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The police major-general who led the investigation into the widespread trafficking of Rohingya Muslim migrants is seeking political asylum in Australia, saying influential figures in the government, military and police want him dead, Australian media reported Thursday.
Down under, Maj Gen Paween now says that "from the beginning" he was pressured not to pursue the organisers of the trafficking network too aggressively. But he told the Guardian he "followed the evidence", leading to 88 defendants who "let victims starve, denied health treatments for sick victims and hid bodies" ending up in court.
"Influential people are involved in human trafficking. There are some bad police and bad military who do these kind of things. Unfortunately, those bad police and bad military are the ones that have power," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
The man behind the drive to end Phuket's taxi mafia
PHUKET: Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin has hit the headlines frequently in the past couple of months as the head of the drive to root out “mafia taxi” activities in Phuket.
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“Are you Thai?": Cops question police chief fleeing to Australia in fear of life
“Are you Thai?”
That was the first question Thai cops had when a former senior officer who investigated human trafficking fled to Australia to seek asylum.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Paween Pongsirin arrived in Melbourne a few days ago and told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) yesterday he feared for his life because influential figures in the Thai government, military and police implicated in the illicit trade want him dead.
“There are some bad police and bad military who do these kind of things,” Paween told the broadcaster. “Unfortunately, those bad police and military are the ones that have power.”
His former colleagues’ response?
“He only said good things about himself [to the media] and damaged our country’s reputation. I’d have to ask him if he’s Thai or not,” said Pol. Lt. Gen. Taesa Siriwato, Commander of Provincial Police Region 8, where Paween was deputy commissioner until he resigned last month.
Thai police are considering suing the senior officer for defamation over his comments.
Speaking at a press conference this morning at police headquarters in Punpin district, Suratthani, Taesa called Paween an “undisciplined officer” for not obeying orders, according to Nation TV.
As a senior police officer, Paween’s comments to the media had damaged the country’s reputation and the morale of the Thai police force, he said.
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