As of 2pm yesterday, the party which led the government before the 2014 coup, had not received an invitation letter that the reconciliation preparation committee claimed to have been sent to every party registered with the Election Commission, said its acting secretary Phumtham Wechayachai yesterday.

“I have contacted our administration staff as well as senior figures – the leader, deputy, leader, and the members of the executive board – and none of them has received an invitation,” Phumtham said.

It was surprising that an issue as big as reconciliation was not being taken seriously, the acting secretary said.

“I don’t know what the problem is or whether there are any mistakes, but [Pheu Thai] would like to see a clear invitation letter so that the senior members could discuss the matter as soon as possible,” he added.

The Democrat Party, the oldest party in the Kingdom, is scheduled to attend reconciliation talks today.

Chart Pattana expresses opinion

Abhisit Vejjajiva, Democrat leader and former prime minister, said he would discuss the current political conflict and conflict resolution through non-violent means.

Other parties that have joined the talks in the past week include Chart Pattana led by Suwat Liptapanlop on Wednesday and Chart Thai Pattana led by Theera Wongsamut yesterday.

The discussions, chaired by Defence Ministry permanent secretary Chaichan Changmongkol, have taken place behind closed doors. The Defence Ministry has said it would only hold a press conference twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, to divulge the issues brought up at the meetings.

Suwat, leader of Chart Pattana Party which attended the reconciliation talks on Wednesday, said yesterday the party had proposed that politicians and political parties should find common ground for coexistence once suspension of activities by political parties ended.

Centred around respecting the election and the Westminster style of government, Chart Pattana proposed key points to prevent future conflicts.

He said every party should contest elections and not boycott them; everyone should follow election laws and regulations; support should be for good and capable people who will propose policies in elections; accept and respect the voters’ decision; once a new administration takes over, both the government and the opposition must perform their roles constructively; political parties must work together to solve any conflicts; in case of conflict, solutions must be found in parliament.

Suwat also expressed confidence that the National Council for Peace and Order could bring about reconciliation because it had plans based on studies and political parties’ collaboration.

However, the veteran politician was not certain whether an election would be held this year.

He said the search will resume this morning in areas that were not covered yesterday.

Thursday’s searches covered about 20 to 25 per cent of the vast complex covering more than 2,100 rai (830 acres).

“The wanted person was not found during the search in areas he was expected to be. We still have many days left to complete the mission,” he told the press conference.

Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Patanacharoen said the authorities experienced no obstruction from the temple’s followers during their operation. He also dismissed a rumour spread through the social media that the authorities clashed with the followers.

Once completed, the inscribed document will be handed over to the premier who will then submit it to the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary for the King’s endorsement.

The deadline for the submission is Saturday and details of the amendment will be disclosed to the public later, Wissanu said.

The draft charter was endorsed in a referendum last year before the section concerning the monarchy was amended based on His Majesty’s observation.

Adeunan Mahama, 29, was caught in possession of over a kilo of heroin at his home in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district.

The authorities also seized at least 11 other items for examination.

Police said the suspect allegedly sold the illicit drugs to teenagers and tourists in the deep South as well as at tourist cities such as Phuket and Samui. He is believed to have connections with two big-time drug suspects – Baedee Umae and Uzman Salaemaeng – who are at large.

In another high-profile drug case, police summoned a finance firm for questioning yesterday in relation to the sale of a Lamborghini motorbike star Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet.

Police suspect that the supercar, which was registered under Akarakit’s name, might have in fact belonged to a drug suspect who is now behind bars.

Committee chairperson Pol Colonel Dussadee Arayawuth, who is also deputy permanent-secretary to the Justice Department, said suspect Suphat Saquandeekul, deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property, wants five days to submit evidence and clarify himself to the committee.

After that, the panel will take no more than 10 days to consider whether to dismiss or sack this official.

“Primarily, his action has given Thai officials a bad reputation and the panel sees this as a severe disciplinary violation. Yet, the panel needs to consider his reason and explanation carefully as it will affect the pension this official will get,” he said.

Yingluck recently filed a petition at the Administrative Court seeking a revocation of an executive order to seize assets worth Bt36 billion on grounds that her government’s rice-pledging scheme had caused massive damages to the state. She also asked the court for an injunction to block the government from seizing her assets.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam on Tuesday ordered agencies to proceed with the seizure of Yingluck’s assets and not to wait for the court’s ruling. He also said if the court ordered an injunction later, the government did not need to return the seized assets.

“I don’t understand why the government’s legal expert expressed their own opinions to order [the action]. It’s not fair. They are aware that I’m now seeking an injunction [to block the seizure] from the court,” Yingluck posted on Facebook. “Society now needs to see reconciliation. Judging from the remark, can society hope for justice from the government?”

