Deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn on Tuesday withdrew his complaint against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for suspending him, according to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)

The NACC said Pol Gen Surachate did not go into details about the reasons for dropping the complaint.

Surachate, 53, also known as “Big Joke”, is suspected of involvement in a money-laundering case. On Monday, he filed a complaint with the NACC, claiming the PM's decision to suspend him had affected his chances of becoming the next national police chief.

Earlier, Pichit Chuenban, an adviser to the prime minister, had defended Mr Srettha after Surachate accused the PM of malfeasance for ordering his suspension.

Mr Pichit said the prime minister is a busy person and does not have time to treat anyone with malicious intent.

In a related development, lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd held a press conference to discuss the cases of Surachate and police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol. Both are accused of being involved in a money-laundering case linked to online gambling by Mr Sittra last month.

He said the police seemed incompetent when it came to tracking the financial transactions involving the two officers.

Surachate was seen as a contender for the chief’s post last year but it went instead to Torsak, whose brother is the head of the Crown Property Bureau. The two men have been feuding ever since. Last month Mr Srettha shifted the pair to inactive posts in the PM’s office.

A committee set up by the prime minister to look into the Surachate-Torsak affair said recently that it had found there were grounds to the allegation that Surachate was involved in money laundering.