Krissada Chaiyakae, 47, was handed over to the Thai authorities on Friday.

Immigration Police Bureau Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakpal flew in a helicopter to the 12th Border Patrol Police Division in Sa Kaew’s Aranayaprathet district at 8pm on Friday to take him back to Bangkok.

Krissada is wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on February 20, 2014, for at least two attacks against protesters led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) in 2013 and 2014.

He was accused of throwing a grenade at the rally stage of the PDRC at the Victory Monument on December 19, 2013, and of shooting dead a PDRC leader, Suthin Tharathin, at the Wat Sri-iam Temple on January 26 2014.

Police said Krissada surrendered to Cambodian authorities who in turn contacted Thai police to receive him at the Aranyaprathet border checkpoint on Friday.

Krissada admitted to Surachate during interrogation that he threw the grenade at the PDRC rally stage at the Victory Monument.

He said he decided to surrender after learning that political violence cases would not have any statute of limitations and he would have to flee for the rest of his life if he did not turn himself in.

The highest court reversed the verdicts by the lower Criminal and Appeals courts that found him not guilty.

In February 2013, former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban filed a libel lawsuit against Tarit for having suggested that the minister had employed political influence in bidding for a government project to build 396 police stations across the nation.

The project remains uncompleted as of now.

Earlier this week, the defendant submitted a written confession and withdrew the testimony he had given to the lower courts. On Thursday, Tarit also had his lawyer make a Bt100,000 payment with the court intended as compensation for the plaintiff.

It was reported earlier that Tarit sought an out-of-court settlement with Suthep, 69, through mediation by a respected figure in legal circles.

The DSI ex-chief, 60, showed up at Supreme Court on Chaeng Wattana Road early Friday morning, well over an hour before the court was scheduled to read its verdict at 9am.

The court rejected Tarit’s confession and withdrawal of testimony, saying these actions cannot be taken at this stage.

As for Tarit’s claim that he had reached an out-of-court settlement with Suthep, the court said no accord had been reached, as the plaintiff did not wish to compromise. The court also ordered that the defendant’s Bt100,000 be returned.

The Supreme Court then issued a verdict, sentencing Tarit to a year in prison without suspension. After the verdict, Corrections Department officials escorted Tarit to the Bangkok Remand Prison.

In his lawsuit, Suthep claimed that while serving as DSI chief, Tarit had held press conferences between January 21 and February 4, 2013 and told the media that the former deputy PM had instructed the Royal Thai Police to limit the bidding to just one contractor.

Suthep, at the time, was in charge of the police bureau.

Suthep’s lawyer Sawat Charoenpol said on Friday that Tarit had sought an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff, through mediation by many senior figures including former attorney-general Kanit Nanakorn.

“But Suthep did not agree to a settlement, because he had to consult with his legal team,” the lawyer said.

No special treatment

Meanwhile, Corrections Depart-ment director-general Naras Saves-tanan said on Friday that Tarit would not get any special treatment while in prison, even though he was a senior official at the Justice Ministry and once his boss.

“I have no worries, as I am carrying out my duty in accordance with court orders,” Naras said.

Just like other new inmates, Tarit will be held at the prison’s “initiation zone” for about two weeks, to familiarise himself with the new environment, before he is moved to another area, the official added.

In addition to getting fingerprinted and having their details recorded, new inmates also have to undergo a medical check-up to determine if they have any health problems, Naras said.

He noted that inmates who are 60 or above, like Tarit, often come with health problems, if not a chronic disease.

Inmates with health problems can bring along their medicines, and those who become ill while serving time, have the right to get treatment at the prison’s clinic or at the Corrections Hospital if the case is severe, the official added.

Ittiporn spoke after briefing representatives from embassies and international agencies about the February 24 election at the Foreign Ministry. Attending the briefing were 90 diplomats from 71 countries and three international agencies. Of the 90 participants, 17 were ambassadors, an EC source said.

