On borrowed time?

> Thai junta’s number two probed over luxury watches

BANGKOK: The Thai junta’s number two, who is mired in a graft scandal over his dazzling collection of luxury watches, could be cleared of wrongdoing if he proves the timepieces were borrowed from friends, the anti-graft agency said yesterday.

Prawit Wongsuwan’s penchant for pricey watches has captivated Thailand’s public since Facebook users began counting the expensive accessories worn by the deputy prime minister, even prompting calls for him to resign in a country where such open criticism is unusual.

Since December, the “CSI LA” Facebook page has counted 25 watches collectively worth US$1.2 million (RM4.7 million), including 11 Rolexes, eight Patek Philippes and three Richard Milles.

The affair has stirred questions over how an ex-general on a relatively humble public servant’s salary could afford items undeclared on his US$2.7 million (RM10.6 million) list of assets on taking office.

The unrelenting social media campaign has heaped pressure on Prawit to resign as well as on the kingdom’s National AntiCorruption Commission (NACC) to open a full and transparent probe into the bling.

Prawit, an architect of Thailand’s 2014 coup who is also defence minister, says the watches were borrowed from friends and later returned.

The NACC is yet to open an official graft probe, but is questioning the people Prawit has listed as the watch owners.

“If the watches belong to others and not him, he doesn’t have to declare them under the law,” NACC deputy secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said.

“If the watches are his, we have to find out when he got them, is it before he took up his post (as deputy prime minister) or after?”

The affair of the general and his watches, has stirred an unusual level of public outcry in a country where criticism of the junta has been muted and the rich and powerful are rarely held to account.

Junta leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a longtime army ally of Prawit, on Tuesday denied his deputy could be prodded into resigning. – AFP

Prawit covers his eyes, displaying a watch he is wearing, during a photo call last month.

Members of the Rajput community take part in a protest against Padmaavat in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.