General corruption

PPT has been watching the Rohinga boat people reporting with considerable interest and concern. We were waiting to see how long it was going to take for the military to be mentioned. After all, there was the big story on this in Reuters and Phuketwan some time ago. The Navy sued.

If social media is any barometer, it is widely believed that the massive human trafficking that has been going on in the south for several years could not continue without military connivance (and profit).

We were interested to read that the police “investigating human trafficking rings smuggling boat people into southern Thailand believe a major general [from the Army] was involved.”

Unsurprisingly, the Army and The Dictator say “none of its officers are directly linked to the illegal activities.” The report says:

Evidence showing this unnamed military official’s possible involvement in Rohingya trafficking was found during a raid at a suspect’s home in Ranong’s Muang district last Wednesday, a security source revealed Monday.

The evidence included four receipts for money transfers to a bank account belonging to the major general and a document with the bank account and the major general’s name written on it, the same source said.

The trafficking of Rohingya and illegal migrant workers, from Ranong down to the southern border, has long been a very lucrative business because handsome bribes were paid to people in uniform, the source said….

“In this case, although police found evidence to prove the major general’s involvement in trafficking, no one dares do anything with this suspect. Of course, you know who is in power. So, who wouldn’t be afraid?” the source said.

An important observation.