Justice system fails nation
Brazil has just imprisoned for corruption the most popular politician ever elected as the country’s president. South Korea has just convicted and jailed the history-making first woman president in its history — for corruption. Thais have every right to be impressed and depressed by these cases. Here, the justice system has been unable to conclude a simple corruption investigation of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
The inability of the justice system to handle the watch case is scandalous. It is difficult even to imagine a corruption allegation as uncomplicated as that about the watches of the deputy premier. Gen Prawit, who also is the Minister of Defence, claims he borrowed and wore a string of valuable watches from a friend, who has died. If he did, he is at least technically innocent of corruption. Otherwise, he could face legal charges and ouster from the government — as a starter.
Law enforcement has refused to get involved with the case. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has made it a shambles. Not only has a simple case taken four months and one week (and counting). The NACC at every stage has failed its repeated promise to inform the public of progress. Arguably the biggest error of all is that Gen Prawit’s boss and the country’s chief law enforcement officer who appointed the NACC members, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, also has refused to step in.
Compare these cases with Brazil and South Korea, and Thailand looks very bad indeed. Corruption cases there weren’t just against government ministers, but the very highest officials in the land. The justice systems there showed little fear or favour in presenting, investigating and finally convicting, not just the two presidents, but two of the most popular, democratically elected national leaders in their respective histories.
On Sunday (Thailand time) the former president of Brazil, popularly known as Lula, went to prison in Sao Paolo. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was tried and found guilty last year of deep involvement in the scandal known as Car Wash. This is arguably a familiar scenario in this country. Car Wash involved systemic government corruption, kickbacks, highway construction bribes and money laundering — in part.
Altogether, Lula was the target of seven charges, some of which still are pending. And this is the kicker. The corruption charge for which Lula was convicted is still under appeal. Indeed, for several hours on Sunday, he defied the order to surrender for imprisonment on the grounds that he should be free until the case is finally settled. But Brazilian law doesn’t work that way. While there are almost certain to be twists and turns in the complicated case against an extremely popular politician, one fact is undeniable. The former “socialist hope of the nation” occupies a “VIP cell” of three metres by five metres in the federal police headquarters in Curitiba, in the southern part of the country.
The downfall of Park Geun-hye of Korea was even more shocking. She was driven from office, arrested and convicted of corruption. Her arrest and trial revealed massive influence-peddling, misuse of state funds, enormously cruel treatment of virtually anyone fingered as a political enemy.
Again, there are many details of her case that sound extremely familiar to Thais. There are, however, two parts of the Park case, and the Lula case, that Thais never have seen. The first is that honest prosecutors and police brought them to book. The other is that political influence was useless in the justice system of Brazil and South Korea. Like Lula, Park is looking out from behind a locked, barred door. Last Friday, she was led away in handcuffs to prison after the judge sentenced her to 24 years.
The inability of the system to deal with such a simple case as Gen Prawit’s alleged corruption is shameful for the regime. Put against the achievement of other countries, it should be intolerable to all.