Hugh Paxton’s Blog regards the Philippines Supreme Court chief justice as a complete disappointment when it comes to clownishly hiding money. Renato Corona (who has been fired) failed to declare US$2.4 million and being a legal expert sort of criminal cited a 1974 law involving bank privacy as his excuse.
How dull!
Corona should take a leaf out of Thailand’s former permanent secretary for transport, and make a properly serious horse’s arse out of himself. OK, Supoj Saplom did go the Corona bank account way and a very large number of his bank accounts are currently being scrutinised. But Supoj didn’t leave it just to banks to hide his ill-gotten gains. He opted to stick quite a lot of them under his mattress and into his cupboards and on the bedroom floor.
Disaster struck in the form of burglars who broke in to his house last November. The criminals were appalled. There was just too much money everywhere. They couldn’t carry it all and had foolishly neglected to bring a fleet of Mac trucks.
They stuffed their sacks, their pockets, and fled heavily laden and in some cases destined for arrest.
Supoj must be regretting his response to the intrusion. He phoned the police.
He told them that he had lost five million baht in cash.
The police responded promptly and efficiently.
Not every burglar was caught. But arrests were made. Supoj must be regretting these arrests.
18 million baht and a significant weight of gold was found in the possession of the culprits and they explained to investigators that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Claims that a billion baht were in the house I find hard to believe. It would have taken them a week to count that lot. But there seems little reason to doubt that Supoj had feathered his nest to an extravagant degree.
Renato Corona with his legal background fled for inadequate refuge in a banking privacy law. Supoj opted for the wedding present strategy. The money was for his daughter who was getting married (while he was being burgled).
Convincing?
You decide.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has made its own mind up. Supoj the NACC suggests has ‘unusual wealth’. At least for the time being. All the gold and 17.5 million baht are destined for the state, his bank accounts and other investments are coming under painful scrutiny and his wife’s Volkswagen Caravelle has just been confiscated. Supoj claimed that it was on loan from a food packaging magnate who wanted his wife “to drive in a vehicle befitting her status”.
The Corona story has been described as a Manila soap opera and it has certainly kept millions of Filipinos entertained. This Supoj thing is becoming more of a farcical saga of Wagnerian opera length. The NACC is “widening its probe” and the deeper the probing, the lamer and more desperately creative the excuses are likely to be. A lot of business interests are involved.
Supoj has been given 15 days to explain where the tens of millions of baht in his numerous bank deposits have come from. This isn’t the beginning of the end and probably won’t be the end of the beginning.
Hugh Paxton’s Blog will keep you posted!
Cheers!
Hugh
Thai Days: Dope of the Day Awards – Rolex watches
May 30, 2012Hugh Paxton’s Blog is awarding two of its prestigious Dope of the Day awards in this post. This blog’s acknowledement of human stupidity goes firstly to Lady Gaga. Prior to her arrival in Thailand she twittered witlessly that she was looking forward to buying a fake Rolex in Bangkok. Probably a joke. As somebody who depends on international intellectual Property rights and laws for her income the tweet was rather dumb. She has given the fake Rolex watch vendors a much appreciated publicity boost and while shoppers are there they will no doubt be filling their fake Louis Vuitton bags with Gaga bootlegs. So yes, Gaga is Dope of the Day number one.
Dope number two is the Thai Department of Intellectual Property (DIP). They submitted a letter of protest to the US embassy vis a vis Gaga and fake Rolexes in Bangkok. What the embassy staff are expected to do is unclear. Arrest her? Phone her and say she’s annoyed some people? Inspect her luggage for Rolex watches made in Shanghai?
Obama has yet to announce a policy decision. But the DIP move has made the papers, the scandal rags, the TV and it even earned an editorial in today’s Bangkok Post. The Post notes that if everybody had ignored Gaga’s tweet the thing would have died the 24 hour media interest death and moved on to other issues.
As it is, the thing isn’t dead. And like Gaga the DIP have provided free advertising for every spiv in the city.
The Bangkok Post editorial states “a search on Google for “fake Rolex Thailand” excluding the Lady Gaga mentions finds 598,000 mentions.”
It then goes on to describe how Youtube can help you find a fake Rolex. I guess it’s not just Gaga and the DIP who are helping the fake trade. The media’s doing it, too, by reporting it and come to think of it I’m currently participating in making the problem worse by writing this. But for the record, Gaga started it and the DIP dopes gave it life.
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Tags:Bangkok fake Rolex, Intellectual Propert Rights, Lady Gaga fake Rolex comment
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