Surachate Hakparn, known as Big Joke, is a former Thai police officer who held the office of deputy national police chief of Thailand.
13 Facts About Surachate Hakparn
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Surachate Hakparn has been dismissed by royal command over alleged links to an illegal online gambling operation.
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Surachate Hakparn previously served as the chief of Immigration Bureau of Thailand.
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Surachate Hakparn had held several posts, including commissioner of the MPB, or Tourist Police Bureau.
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Surachate Hakparn's father was a junior police officer who had close ties to Samer Damapong, a former deputy police chief.
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Surachate Hakparn enrolled in Class 31 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.
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Since leading a crackdown on foreigners illegally staying in Thailand in 2017, Surachate Hakparn has become one of the most visible faces of the Royal Thai Police.
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Surachate Hakparn's handling of the case of a Saudi woman who narrowly avoided deportation from Thailand on her way to Australia earned him praise.
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Surachate Hakparn was then appointed commander of the Tourist Police Division and the Patrol and Special Operations Division.
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Surachate Hakparn was appointed as the chief of the Immigration Bureau in September 2018 and removed from his post in 2019 for unclear reasons.
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Surachate Hakparn was reappointed to the Royal Thai Police in an advisory position by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in March 2021.
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Surachate Hakparn was suspended from the post of deputy national police chief over a conflict with national police chief Torsak Sukvimol in March 2024 by Thai prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, but reinstated in April.
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Surachate Hakparn was again suspended from the police force a day later along with four other police officers over alleged links to an illegal online gambling operation.