Jirawong Wattanathewasilp

Jirawong Wattanathewasilp was secretly arrested on or about 16 October 2015. He was charged with lese majeste and is in custody in a secret prison on a military base in Bangkok.

On 1 August 2016, a military court sentenced him to 7 years jail on one lese majeste charge, halved for a guilty plea. He is to be tried on two more lese majeste charges.

On 21 October, the Bangkok Military Court approved a police request to detain Suriyan Sujaritpolwong, 53, alias Mor Yong, a well-known fortune teller, Jirawong Wattanathewasilp, 39, Suriyan’s aide, and Pol Maj Prakrom Warunprapha, 44, an officer of the Technology Crime Suppression Division’s Sub-Division 1. The three men all appeared with shaven heads, with social media saying this was demanded by the prince as an act of degradation.

The junta – the National Council for Peace and Order – laid the charges and the military took the three into its custody “on receiving reports that a group of persons had, on various occasions, cited the high institution to other people for ill-gotten gains in violation of Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law.”

Initial reports said Suriyan had “confessed” while Jirawong and Prakrom denied the charges. Within a day, all were said to have “confessed.”

The three suspects were then taken by Corrections Department officials to a temporary prison inside the 11th Army Circle base.

Meanwhile, the authorities froze some of their assets while comparing these cases with those surrounding former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Pongpat Chayaphan, whose princely criminal network was broken up when his neice, married to Prince Vajiralongkorn was summarily “divorced” and dozens jailed, including most of then Princess Srirasmi’s family.

One of the more bizarre elements of these cases was that these are not persons who can be considered opponents of the monarchy. Pol Maj Prakrom won a scholarship from the Defence Ministry to further his military studies in England and after graduating, served as a soldier at the army’s Artillery Centre in Lop Buri. He later joined the police force and this led him to the Technology Crime Suppression Division and was with the Crime Suppression Division special operations unit when arrested. Prakrom served as an officer in the online crime unit from January until his arrest and was in charge of hunting lese majeste online. Prakrom was reported to have played a key role in the investigation of Pongpat. He also played a role in having Chayapa Chokpornbutsri arrested back in June. She allegedly spread rumors of an imminent counter-coup against junta chairman General Prayuth Chan-ocha. He seems like a loyalist. So was Suriyan. He was a very well known as a soothsayer to the elite and, until recently, was proclaimed close to the prince and many military officers.

A week after they were incarcerated, fears were expressed for their safety. A report stated that “special wardens” were appointed including “military officers and guards from the Corrections Department,” and their task was “to take care of three suspects…”.

The wardens’ key responsibility is to ensure the three men’s well-being during detention, a source linked to the case has revealed. The “special wardens” failed because Prakrom was reported to have died. The authorities claimed that Prakrom hung himself on 23 October 2015. He was said to have used clothing to hang himself, although how he managed this in a secure cell in a military base under the surveillance of military and corrections officers will never be explained. The circumstances of this death were so murky and the official cover-up so complete that it may well have been that he was murdered. Screaming cover-up, the Minister for Justice declared the case closed in less than 36 hours.

Censorship of the media on these cases was immediately stepped up.

At about this time it was reported that Suriyan was sick and hospitalized. The authorities immediately denied this. The authorities did say that Suriyan suffered from high blood pressure and was treated by a military doctor at the 11th Military Circle prison. As rumors swirled, Minister for “Justice” General Paiboon Khumchaya declared that Suriyan was not dead. The General opined: “Mor Yong’s [Suriyan] fine. I don’t understand what caused these rumours.” Paiboon added: “He’s alive and well. We were told he even asked to have rice porridge for breakfast this morning…”

Within a couple of days Suriyan was reported to have failed to appear in court as scheduled and was reported to have been rushed to a prison hospital. The authorities said he was claiming to be suffering a severe headache, stomach pain and difficulty in speaking. They went on to claim that he was faking the symptoms and had him back in a cell.

At about the same time, police were saying that up to 5o military officers were involved in the case and said that the information on this was coming from Suriyan. This was denied by the regime and the police backtracked. Yet the story of military involvement in royal-related activities and associated corruption did not go away.

However, Suriyan was soon dead.

“Justice” Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya waited a day or so and then announced that Suriyan died on either Friday 6 November or the next day. Initially he was reported as saying Friday but the story changed. He was said to have died at the prison hospital of “septicemia.” As with the death of Prakrom, a hasty autopsy has already been conducted. His death was nothing if not convenient for the military who were covering up the corruption allegations.

Suriyan was found in his cell with labored breathing. By the time the authorities took him to the Corrections Department hospital in Chatuchak district at 10.20pm, he did not respond and his pulse could not be detected.

Amid fears that Jirawong might also end up dead, he was produced in court, under heavy guard, on 13 November 2015. The junta’s prosecutors sought a further 12-day detention period. Apparently they required a third detention period – now at least 36 days – for even more investigation of charges he and his two fellow accused, by then both dead.

With his dead colleagues, there were claims that they and some police and some alleged red shirts were somehow involved in either and assassination or eavesdropping/spying venture. Who was the target remains unclear.

Media reports on Jirawong’s case:

Khaosod, 1 August 2016: “Late Royal Astrologer’s Aide Sentenced for Lese Majeste”

Khaosod, 19 February 2016: “Police Spokesman Prawut to be Indicted”

Bangkok Post, 13 November 2015: “Surviving LM suspect appears in court”

AFP, 10 November 2015: “Thai junta chief says military not to blame for custody death”

Bangkok Post, 10 November 2015: “Lese majeste suspect ‘Mor Yong’ dies in army custody”

Khaosod, 9 November 2015: “Famous Astrologer ‘Mor Yong’ Dies in Custody”

Bangkok Post, 9 November 2015: “Mor Yong died from infection”

The Nation, 9 November 2015: “Mor Yong dies of septicemia at prison hospital”

Bangkok Post, 9 November 2015: “Isoc charges colonel with lese majeste”

Bangkok Post, 7 November 2015: “Ratchapakdi Park in CIB graft probe”

Asia Sentinel, 5 November 2015: “Thailand’s Crown Prince Starts Another Purge”