Hassawut to fight dismissal
INTERVIEW: Ex-Supreme Administrative Court president to submit petition to the King, writes Mongkol Bangprapa
Former Supreme Administrative Court president Hassawut Withitwiriyakul says he will today petition His Majesty the King over a decision by the Administrative Court’s judicial commission to dismiss him from office.
Mr Hassawut was fired on Sept 23 for his alleged involvement in a police promotion scandal.
Mr Hassawut said he will submit the petition to the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary at the Grand Palace.
He has previously petitioned the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to probe the court’s judicial commission’s decision, saying his sacking was unlawful.
He said he wants the NACC to act because he didn’t do anything wrong, and there was no evidence against him.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Hassawut, 67, spoke about his personal life, health problems — he has a tumour on his right cheek — and the professional suffering he has endured since he was fired from his position. “I am a devout Buddhist and practice Dhamma regularly. I try to accept the ever-changing nature of life as Lord Buddha has taught us.
“While my family and friends viewed what happened to me as a humiliation, I try to see it only as a trivial matter and take it in my stride. Admittedly, this has made me feel stressed, but it hasn’t made me go insane,” Mr Hassawut said.
He said during his six-month suspension prior to his dismissal he didn’t receive his salary or civil servant medical benefits.
“Hospital staff told me that someone from the Administrative Court called to say I was not entitled to the medical welfare,’’ he said.
The Supreme Administrative Court also took away Mr Hassawut’s company car. “I can take a bus or a taxi. I have used them most of my life,” he said.
Mr Hassawut and his wife need to visit doctors regularly, but now they do not have enough money to pay for their medical bills.
“So we have to decide which of us will go to see the doctor. My wife has high cholesterol and she still has enough medicine, so she lets me go first,” he said.
“I had a computerised tomography scan [on the growth], and doctors said it is okay. There is no sign of cancer, but it needs close medical attention and has to be examined every three months.
“For the past six months, I have lived a simple life, planting trees, reading, chanting prayers and practising meditation. I believe in karma. I am willing to pay the price for whatever I have done to others,” he said.
Despite saying he is ready to forgive those who treated him unfairly, he insists he will continue to seek justice and try to restore his reputation.
Mr Hassawut said he is unlikely to appeal against his dismissal with the Administrative Court because he thinks the people who fired him will be the ones on the bench of the court. He will, however, try to find a different avenue to seek the justice he believes he deserves. “I will fight until the last breath,” he said.
He also said he believes the judiciary process is being meddled with to work against him. “I did nothing wrong, but someone was targeting me,” Mr Hassawut said.
He also said there is a power struggle in the Administrative Court between those aligned with the Council of State and those affiliated with the Interior Ministry.
“I am an academic. I am not on anyone’s side, but I was still accused of taking sides. That was when a reputation-damaging campaign was waged against me,” he said.
Mr Hassawut was accused of working with Direkrit Jenkrongtham, secretary-general of the Office of the Administrative Court, to send two letters — one to the national police chief and the other to a deputy national police chief — to show his support for the promotion of Pol Lt Col Chutharet Yingyong-damrongkul, deputy superintendent for crime suppression at Hua Mak station, to police superintendent.
Pol Lt Col Chutharet is a friend of Mr Hassawut’s nephew, according to the panel. But Mr Hassawut insists Pol Lt Col Chutharet is not a friend of his nephew.
The panel said in its report, even though it was not clear Mr Hassawut had assigned Mr Direkrit to send the two letters, there was sufficient evidence to indicate Mr Hassawut acknowledged and supported Mr Direkrit’s action in sending them.
“This can be construed as a breach of discipline and misconduct on the part of Mr Hassawut, which is a violation of an announcement of the Administrative Court’s judicial commission regarding the discipline of Administrative Court judges,” the panel said.