Surachate Hakparn
สุรเชษฐ์ หักพาล
Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police
Assumed office
1 October 2022
Personal details
Born (1970-10-29) 29 October 1970
Songkhla, Thailand
SpouseSirinadda Hakparn
EducationEastern Asia University
Alma materArmed Forces Academies Preparatory School
Royal Police Cadet Academy
Mahidol University
Military service
Allegiance Thailand
Branch/serviceRoyal Thai Police
Years of service1994 – 2019
2021 – Current
Rank Police General

Police General Surachate Hakparn (Thai: สุรเชษฐ์ หักพาล; born on 29 October 1970), nicknamed Big Joke, is a Thai police officer and current deputy national police chief of Thailand.[1] He previously served as the chief of Immigration Bureau of Thailand. He had held several posts, including commissioner of the MPB, or Tourist Police Bureau.[2][3][4]

Early life

Surachate Hakparn was born in 1970 in Songkhla. His father was a junior police officer who had close ties to Samer Damapong, a former deputy police chief.[5]

Career

He enrolled in Class 31 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School. Afterwards, he joined Class 41 of the Royal Police Cadet Academy (RPCA). A rising star among RPCA Class 41 alumni, Surachate rose quickly through the ranks. After being appointed deputy inspector at age 24 in Chiang Mai province, he rose to inspector in 2000 at age 30, deputy superintendent in 2004, and superintendent in 2008.[5]

In 2012, he was appointed the deputy commander of Songkhla Police Force. During this time, he also led a forward command overseeing four insurgency-hit border districts, which added to his service record. In 2015, he was promoted to the rank of police major general.[5]

Since leading a crackdown on foreigners illegally staying in Thailand in 2017, Surachate has become one of the most visible faces of the Royal Thai Police. His handling of the case of a Saudi woman who narrowly avoided deportation from Thailand on her way to Australia earned him praise.[5]

In a short period of time, he rose through the ranks and became an acting commander of the office of the Commissioner General, where he was responsible for policy coordination with the prime minister. After that, he was appointed deputy commander of the Patrol and Special Operations Division, and then he was promoted to the position of chief of the Office of the Commissioner-General.[6]

After that, he was appointed the deputy commander of the Patrol and Special Operations Division, and then he was promoted to the position of chief of the Office of the Commissioner-General. He was then appointed commander of the Tourist Police Division and the Patrol and Special Operations Division. In August 2018, he was named assistant spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.[7] He was appointed as the chief of the Immigration Bureau in September 2018 and removed from his post in 2019 for unclear reasons. As chief of the Immigration Bureau, he frequently appeared in news headlines.[8]

On 17 March 2019, he was appointed the Royal Thai Police's special adviser on strategy (Level 9) by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The position was newly created in February and is equal in rank to an assistant police chief position.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "'Big Joke' faces down critics". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  2. ↑ Nation, The (2019-04-09). "A mysterious fall from grace". nationthailand. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  3. ↑ Connor, Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' (2022-11-14). "Net widens on Chinese money gangs, top policeman warns of powerful financial interests". Thai Examiner. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  4. ↑ "No joke: Surachate is back with all his rights intact". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The curious career of Surachate Hakparn, Thailand's resurrected police star". www.thaipbsworld.com. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  6. ↑ "ผบ.ตร. ลงนามย้าย พล.ต.ท. สุรเชษฐ์ ขาดจากผู้บัญชาการ สตม. แล้ว มีผลทันที". THE STANDARD (in Thai). 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  7. ↑ "'Big Joke' tipped to be immigration chief". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  8. ↑ Writer, Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff (2019-04-06). "Immigration Chief Transferred to Inactive Post". Khaosod English. Retrieved 2022-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "'Big Joke' gets new position at police HQ". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
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