Thread: Cambodia :Thai man arrested for spying on Thaksin

More rub for the region.

Thai man arrest for spying in Cambodia _English_Xinhua

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Police Authority has arrested a Thai engineer for allegedly spying for Thailand and sent him to court, police official said on Friday. "We have already sent him to court and the court will deal with this issue," Kieth Chantharith, spokesman for Cambodia National Police Authority told Xinhua. But he did not elaborate in details about these issues.
The Thai man named Siwarak Chothipong in Khmer, 31, worked as aengineer in CATS, was arrested on Wednesday according to the arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court, theKhmer language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea reported.
He spied through copying the letters of flights of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Cambodia and Prime Minister Hun Sen from CATS - Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd which hasduties to control all flights in country...and he sent those reports to Thailand, the newspaper said.
"We decided to charge this Thai citizen and his subordinates of doing things which affected the public security of the country," Sok Roeurn, prosecutor of Phnom Penh court was quoted as saying.
Relations between the two neighboring countries were further strained recently after Cambodia named Thaksin as its economic adviser on Nov. 4. Thailand recalled its ambassador on Nov. 5, and Cambodia followed suit.
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup for alleged massive corruption and other charges. His supporters say he should be pardoned and returned to power. Since the coup, Thaksin has lived abroad to escape a corruption conviction and two-year prison sentence.
Thaksin arrived here on Tuesday. After his arrival, Thai government asked Cambodia for "provisional arrest for the purpose of extradition of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but was turned down by the Cambodian government saying it 'considers the prosecution and legal process against Thaksin Shinawatra a politically motivated proceeding.'"

Good - about time. It was clear that Thailand was privy to more information than a few reporters could salvage.

Unlucky for him though...the way things are at present, I wouldn't want to be this guy....example made and all that.

I imagine a few sleepless painful nights coming up for this poor guy

Alleged Thai spy files bail request in Cambodia: lawyer

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AFP/File – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) talks to former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (L) in Siem …



29 mins ago
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – The lawyer for a Thai national held on charges of spying on fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said he filed a bail request to a Cambodian court Monday.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was arrested on charges of supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to his country's embassy when the Thai tycoon visited Phnom Penh earlier this month.
His arrest deepened a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring countries over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted prime minister to Bangkok.
"I filed the bail request with the court this morning, and we assured the court that Siwarak will not return to Thailand before his trial," his Cambodian attorney Kao Soupha said.
The lawyer said Siwarak had confessed to court officials that he leaked information about Thaksin's flight to a Thai diplomat.
"Siwarak said he reported the information because the Thai diplomat asked him for it," Kao Soupha said.
Siwarak informed the Thai official after Thaksin's private jet landed, and had not known the ex-premier was in the plane, he added.
But the lawyer told AFP that his client said the information was not secret and not stolen.
Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand reciprocated hours later.
Both countries earlier this month withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment.
All Thai air traffic control staff were last week suspended from the Thai-owned civil aviation company, which oversees Cambodian air space, after a Cambodian government official was appointed temporary caretaker of the firm.
Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but he has stirred up protests in his homeland against the current Thai government over the past year.
Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand put all talks and cooperation programmes with Cambodia on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power.
Tensions were already high between the two countries following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near an 11th century temple on their shared border.

Cambodia allows family and Thai officials to visit detained Thai engineer



BANGKOK, Nov 26 (TNA) – The Cambodian government will allow visits on Friday to a Thai engineer detained in Phnom Penh on espionage charges, according to a Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson, who said that both family and Thai officials will be permitted to visit.

Director-General Vimon Kidchob of the Department of Information told a press briefing on the latest developments regarding Siwarak Chutipong, the Thai engineer at Thai-owned Cambodia Traffic Air Services (CATS), that following the Thai government’s request, the Cambodian government on Wednesday had officially informed Thailand that permission to visit Mr Siwarak by his family members and Thai officials had been granted.

The visit is scheduled for Friday at 2pm.

Ms Vimon added that Madurapochana Ittarong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, would go to the Khmer capital with Mr Siwarak’s family -- Simarak na Nakon Panom, his mother, and Pongsuree Chutipong, his younger brother.

