Ex-DSI chief Tarit pleads guilty to slandering Suthep
Former Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith issued a public apology to ex-deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday over a police station graft scandal ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on his defamation case this Friday.
Mr Tarit assigned his lawyer, Thanakorn Waekwaree, to read the prepared statement in which he claimed he had changed his plea from not guilty to guilty, and asked the court to delay delivering its ruling for another 60 days.
The statement was read out at a press conference attended by Jarinthip Kesornkularp, the secretary of former attorneygeneral Kanit na Nakhon.
According to the statement, the ex-DSI chief asked Mr Kanit to mediate in the dispute.
Mr Tarit’s public apology and reversed plea were made despite him being cleared by the Criminal Court and the Appeal Court of the defamation charge.
He said he had reviewed his actions and realised he had spoken out of turn because Mr Suthep had acted as recommended by the police chief. Moreover, he was never charged in connection with the scandal.
“I’m taking this opportunity to show remorse and apologise to Mr Suthep and I’d like to thank him for forgiving me,” he said.
However, Mr Tarit said he learned Mr Suthep’s team of lawyers was divided over whether to withdraw the lawsuit. With time running out, he decided to enter a plea of guilty and seek the delayed verdict.
“If the court decides not to delay its ruling, I’m pleading for clemency and a suspended sentence,” he said.
Mr Tarit said his life had been turned upside down since the May 2014 coup, but that he still had faith in the justice system.
Mr Suthep filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr Tarit after the latter suggested in a series of press conferences that Mr Suthep was responsible for the failure of a multibillion baht project to build 396 police stations worth 6.67 billion baht.
The construction of 396 police stations was endorsed by the cabinet during the former Abhisit Vejjajiva administration, in which Mr Suthep served as deputy premier.
Mr Suthep was accused of not having consulted fellow ministers regarding changes to the project.
In 2013, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) set up a panel to determine if Mr Suthep had breached Section 157 of the Criminal Code by committing misconduct or dereliction of duty regarding his handling of the project.
In August, NACC president Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit briefed the media about progress in the investigation, saying the probe was 80% complete but some more statements were being gathered before it would be concluded.