

[Spin]

He said French train technology was of the highest order

Khun Thai thinks they invented the train themselves, why would they buy French?

[keda]

I hope it's not the same investigators they hired to find the goods on Toxin...

[keda]

He said French train technology was of the highest order and that France may join the bidding to build the extended electric rail system in Thailand

This new PM don't seem to be wrapped to tight does he,, damn, they can't keep that fucking toy train on the tracks now and it takes 27 hours to make the trip and they want a new French train that will make CM-BKK in 2 hours flat..
To damn heavy a technology for a Thai to grasp, fuck, they can't even keep new INTERNET connecting equipment up and running.

Doesn't matter, when it breaks down we can all go for a spin on the Bangkok Eye.

[keda]

He said French train technology was of the highest order

Khun Thai thinks they invented the train themselves, why would they buy French?

Thicker envelopes?

[Spin]

^I thought we had already established that Siemens of Germany have the thickest envelopes. Perhaps Bombardier have upped their game?

[Happyman]

^I thought we had already established that Siemens of Germany have the thickest envelopes. Perhaps Bombardier have upped their game?

All wrong - the one to look at is the Kawasaki- Panasonic - Mitsubishi consortium !

Worked for them for a year on the Taiwan HST - never seen cost padding like it !

Siemens and Bombadier failed miserably against the Japs when I came to the Taipei MRT but did ok in KL !

[panama hat]

Comparing his ministry to a state-of-the-art 'hi-speed' bullet train rather than a 'we'll get there eventually' diesel workhorse, Mr. Noppadon said that the foreign ministry under Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej would move faster and be pro-active.

The ministry prepared to restore the relationships with foreign countries after formerly strong ties were strained by the coup in 2006, he said.

You just have to laugh . . . A fast and pro-active bureaucracy in any country is a joke, here it is simply a mind-bogglingly stupid thought

[Mid]

don't know about fast , but certainly getting some milage of of the story ...........


Thai Foreign Minister to reopen Saudi gems scandal case

BANGKOK, March 5 (TNA) - Thailand hoped to restore the former warm relations enjoyed with Saudi Arabia by concluding the 1980s gems scandal case and other cases believed link to the saga, according to Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama.

snip

While one Thai police general went to prison for his role in the affair, the overall case is still unresolved, including murders of several Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of a Saudi businessman, which resulted in Thailand's diplomatic relations with Saudi being downgraded to the charge d'affaires level.

The unresolved cases have hampered political, economic and trade relations between the two countries for 20 years.

There were 150,000-200,000 Thai workers in Saudi Arabia before the cases but now there are only 10,000 workers there, Mr. Noppadon said, adding that Thailand had lost Bt200 billion income as fewer Thai workers were allowed to go to Saudi Arabia. (TNA)-E003

enews.mcot.net

[JoGeAr]

I remember then Interior Minister, and later Prime Minister, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's wife turned up at some official function sporting a necklace that looked suspiciously like part of the missing loot. She later claimed that it was only a copy made from a photograph of the original. Yeah, right!! I mean who wouldn't make a copy of a stolen necklace to flaunt in public while the case is being investigated? Perfectly reasonable !!

[Whiteshiva]

The Thai police
A law unto themselves

Apr 17th 2008 | BANGKOK
From The Economist print edition
Reforming a corrupt and politicised police force will be tough

IN THAILAND'S most sensational crimes, the prime suspects are often the police. Among current cases are a group of border police accused of abducting innocent people and extorting money from them, and a huge car-theft ring thought to have been run by bent coppers. The prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, this month sacked the national police chief, Sereepisut Taemeeyaves, for alleged corruption. Mr Sereepisut insists he is the victim of a conspiracy by crooked subordinates.

Earlier this month the justice minister visited Chalor Kerdthes, a former police general serving life in jail, belatedly seeking progress on the “blue diamond” affair of the early 1990s, which wrecked Thailand's relations with Saudi Arabia. After the priceless gem and other jewels were stolen from a Saudi royal palace by a Thai worker, three Saudi diplomats seeking their return were murdered in Bangkok. The Thai police supposedly solved the case but the jewels they sent back to Riyadh were fake. Mr Chalor arranged the murders of the family of a gem dealer involved in the case. It is suspected he can dish the dirt on other former police chiefs.

