The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has pressed formal charges against Maj Gen Jennarong "Seh James" Dechawan and four other suspects for the alleged extortion of street vendors in Patpong.
Maj Gen Jennarong 'Seh James' Dechawan. Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
The 55-year-old military specialist, attached to the office of the permanent secretary for defence, was taken by officers from the Judge Advocate General's Department to acknowledge the charges at the CSD yesterday.
Police accuse him of using threatening "gangster-style" behaviour, extorting money and taking bribes.
The same charges were also lodged against Panthong Siriwan, 40, Nongnut Sitthirat, 44, Chanthima Chotikittikasem, 44 and Surat Phumphuang, 46.
Police officers later took all five suspects to the Bangkok South Criminal Court and sought permission to detain them for 12 days pending further investigations.
Prior to the court hearing, the senior military officer had been detained at the 2nd Cavalry Division for seven days, while the four other suspects were remanded in police custody at the CSD.
The suspects were each granted 250,000 baht bail yesterday, according to deputy CSD chief Pol Col Prasopchok Phrommun.
They were arrested last Wednesday while being allegedly caught in the act of receiving cash from a group of vendors in the lobby of a Bangkok hotel.
The authorities have gathered evidence to back the charges, including 27,000 baht cash, photocopies of banknotes recovered from the sting operation which led to the arrests, an account book, and a hard disk containing CCTV footage from the hotel.
Maj Gen Jennarong has denied any involvement in the alleged extortion. However, he apologised to the army yesterday for dragging the force's name through the mud.
"The accusation against me has blemished the army's image," he told reporters, adding he is ready to defend himself in court.
He insisted he had wanted to help Patpong vendors after receiving complaints about problems with mafia-style figures in the area.
Maj Gen Jennarong said he had been looking into the complaints since June and was helping tackle the issues step-by-step.
He said he started by meeting a senior figure from the Royal Thai Police and talked to local officers working in the area to gather information about the "protection fees" vendors claimed they were forced to pay to gangsters.
He said he encouraged vendors to work together to manage their area, but ended up being accused of wrongdoing.
"This [extortion] can happen anywhere in the country. The question is who dares step up to solve it," Maj Gen Jennarong said. "What we did was an attempt to remove the mafia."
Maj Gen Jennarong has refused to disclose the names of alleged mafia figures in Patpong. "Let vendors tell police themselves," he said.
He was greeted by about 50 vendors at the CSD yesterday.
Some gave him flowers while others raised placards defending him and which stated that he was not involved in any extortion.