After the meeting, Ittiporn said nobody expressed any concern. “They believe the election will be held as scheduled, even though the date has not been made official yet,” he said.

However, he added, several diplomats raised questions about the election process, including the controversial plan to select the prime minister and whether the poll will have any international observers. Ittiporn said he told them that the election would be held in line with the Constitution, and that the EC welcomed foreign observers, provided they did not show up in large numbers as the agency may not have the capacity to host them all.

The highest court reversed the verdicts by the lower Criminal Court and the Appeals Court that found him not guilty of the charge.

In February 2013, former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban filed the libel lawsuit against Tarit for having suggested that Suthep had employed political influence regarding bidding for a government project to build 396 police stations all over the country.

Construction of the project has remained uncompleted until now.

Earlier this week, the defendant submitted his written confession and withdrew his testimony given at trial at the lower courts. Also, Tarit on Thursday had his lawyer place a Bt100,000 payment with the court intended as compensation for the plaintiff.

It was reported earlier that Tarit sought an out-of-court settlement with Suthep, 69, through mediation by a respected figure in legal circles.

The DSI ex-chief, 60, showed up at the Supreme Court on Chaeng Wattana Road early on Friday morning, over an hour before the court was scheduled to read its verdict at 9am.

The court rejected Tarit’s confession and withdrawal of testimony, explaining that those could not be done at this stage.

Regarding Tarit’s claim that he had reached an out-of-court settlement with Suthep, the court said no accord had been reached through negotiation, as the plaintiff did not want to compromise. The court ordered that the defendant’s Bt100,000 payment returned.

The top court then sentenced Tarit to a year’s imprisonment without suspension. After the verdict, he was accompanied by Corrections Department officials to Bangkok Remand Prison.

In his lawsuit, Suthep claimed that while serving as the DSI chief, Tarit had held press conferences between January 21 and February 4, 2013. Tarit told the media that the former deputy premier had instructed the Royal Thai Police, which was then under his supervision, to limit bidding to only one contractor for the entire country-wide project rather than allow bids for one contractor for each of the 10 regional police bureaux.

Suthep’s lawyer Sawat Charoenpol said on Friday that Tarit had sought an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff, through mediation by many senior figures including former attorney general Kanit Nanakorn.

“But Suthep did not agree to a settlement because he had to consult with his legal team,” the lawyer said.

Key figures of many parties slammed what they said were the many problems this junta-led administration had created over the four years it has been in power. They were in agreement that a change of government was needed.

Most of the parties who spoke up yesterday are linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been living in self-imposed exile overseas since 2008.

On Tuesday, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) partially repealed nine of its previous orders that restricted political activities since the 2014 military coup. The NCPO effectively lifted the ban on political gatherings of five or more and allowed parties to hold meetings and other activities of a political nature.

Veteran politician Chaturon Chaisang said the country had been at a standstill for many years under dictatorship.

“The country is ruled by a leader who lacks maturity and cannot be scrutinised. People have no right to air their sufferings. The leader keeps yelling at them,” he said.

Chaturon, who heads the election strategy committee of Thai Raksa Chart Party, said Thais should no longer tolerate the sufferings inflicted by the junta, which includes the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Also, he said, Thailand needs a democratically elected government if it is to restore international confidence.

“Dictatorship must be replaced with democracy. We cannot change General Prayut’s thoughts, so the only way out is to change the government,” he said. The politician, who recently left the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai Party, claimed his new party knows how to solve the country’s problems.

Chaturon also asked Prayut to state clearly that he will not issue any more orders as junta chief in the run-up to the election that will put a pro-NCPO party at an advantage.

Thai Raksa Chart’s meeting for election candidates was held yesterday at Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi province. Present at the event were the party’s executives and key figures, including its young leader Preechapol Pongpanit.

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, who leads Pheu Thai Party’s election strategy committee, said yesterday that it was time for “people who can work” to run the country.

“Over the past four to five years, people have been suffering and falling under the burden of debt. It is time to allow political parties that can make money to run the country. We don’t want people who can only spend money,” she said.