The 31-year-old Siwarak was arrested earlier this month after being accused of giving fugitive ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight schedule to the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

The diplomatic falling out between the Thai and Cambodian governments flared up after the Cambodian government appointed Mr Thaksin as its economic adviser. The two kingdoms recalled their respective ambassadors in retaliatory actions.

The Cambodian government also invited Mr Thaksin to Phnom Penh to lecture over 300 Cambodian businessmen and economists as his first assignment, at the same time rejecting Thailand's request to extradite the fugitive former premier.

As the diplomatic row continues, Mr Thaksin's interview with Britain’s Timesonline website continued to rankle Thais.

In the article, Mr Thaksin commented about the Thai monarch and his successor, with remarks considered offensive to the monarchy. The ousted premier, however, reportedly defended himself by saying his interview was ‘distorted’ by the reporter.

Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) board decided to investigate the arm of Britain’s Times of London as a special case due to its exclusive interview with Mr Thaksin deemed offensive to the monarch.

enews.mcot.net

Thai held on Cambodian spy charges cancels bail bid
04 December 2009

Thaksin Shinawatra smiles upon his arrival at Siem Reap international airport.

PHNOM PENH: A Thai national held in Cambodia on spying charges, relating to a visit by fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, withdrew his request for bail on Friday.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was arrested on charges of supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to his country's embassy when the tycoon visited Phnom Penh last month.

In a letter read in court, Siwarak, who did not appear for the bail hearing, said the "bail request is no longer necessary" because his trial had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Judge Ke Sakhan of Phnom Penh Municipal court granted the request.

Siwarak's arrest deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted premier to Bangkok.

Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand reciprocated hours later.

Both countries earlier also withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment.

All Thai air traffic control staff were suspended from the Thai-owned civil aviation company that oversees Cambodian air space, after a Cambodian government official was appointed temporary caretaker of the firm.

Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has stirred up protests in his homeland.

Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand put all talks and cooperation programmes on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power.

Tensions were already high following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near an 11th century temple on the two countries' border.
- AFP/so

channelnewsasia.com

Thai man pleads not guilty to Cambodian spy charges
Karen Percy

Siwarak Chothipong (centre), 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, is escorted by Cambodian police at the Phnom Penh municipal court on December 8, 2009.
[AFP]

A Thai national charged with spying on a visit by fugitive former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra is on trial in Cambodia.

Siwarak Chothipong has plead not guilty to the charges of breaching national security and public safety in Cambodia.

The 31 year old was employed at the Thai-owned air traffic services company at Phnom Penh airport when Thaksin Shinawatra travelled to the city a month ago to take up a role as economic advisor.

Mr Siwarak is accused of passing on Mr Thaksin's flight plan to Thai officials, who have been seeking the former leader's extradition.

The local media says Mr Siwarak admits that he was contacted by a Thai diplomat and he did enquire about Mr Thaksin's travel plans.

But he says he did not pass on the information.

The Thai-run air services company has since been taken over by the Cambodian government, as part of a series of tit for tat moves between the two countries.

Cambodia also expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging Siwarak passed information to the diplomat.

Thailand retaliated hours later.

Earlier this year, both countries also withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment.

Mr Thaksin is on the run from a corruption conviction in Thailand.

radioaustralianews.net.au

Thai man sentenced to 7 years for spying in Cambodia
08 December 2009

PHNOM PENH - A Thai man was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to Cambodia.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was also fined 10 million riel (2,500 US dollars) for supplying Thaksin's flight schedule to the Thai embassy when the tycoon visited last month.
- AFP/ir

channelnewsasia.com

How much more stupid can this bullshit get.
Wait for Thaksin and his cronies [Chavalit the Frog] step in and ask for a pardon from their partner in stupidiy, Hun Sen.

Not a good time to be a Thai spy in Cambodia.
But hey, if the guy took the job on to get the rewards in the first place he should have been aware of the risks.

The whole thing is a farce set up so that Thaksin comes out of it smelling of roses (or at least that's the plan).

Thai spy with my little eye something begining with...T...can you guess what it is yet.....TORTURE...

Just waiting for them to decide the time is right for Thaksin to request leniency/pardon and Hun Sen agrees making both of them appear benevolent whilst creating a PR coup in Thailand for Thaksin, thus giving Thaksin a popularity boost. They will let it run for a while so that it gathers some importance in the news, bit transparent really, and seems to be a lame ploy of many regimes these days, just political games.

