The President of the Supreme Court has appointed a nine-member independent inquiry panel to investigate allegations of bribery with gold involving a commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
The move follows a petition submitted by Pol Col Phakphum Pismai, a former close aide to Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, a former deputy national police chief widely known as "Big Joke".
Pol Col Phakphum lodged a formal complaint with the Senate Speaker, requesting that the matter be referred to the Supreme Court for legal proceedings against Ekawit Watchawalaku, an NACC commissioner.
According to the complaint, Mr Ekawit is alleged to have accepted gold bars weighing 246 baht worth 10 million baht in exchange for assisting Pol Gen Surachate in a case related to an online gambling network that remains under investigation.
Acting under Section 82 and Section 236 of the constitution, and pursuant to the Act on Criminal Procedure for Holders of Political Positions, the president of the Supreme Court is empowered to appoint an independent inquiry committee of not fewer than seven members to investigate allegations of serious misconduct.
Such misconduct may include corruption in office, the wilful exercise of powers in contravention of the constitution or the law, or grave breaches of ethical standards.
Following formal notification from the president of the Senate indicating reasonable grounds for suspicion, the Supreme Court president appointed a nine-member panel comprising senior judicial figures, prosecutors and legal scholars.
