Cabinet rejects move to boost DSI list

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Cabinet rejects move to boost DSI list
By PIYANART SRIVALO
THE NATION
2011-03-29

The Cabinet rejected a list of crimes put forward yesterday by the Justice Ministry to be overseen by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

Ministers said certain crimes on the list of 24 could be handled normally by police.
The DSI should only be given jurisdiction to cover crimes when special investigation methods were required, or if crimes involved complicated technology or wrongdoing too complex for the police.

DSI jurisdiction had already imposed several measures that had limited or violated human rights or people's liberty, ministers had reasoned.

The Cabinet ordered the ministry to discuss the issue with the Royal Thai Police before tabling a new draft in a future meeting.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti reportedly reacted strongly to the DSI proposal in the meeting, and his comments were echoed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, despite the fact both he and Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga are Democrat Party members.

The ministers did not discuss details about which crimes on the list of 24 should be overseen by the DSI and which should be overseen by police.

Police had spoken out against the proposal before it went to Cabinet yesterday. They said the DSI was already authorised to probe individual irregular crimes on a case-by-case basis with approval from its executive board while a large number of police assisted many DSI investigations that DSI agents weren't good at.

"The additional crimes would likely result in even longer delays on top of unfinished DSI works," police officers said, in a written statement.

Among the 24 crimes on the list were "white collar" crimes relating to insurance fraud, futures commodity trading and business operations of "alien residents". Others related to the exploitation of natural resources, endangered animals and plant species, forest encroachment and land acquisition, crimes relating to narcotics, food and drugs, and consumer protection.

Additional measures were also proposed to existing laws to fight terrorism, passport forgery, drug dealing, cyber crimes, human trafficking and prostitution.