Originally Posted by Moonraker

The whole thing is a farce set up so that Thaksin comes out of it smelling of roses (or at least that's the plan).

Sivarak has confessed that the Thai Embassy First Secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai phoned him to get the information on Thaksin’s flight and 2 other employees from the Cambodia Air Traffic Service testified that Siwarak asked them about the flight schedule.

Reuters "Thaksin is Cambodia's adviser, so the government of Cambodia has an obligation to protect his life," Judge Ke Sakhan said in reading the verdict. "If anything happens to him, we would be blamed and that could lead to rocky relations with Thailand."

The mother Sivarak is quoted in the The Nation that the full blame for her son's plight is on Kamrob. "I want to ask Kamrob, where are you? If you had not called my son, he would not have been in this condition," she said.

"He is innocent. Why should he take responsibility on your behalf. So please come out to take responsibility for your actions. My son has been in jail for nearly 30 days and I cannot tolerate anymore seeing him handcuffed," she said.

How can you be so idiotic to conclude that Thaksin had set the whole thing up when all the evidence points towards Kamrob Palawatwichai as the man behind this spying incident.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Well apparently Thaksin is Cambodian

the begining of the take over

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

A Cambodian prosecutor told a Cambodia court Tuesday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is a Cambodian citizen so his flight schedule could not be made public.

Another total lie from the pro-goverment so called news paper "The Nation" just to stir public hatred, and you fell for it.

The actual quote reported by Reuters is "Thaksin is Cambodia's adviser, so the government of Cambodia has an obligation to protect his life," Judge Ke Sakhan said in reading the verdict. "If anything happens to him, we would be blamed and that could lead to rocky relations with Thailand."

So where does it say Thaksin Shinawatra is a Cambodian citizen?

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Just waiting for them to decide the time is right for Thaksin to request leniency/pardon and Hun Sen agrees making both of them appear benevolent whilst creating a PR coup in Thailand for Thaksin, thus giving Thaksin a popularity boost. They will let it run for a while so that it gathers some importance in the news, bit transparent really, and seems to be a lame ploy of many regimes these days, just political games.

Bingo

^^ good spot there. Not fit to use as bog paper.

'Thaksin my only hope'
09-12-2009

The mother of jailed Thai national Sivarak Chotipong yesterday (December 8) pleaded with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to use his close connection with the Cambodian government to free her son who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for spying.

Sivarak was also fined 10 million Cambodian riels (US$2,500) for passing on Thaksin's flight information to a Thai Embassy staff.

Sivarak's mother Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, who attended the trial in a Phnom Penh court yesterday, burst into tears when she heard the verdict. She rushed to call the opposition Pheu Thai Party's headquarters in Bangkok to seek assistance from the party's real boss Thaksin, and party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

"I don't know where and from whom to seek help but, former prime minister Thaksin and General Chavalit, please help my son to get freedom," Simarak told reporters at Pheu Thai Party via telephone conference.

Simarak said her son would not appeal to a higher court. She pleaded with the Pheu Thai to seek a royal pardon for her son from the Cambodian king.

The mother did not want to rely on the government to help her son as she blamed the foreign ministry for moving slowly due to its sour relations with Cambodia.

In his Internet radio programme 'Talk around the world' yesterday, Thaksin did not mention Sivarak's case.

Ke Sakhan, presiding judge of Phnom Penh Municipal Court, convicted Sivarak, a 31-year-old employee at the Thai owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), saying Thaksin's flight information was confidential and sharing it was a violation of national security.

"Thaksin is an adviser to Cambodia's government and Cambodia has the obligation to provide him security," the judge said.

During his hearing yesterday, Sivarak admitted that he had checked Thaksin's flight schedule but said it was only after the ousted Thai premier's private jet had already landed in Phnom Penh International Airport. He said he passed on the information to a Thai diplomat, Kamrob Palawatwichai, at his request after two phone calls.

"I took a look at the flight schedule and made a phone call to Kamrob about the flight schedule," Sivarak told the court. "But I didn't get a copy of the flight schedule and hand it over to anyone."

Two employees of CATS testified in the court that Sivarak had asked them about the flight schedule.

