‘Sweet Joke’ gets gig at Tourist Police Bureau
Popular Surachet likely to make most of rejig to introduce new management style, writes Wassayos Ngamkham
The Police Commission’s decision to have Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan work as deputy chief of the newly upgraded Tourist Police Bureau (TPB) is viewed as a move to empower him in the bureau he reportedly wants to run more freely.
The TPB, known previously as the Tourist Police Division, was under the Central Investigation Bureau.
However, Pol Maj Gen Surachet felt “uncomfortable” there due to his different working style from his superior Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj Nhongharnpitak, a police source told the Bangkok Post.
His appointment to the TPB comes as direct control of the new bureau has been shifted from the Central Investigation Bureau to the Royal Thai Police Office.
The new position of Pol Maj Gen Surachet as the TPB deputy chief is viewed as temporary as it is expected he will be promoted to the top job at the TPB as soon as next year.
According to the source, he is believed to have assumed the real power of the bureau, making newly appointed TPB chief Pol Lt Gen Sakhon Thongmunee only a “shadow TPB chief”.
Pol Lt Gen Sakhon was previously chief of Provincial Police Region 9, which oversees the southern provinces of Songkhla, Satun, Trang and Phatthalung.
The source said a key reason behind the move to put Pol Maj Gen Surachet’s career on the fast track is his close connection with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who chairs the Police Commission.
Pol Maj Gen Surachet’s polite and soft personality, which has earned him the alias “Sweet Joke” (his nickname) and his easy-going character are also believed to be other factors.
The move to restructure the TPB, freeing it up from the CIB, should chime with Pol Maj Gen Surachet’s freer management style, observers say.
His working style gives him an image of “politician police officer”, different from that of Pol Lt Gen Thitiraj, whose career development has been based on his investigative skills.
A major change in his career happened when he was appointed to be chief of Patrol and Special Operations, known as the 191 unit, under the Metropolitan Police Bureau after he served as the chief of the now defunct Tourist Police Division.
Working at the division, he cracked down on the zero-dollar tour scam, in which Chinese tourists were lured into buying cheap packages only to be “forced” to buy expensive products and services in Thailand when they arrived.
While he was there, the idea of splitting off the division came to his mind, Pol Maj Gen Surachet said.
His idea did not immediately take shape because after serving the 191 unit, he was promoted to the deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau during the police reshuffle approved by the Gen Prawit-led Police Commission last month.
One week after his appointment, Gen Prawit called a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the transfer of 18 senior police officers including Pol Maj Gen Surachet. The meeting, which saw Pol Maj Gen Surachet become a key figure at the TPB, was “done in just 20 minutes”, the source said.
Earlier on Sept 1, the establishment of the TPB was announced in the Royal Gazette.
It is not the right time for Pol Maj Gen Surachet to officially take the helm of the TPB as the post does not match his current rank, so he was first appointed TPB deputy chief, the source added.
The name of Pol Maj Gen Surachet has become more prominent since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took power. He is viewed as a “loveable son” of Gen Prawit, one of the key people behind the NCPO.
The source believed Pol Maj Gen Surachet may have even gained the trust of Gen Prawit in helping prepare annual police reshuffle lists. Reportedly even close aides of the national police chief or his deputies have to go through Pol Maj Gen Surachet.
However, it is not only his close connections with Gen Prawit and his soft personality that help him win the hearts of senior police officers.
Pol Maj Gen Surachet also has a good work record ranging from crackdowns on drugs and car robberies to operations to deal with transnational gangs. One reason is Pol Maj Gen Surachet is a good administrator who has drawn skilful police investigators to work with him under his management style, the source added.