Sudarat was speaking while meeting constituents in the Northeast province of Si Sa Ket.

Tourism suffering ‘as country is not democratic’

Jatuporn Promphan, a senior figure in Puea Chat Party, which is also linked to Thaksin, said many of the country’s problems have remained unsolved under this junta-led government. Also, Thailand’s bargaining power in the international community has diminished because it is under military rule, he said.

“Tourist arrivals have declined because the country is not democratic,” Jatuporn, who is a red-shirt leader, said.

He also said a free and fair election was necessary to prevent conflict and chaos following the national vote.

“Our country has suffered a lot of damage already. So, all sides should make sacrifices to ensure peace. The election must be held properly so we can get a good and legitimate government,” he said.

Seripisut Temiyavej, leader of Seri Ruam Thai Party, said yesterday that the longer the Prayut government stays in power, the gap between the rich and the poor will become wider.

“This government favours capitalists who get richer and richer, yet ordinary people get poorer,” he said while meeting with voters in Bangkok’s Asok area.

The former national police chief-turned-politician also said it was time for the country to get a democratically elected government. “Whether it is good or bad, at least you can scrutinise it, unlike a dictatorship,” Seripisut said.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that he believed people want to see a better government after the election.

“People also want a better economy and hope honest political parties can implement policy platforms that really benefit the people,” former PM Abhisit said.

Johm’s declared assets include Bt14.4 million in bank deposits, Bt2.1 million in investments and properties valued at Bt4.1 million, according to information made public by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The former Air Force chief declared yearly earnings include Bt1.8 million in wages, Bt1.3 million in NLA remuneration, Bt1.6 million and Bt1.8 million in payments and meeting fees from Thai Airways and Thai Aviation Industries, respectively.

He also reported a bank loan worth Bt1.03 million.

Johm also declared that his wife, Group Captain Koranan, has assets worth Bt7.9 million, including Bt2.6 million in bank deposits, three cars valued at Bt2.3 million in total and properties worth Bt2.9 million. He also reported that his spouse earned Bt853,380 a year and had a bank loan of Bt1.3 million.

Johm served as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Air Force from October 2016 until the end of September this year. He was appointed as a member of the Privy Council in early October.

Like other public-office holders, Johm is required by law to declare his finances, including income, assets and debts to the NACC after assuming office and after leaving office.

Immigration police chief Pol Lt-General Surachet Hakphan confirmed yesterday that Rath Rott Mony, a labour activist, had been extradited on Wednesday at the request of Cambodia.

Mony is accused of helping produce a documentary about sex trafficking in his country, but Cambodian authorities say the film misrepresents the country and can harm its reputation.

The “My Mother Sold Me” documentary, released two months ago, portrays impoverished families in Cambodia who hawk the virginity of their daughters, who are forced to become prostitutes later.

Mony was detained in Bangkok last Friday as he applied for asylum at the Dutch embassy. The immigration chief, however, insists his extradition followed due process.

Surachet said Mony faced an arrest warrant, so he had to be deported, adding that his case is different from that of the Bahraini footballer, who holds a refugee status. The immigration chief was referring to Hakeem al-Araibi, who is being detained in Bangkok and may be extradited to Bahrain.

HRW’s senior researcher said yesterday that the extradition of refugees or those seeking asylum was in violation of international law. Thailand is obliged to protect refugees and asylum seekers, yet the junta government has shown contempt of this obligation, he said.

“Thailand has frequently collaborated with repressive governments to hunt down and send back those who escape wrongful prosecution and abuse in countries like Cambodia and China,” said Sunai. “These cruel acts, which blatantly violate international laws, deserve condemnation in the strongest terms.”

Thailand has previously extradited several asylum seekers despite the risk of them facing abuse in their home countries. In February, the government extradited Sam Sokha, a Cambodian dissident, despite her status as a UN-recognised refugee. She was wanted for allegedly throwing a shoe at a billboard depicting Cambodian PM Hun Sen.