Justice has finally caught up with one of Thailand's most controversial political wealth concealment cases.
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Division yesterday sentenced two former executives of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to three years in prison for failing to comply with a Supreme Administrative Court order to disclose details of the NACC's investigation into Gen Prawit Wongsuwon's luxury watches.
The two -- former NACC president Pol Gen Watcharaphol Prasarnrajkit and former anti-graft commissioner Supa Piyajitti -- have applied for bail pending appeal. Another 12 commissioners were acquitted.
The ruling marks a moral victory for activist Veera Somkwamkid, who spent more than a decade seeking answers as to why the NACC cleared Gen Prawit in the controversial case.
The former deputy prime minister had been accused of failing to declare expensive wristwatches and a diamond ring after he was photographed wearing them outside Government House.
In 2018, however, the NACC voted 5-3 to clear the retired general of making false asset declarations. The commission accepted claims by Gen Prawit and witnesses that the watches -- estimated then to be worth at least five million baht -- had been borrowed from a close friend, while the diamond rings belonged to his late mother.
The issue is that the NACC has consistently refused to disclose the investigation's full findings, despite the Administrative Court ordering their release in 2019. In May 2024, the agency handed Mr Veera a report on the case, but its most crucial details had been redacted. Frustrated by the NACC's continued stonewalling, the activist took the matter to court.
The verdict comes as a breath of fresh air for a public weary of a culture of impunity.
It remains unclear why NACC executives and commissioners have been so determined to block public access to the probe into Gen Prawit's luxury watches. The three-year prison terms now facing the two former commissioners -- if upheld by the Appeal and Supreme Courts -- should remind anti-graft officials that they are not above the law.
The Gen Prawit case is only one example of the NACC's entrenched culture of secrecy.
Take the case of Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, who has been accused of giving gold bars worth about 10 million baht to an NACC commissioner in exchange for being cleared of corruption and misconduct allegations linked to an illegal online gambling network.
Earlier this year, the NACC launched an investigation but has remained largely silent. The lack of transparency became so glaring that NACC officials issued two internal statements urging the commission's leadership to be more open.
More recently, the NACC came under renewed criticism for clearing former transport minister Saksayam Chidchob of wealth concealment allegations, despite the Supreme Court previously finding him guilty in a separate case that forced his resignation from the cabinet.
The bigger question is what the current NACC will do next. The commission must fully comply with the Supreme Administrative Court's order by releasing all information related to the Gen Prawit investigation. The NACC has repeatedly claimed to uphold transparency. It is time to prove it.