Cases of police graft and abuse of power are legion. In 2003 Thailand's then prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra—a former mid-ranking policeman and businessman—told police to wage “war on drugs”, resulting in at least 1,300 extra-judicial killings. The army removed Mr Thaksin in a coup in 2006, promising a thorough investigation of the deaths. It had made little progress by last December's election, won by allies of Mr Thaksin.

In March the American government's annual human-rights report on Thailand criticised the widespread torture of suspects. Last year 751 people died in prison or police custody. Abuses by police (and soldiers) have worsened an insurgency in Thailand's mainly Muslim southern provinces, in which 3,000 people have died since 2004. Predictably, opinion polls show the police are widely mistrusted.

Experts say Thailand's force is not the world's worst: it does have some honest, capable investigators. However, for a country of a fairly high state of development, its record is abysmal. After decades of failed attempts at police reform, a panel set up after the 2006 coup proposed sweeping changes, including creating an independent police-complaints body. Some of the panel's reformists may be sincere. But this looked suspiciously like an attempt to curb Mr Thaksin's power base in the police. Now Mr Samak, although a supposed ally of Mr Thaksin, seems to be building bridges with army chiefs to bolster his own power. So his motives in sacking the police chief and talking of continuing the military government's reforms are also bound to be questioned.

Thai governments tend to rely on the army or the police (or both) to remain in power. So their commands have always been deeply politicised. Like other public institutions they are dominated by a narrow elite of families with tentacles everywhere. “You find the same few surnames wherever you look,” notes Michael Nelson, a political scientist in Bangkok. Indeed, Mr Sereepisut's replacement as police chief has the same surname as a former army chief—his brother.

Thai public servants are less loyal to the institutions that employ them than to their loose network of connections—relatives, ex-classmates from military training or old university chums. The 2006 coup pitted Mr Thaksin's schoolmates against those of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the then army chief. Police reforms elsewhere have generally succeeded only where a public-spirited and untainted political leadership forced them through. When will Thailand get that sort of leadership?

[JoGeAr]

sacked the national police chief, Sereepisut Taemeeyaves, for alleged corruption

This is pure bullshit. Formerly known as Seri, he made a lot of political enemies among the Taksin crowd by being an honest straight-shooting cop. He was the one who took on Kamnan Poh (Samak's 'sponsor') and had him convicted of murder. Okay, Kamnan Poh has since done a runner but Seri had the balls to take on the most notorious Thai mafia boss.

[good2bhappy]

I've heard it said that they are one of the best forces that money can buy

[Whiteshiva]

sacked the national police chief, Sereepisut Taemeeyaves, for alleged corruption

This is pure bullshit. Formerly known as Seri, he made a lot of political enemies among the Taksin crowd by being an honest straight-shooting cop. He was the one who took on Kamnan Poh (Samak's 'sponsor') and had him convicted of murder. Okay, Kamnan Poh has since done a runner but Seri had the balls to take on the most notorious Thai mafia boss.

I agree - I remember my wife expressed hope that he might be able to turn things around, but as usual here in Thailand, the dark forces prevailed. Which just proves that the Thai system is corrupt all the way to the top..... ehem.

[Mid]

DSI instructed to wrap up Saudi jewellery theft case before 2010
January 26, 2009

Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga Friday instructed the Department of Special Investigation to wrap up the Saudi jewellery theft case before its statute of limitations expires in 2010.

Pirapan said he ordered DSI Director-General Pol Col Thawee Sodsong to speed up the investigations.

He said Thawee reported to him that the investigations had been completed by 90 per cent and police were still looking for some key evidences.

Pirapan said he told Thawee to wrap up the case and file it to court rather than leaving it to expire because of the lack of some evidences.

nationmultimedia.com

[panama hat]

DSI instructed to wrap up Saudi jewellery theft case before 2010

Thailand on Wednesday launched a new investigation into the unsolved murders of three Saudi Arabian diplomats and one businessman in Bangkok 17 years ago.

[Skettios]

^I thought we had already established that Siemens of Germany have the thickest envelopes. Perhaps Bombardier have upped their game?

All wrong - the one to look at is the Kawasaki- Panasonic - Mitsubishi consortium !

Worked for them for a year on the Taiwan HST - never seen cost padding like it !

Siemens and Bombadier failed miserably against the Japs when I came to the Taipei MRT but did ok in KL !

Is that Consortium bidding here in Thailand?

I'm a big fan of the Taiwan HST, it was a year or so behind schedule, but once it started running it was by far the best way to get around the island.