NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand: A Thai soldier's killing of 29 people in a rage over a housing deal involving his superior officer has brought attention to the business dealings of army personnel in a country that just emerged from direct military rule.
Thailand's army chief has promised to investigate and also acknowledged a wider problem of inappropriate business deals involving army officers and their subordinates, vowing to root out the practice.
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READ: Thai army chief tearfully apologises for mass shooting by soldier
The military, which staged its latest coups 2006 and 2014, wields extraordinary power in Thailand and proclaims its discipline to justify repeatedly overthrowing elected governments, but the killings on the weekend put a spotlight on some of its own members' questionable dealings.
Sergeant Major Jakrapanth Thomma was meeting on Saturday (Feb 8) with his commanding officer and the officer's mother-in-law to discuss their dispute when he opened fire, killing both of them. He then drove to his army camp, a Buddhist temple and a shopping mall, gunning people down until security forces killed him on Sunday morning.
Hours before, Jakrapanth had posted on Facebook denouncing people who cheated others to become wealthy.
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"Do they think they can spend the money in hell?" Jakrapanth asked.
READ: Thai soldier who went on deadly shooting rampage killed
READ: One gunman, four locations, 29 dead: How the mass shooting in Thailand unfolded
The military has a long tradition of involvement in business and it has been an open secret that some officers branch out into private business deals.
"It is actually quite common for senior military officers to be involved in real estate, especially in Thailand's rural areas," said Paul Chambers, a politics expert at Naresuan University in northern Thailand.
The military is one of the largest land-holders in some provinces, controlling vast bases that also can be mini-cities unto themselves.
"Many officers tend to want to supplement their meagre salaries with money they can easily make through military power regarding real estate," Chambers said.
Military discipline is regularly extolled by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who launched the last coup in 2014 and last year retained power by leading a pro-army party to victory in an election opposition parties said was engineered to cement army influence.
One prominent opposition group, the Future Forward Party, has openly opposed military influence over politics, arguing for changes in the military-written constitution, an end to conscription and cutting the army budget.
'INJUSTICE'
Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong has said he will set up a direct line for soldiers who feel they are being exploited by superior officers.
"The cause and reason for the perpetrator in this incident were the injustice he received from his commanding officer and relatives," Apirat said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
He also acknowledged wider reports of officers exploiting a system of military housing loans and welfare schemes for personal gain.
"There are cooperation between units and private contractor that lobby for deals," Apirat said.
"I know about this and I want to assure that in the next three months some generals and colonels will lose their jobs," he said.
Details of the deal that enraged Jakrapanth are not clear, but it appears to have involved his purchase of a house, brokered by the mother-in-law of his commanding officer, Colonel Anantharot Krasae.
READ: Families claim their dead as Thais mourn 29 killed in mass shootinRead More – Source
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand: A Thai soldier's killing of 29 people in a rage over a housing deal involving his superior officer has brought attention to the business dealings of army personnel in a country that just emerged from direct military rule.
Thailand's army chief has promised to investigate and also acknowledged a wider problem of inappropriate business deals involving army officers and their subordinates, vowing to root out the practice.
Advertisement
Advertisement
READ: Thai army chief tearfully apologises for mass shooting by soldier
The military, which staged its latest coups 2006 and 2014, wields extraordinary power in Thailand and proclaims its discipline to justify repeatedly overthrowing elected governments, but the killings on the weekend put a spotlight on some of its own members' questionable dealings.
Sergeant Major Jakrapanth Thomma was meeting on Saturday (Feb 8) with his commanding officer and the officer's mother-in-law to discuss their dispute when he opened fire, killing both of them. He then drove to his army camp, a Buddhist temple and a shopping mall, gunning people down until security forces killed him on Sunday morning.
Hours before, Jakrapanth had posted on Facebook denouncing people who cheated others to become wealthy.
Advertisement
Advertisement
"Do they think they can spend the money in hell?" Jakrapanth asked.
READ: Thai soldier who went on deadly shooting rampage killed
READ: One gunman, four locations, 29 dead: How the mass shooting in Thailand unfolded
The military has a long tradition of involvement in business and it has been an open secret that some officers branch out into private business deals.
"It is actually quite common for senior military officers to be involved in real estate, especially in Thailand's rural areas," said Paul Chambers, a politics expert at Naresuan University in northern Thailand.
The military is one of the largest land-holders in some provinces, controlling vast bases that also can be mini-cities unto themselves.
"Many officers tend to want to supplement their meagre salaries with money they can easily make through military power regarding real estate," Chambers said.
Military discipline is regularly extolled by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who launched the last coup in 2014 and last year retained power by leading a pro-army party to victory in an election opposition parties said was engineered to cement army influence.
One prominent opposition group, the Future Forward Party, has openly opposed military influence over politics, arguing for changes in the military-written constitution, an end to conscription and cutting the army budget.
'INJUSTICE'
Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong has said he will set up a direct line for soldiers who feel they are being exploited by superior officers.
"The cause and reason for the perpetrator in this incident were the injustice he received from his commanding officer and relatives," Apirat said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
He also acknowledged wider reports of officers exploiting a system of military housing loans and welfare schemes for personal gain.
"There are cooperation between units and private contractor that lobby for deals," Apirat said.
"I know about this and I want to assure that in the next three months some generals and colonels will lose their jobs," he said.
Details of the deal that enraged Jakrapanth are not clear, but it appears to have involved his purchase of a house, brokered by the mother-in-law of his commanding officer, Colonel Anantharot Krasae.