The remark by the government’s legal expert showed society had no hope of justice, she said.

Wissanu, however, insisted yesterday that assets could be seized without court ruling. He maintained that the seizure of her assets had nothing to do with the government’s moves to promote reconciliation and that previous cases would not be used as bargaining tools.

Yingluck’s lawyer Noppadon Laothong, called for the government to wait for the court’s ruling.

He said he had submitted Wissanu’s action and remark to the court as proof of the government’s unfair behaviour. He will also submit a notice letter to concerned agencies to stop the asset seizure and confiscation.

Last September, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked Article 44 of the interim charter to enable the seizure of assets of those responsible for the rice-pledging scheme. Yingluck and her Cabinet members – former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol – are facing assets seizure over the massive damages.

The Department of Legal Execution will enforce the order to ensure that state officials face civil liability lawsuits, including the cases against Yingluck and her Cabinet members.

Last Friday, the Administrative Court rejected a request by Boonsong and Poom for a court injunction to block the government from seizing their assets.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department is consulting the Anti-Money Laundering Office about the process of seizing the assets of three former government officials involved in fake government-to-government rice deals.

The investigation result will soon be forwarded to the Legal Execution Department.

The civil liabilities seizure cases involve Boonsong, Poom and other former senior Commerce Ministry officials who are being sued for Bt20 billion compensation for their role in fake government-to-government rice contracts during Yingluck’s tenure as prime minister.

Her government had implemented the rice-pledging scheme, which allegedly cost the state more than Bt600 billion.

“When we are ready, we will tell you,” DSI chief Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday.

The temple’s honorary abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, whose name has been linked to several scandals is now wanted on money-laundering charges related to the notorious embezzlement case involving the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative. Ongoing investigations have suggested a network connected to the monk had received more than Bt1 billion from the cooperative.

“All other suspects in the case have already acknowledged the charges,” DSI chief Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday.

He said the DSI and police had met regarding Phra Dhammchayo’s case at least once a month.

Last year, when the DSI tried to enter the temple and arrest Phra Dhammachayo, thousands of his followers turned up and demanded that the officers leave. On Tuesday, word spread that the DSI was planning another raid, which would be backed by military support.

Dhammakaya Temple, which spans a large plot of land in Pathum Thani province, has been sheltering Phra Dhammachayo from the law. Temple staff claim the monk is too ill to answer summons.

The situation around the temple was normal yesterday. Gate 7 was still open to allow temple followers to enter and exit, while one of three guards on duty said: “We have not received any special order to boost security.”

There was no unusually heavy presence of police or other officers in the area.

In a related development, police have summoned seven board members of the Dhammakaya Foundation for questioning for allegedly building in the compound without proper permission.

In an interview with Nation Multimedia Group digital journalist Suthichai Yoon on Facebook Live, former NACC commissioner Medhi Krongkaew questioned why the case was not being pursued by the anti-graft agency.

He said there was clear evidence that the bribe recipient was an executive with the Thai Rak Thai Party, including during Thaksin Shinawatra’s tenure as premier.

“We even know the name of this person,” said Medhi, who claims to have received first-hand information from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while gathering evidence regarding another corruption case.

However, the NACC has not taken action on the Diageo case, in which money was allegedly paid to the senior official to influence the Thaksin government’s decision to lower tariffs on imported spirits, including Johnny Walker Black Label.

In one of his radio broadcasts, Thaksin publicly endorsed determining import duties based on volume rather than the value of liquor for sale in Thailand.

Details released by the SEC show that instalments of US$12,000 (Bt420,000) had been paid over 49 months to the Thai official.

Diageo settled its case in the US by paying a fine of nearly Bt500 million for violating the foreign corrupt practices law, but the case has gone nowhere in Thailand over the past five to six years, Medhi said.

He added that after retiring from the agency, he was not able to follow up on the case, while US authorities had decided not to take criminal action against the company after it paid the hefty fine.

He said that he would certainly have pursued the case if he had remained with the NACC.

Medhi said the case was similar to the Rolls Royce-Thai Airways scandal, in which millions of baht was paid for the sale of aircraft engines.

In the Diageo case, SEC documents also show that two meetings had been held between senior Diageo officials and Thaksin in 2005.

Medhi added that the Rolls-Royce case was a major turning point in tackling cross-border bribery cases as well as cooperation between Thai and foreign anti-graft agencies.

He said most NACC commissioners were committed to their jobs, but the agency had a shortage of personnel who were well-versed in English so cross-border cases were a challenge. He said only about 10 officials could fully understand English-language legal documents provided by their foreign counterparts.