AN INTRIGUING CATCH 22 FOR THAI POLICE. HOW CAN WE BE CORRUPT? WE WOULD’NT BE POLICE
An investigation into how the Thai Justice system reversed a serious assault case against the son of a Chinese-American millionaire and put the victim of the attack through hell has been blocked by a classic ‘Catch 22’ – getting the Thai police to authorise an investigation against itself.
In the case of Jack Hansen-Bartel who was attacked in the part police owned club – the Green Mango – on the Thai holiday island of Koh Samui in June 2014 police and prosecutors have forced Jack’s family spent fortunes to get a hearing for their case.
And after the intervention of Raymond Nobu Chang, a millionaire graduate of the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard (The Harvard-Kennedy School), police have done their utmost to charge Jack himself with a minor assault.
At the moment the two alleged attackers Raymond Chang junior, a student at Cornell University and Ryan Wang his friend, have been excused by the court to attend their own trial. But Jack Hansen-Bartel a student at Monash University, Melbourne, has to fly to attend or a warrant of arrest will be issued.
Chang, left, Wang, right |
It is hard for a case to get uglier than this and the FBI offered to conduct an investigation into the matter, say Jack’s supporters.
There was concern, heaven forbid, that a US national might be involved in corrupt practices. (This could also be a sensitive subject for the US authorities who would like to charge someone under their Corrupt Practices Act, but who themselves have to grease a few palms so that things work)
The catch was that the Foreign Affairs Department of the Royal Thai Police had to make a formal complaint.
‘We are human’ says Jack’s mum Annie Hansen – but are they treated as such? |
The campaign ‘Justice for Jack’ has posted today on Facebook explaining the current problems.
Needless to say the Foreign Affairs Department did nothing. And the FBI may not be chasing this one.
A Colonel in the Foreign Affairs department is however quoted as saying that the family should try ‘social media’ to keep police straight.
(Nor has anything been done about a clear case of perjury, aided and abetted by the law firm Limcharoen which enabled the young Chinese Americans who had graduated from the Shanghai Chinese-American School in Shanghai.)
Raymond Nobu Chang |
Just as Scotland Yard needs the co-operation of the Royal Thai Police, and has been less than frank over the Koh Tao murder investigation, so does the FBI – even though the RTP is a major instigator of crime and recipient of the proceeds of crime in Thailand.
The ‘Justice for Jack’ team has named a very high ranking police officer as the man who it is alleged has been facilitating for the Changs and Wangs.
He is, Police General Pichit Kuandachakupta, former Region 8 Commander, in a region encompassing the holiday island of Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan – referred to as ‘Thailand’s Bermuda Triangle’ due to the unfortunate loss of lives of tourists in these parts.
Pichit |
He was also on a Senate Committee on Tourism,owns resorts on Phuket and is a long standing friend of Chalerm Yubamrung, the Thailand’s infamous police chief and politician one of whose sons escaped a police murder charge.
You can catch up on the Jack Hansen-Bartel case by searching his name with this site.
Meanwhile here is the link to the latest on ‘Justice for Jack’.
Footnote: Limcharoen is the firm which became party to the ‘Emerald Palace’ housing fraud in Pattaya which forced British and Americans to cough up cash despite being swindled in one of those many Pattaya housing scams – and it’s on the British and US Embassy Legal lists – so take the Embassy disclaimers seriously.
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