By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THAILAND MAY ASK the United States to consider shutting off Starlink internet signals accessible inside Cambodia and along the Thai-Cambodian border in order to deactivate transnational scamming networks based in the Indochinese state, said former deputy police chief Pol. Gen. Surachate Hakparn today (Nov.3).
The Bhumjaithai-led government under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul should call on the US Government to take into account the practical advice for SpaceX, of which Starlink is a subsidiary, to shut off the satellite-linked internet signals over Cambodian territory and Thai-Cambodian border areas to deactivate the Cambodia-based rogue rackets which had devastatingly preyed on Thai and world victims, Pol. Gen. Surachate said.
The former deputy police chief said he had earlier met with a US senator conducting a probe into the Cambodia-based online scams and agreed that Bangkok seriously ask Washington for help with the planned crackdown on those rogue criminals by having the Starlink internet services accessible inside Cambodia and along the shared border completely shut off.
“Without Starlink signals, all scamming networks in Cambodia will be immediately, entirely inoperable,” Pol. Gen. Surachate said.
Anutin has recently met with US President Donald Trump in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for a Thai-Cambodian peace talk and treaty but any topics pertaining to the Starlink internet services for Cambodia were not known to have been raised for discussion, however.
Meanwhile, Pol. Gen. Surachate called on the prime minister to transfer police chief Pol. Gen. Kitrat Panpet to an inactive post due to his alleged negligence of duty to crack down on online gambling, scamming and money-laundering rackets which had allegedly fed a large number of corrupt police officers with regular payoffs in cash.
Pol. Gen. Surachate charged that Pol. Gen. Kitrat had ironically named Police Forensic Science Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Trairong Pewpan as chair of a police task force to combat online gambling dens despite allegations that he was among those police officers who had covertly accepted kickbacks from online gambling operators.
Online gambling and drug trafficking rackets had regularly delivered amounts of payoffs in cash via “mule accounts” for those bribe-taking police officers whilst at least two current MPs of Songkhla, namely Klatham MP Chonnapat “Krit” Naksua and Democrat MP Somyot “Ko Thuek” Plaiduang, have been accused of illegal associations with those rogue businesses based in the southern province, according to the former deputy police chief.
Chonnapat who had been earlier attached to the Palang Pracharath before he skipped over to the Klatham had been personally connected with Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Agriculture & Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompao, the de facto boss of the current coalition partner.
Billions of baht worth of ill-gotten cash generated from transnational scammers and money-launderers were feared to be used in support of campaign finance for some vote-buying contestants, especially those in southern constituencies, running for MP in an upcoming election.
CAPTIONS:
Top – Representative image of satellite internet by Pixabay and published by Hindustan Times
Front Page – Digital Earth image by Juliana Kozoski on Unsplash
Insert – Pol. Gen. Surachate Hakparn. Photo – PPTVHD 36
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