The Thai diplomat, Kamrob, was later expelled from Cambodia. Sivarak was arrested on November 12 when Thaksin was in Phnom Penh to lecture on economic matters.

In her telephone conference from Phnom Penh, an emotional Simarak pinned the responsibility for her son's plight on Kamrob. "I want to ask Kamrob, where are you? If you had not called my son, he would not have been in this condition," she said.

"He is innocent. Why should he take responsibility on your behalf. So please come out to take responsibility for your actions. My son has been in jail for nearly 30 days and I cannot tolerate anymore seeing him handcuffed," she said.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as his adviser. The two countries have downgraded their diplomatic relations since late October.

Chronology

Nov 10: Thaksin lands in Phnom Penh. Sivarak passes Thaksin's flight information to diplomat Kamrob.

Nov 11: Cambodia expels Kamrob.

Nov 12: Sivarak is arrested.

Nov 13: News of his arrest is broken by local media.

Nov 14: Thaksin leaves Cambodia.

Nov 16: Thai charge d'affairs visits Sivarak at Prey Sor prison. Sivarak's mother Simarak phones him for the first time.

Nov 27: Simarak visits her son for the first time.

Nov 30: Simarak seeks help from the opposition Pheu Thai Party, which arranges another meeting for her.

Dec 2: Simarak visits her son for the second time.

Dec 4: Simarak changes her son's attorney and withdraws his bail request.

Dec 7: Simarak arrives in Phnom Penh to hear the verdict for her son.

Dec 8: Sivarak is sentenced to seven years in jail and fined 10 million riel (US$2,500).

asianewsnet.net

This is funny from Kasit in the Bangkok Post

Kasit: Govt ready to help Sivarak

• Published: 9/12/2009 at 11:38 AM
• Online news: Breakingnews

The Foreign Ministry is ready to file an appeal or seek a royal pardon for convicted Thai spy Sivarak Chutipong, but it is up to his family to decide, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Wednesday.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday sentenced Mr Sivarak to seven years in prison and a fine of 10 million riel, about 82,000 baht, on a charge of spying.

Sivarak, 31, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of stealing state secrets, the flight information of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra when he visited Phnom Pehn, and giving the information to a Thai diplomat.

Mr Kasit said before visiting the three southern border provinces with visiting Malaysian cabinet ministers in the morning that Sivarak's mother and other family members will decide whether they want the government's assistance.

"We have Thai diplomats in Phnom Penh who are ready to help Mr Sivarak," he said.

However, Sivarak's mother Simarak na Nakhon Phanom blamed Khamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, as being the cause of her son's trouble. She called on him to show responsibility for her son.

Sivarak said in court that Mr Khamrob asked him about Thaksin's flight information, and admitted that he confirmed the flight's arrival to the diplomat.

Foreign Minister Kasit's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut insisted Mr Khamrob had not done anything illegal and had not requested Mr Sivarak to steal anything.

"I believe Mr Khamrob does not have to explain anything to the press," Mr Chavanond said.

However, the Foreign Ministry was always ready to aid Sivarak but his mother would decide if she wanted help from the government or the opposition Puea Thai Party.

"We're all Thais, and helping each other is a good thing," he said.

Reports said Mrs Sivarak had faxed the court's verdict to the Puea Thai Party in the morning, asking former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who are close associates with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, to help her jailed son.

"We have Thai diplomats in Phnom Penh who are ready to help Mr Sivarak," he said.

But it is a Thai diplomat that is to blame for Sivarak circumstances

Sivarak said in court that Mr Khamrob asked him about Thaksin's flight information, and admitted that he confirmed the flight's arrival to the diplomat.

So is Sivarak lying?

Foreign Minister Kasit's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut insisted Mr Khamrob had not done anything illegal and had not requested Mr Sivarak to steal anything.

"I believe Mr Khamrob does not have to explain anything to the press," Mr Chavanond said.

Foreign Minister Kasit's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut seems to think so.

so we have a Thai national in prison for 7 years for doing what his government requested whilst the said Representative of that government sleeps comfortably

what have I missed ?

what I don't understand is how they "intercepted" that conversation ? and how a foreign company can be seized like that by a government ?

isn't Cambodia a great shithole or what ?