Chuvit hands over ‘donation’ to cops

Former politician turned whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit handed over a problematic 6-million-baht cash donation to Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers yesterday after a high-profile lawyer claimed the money was from shady sources.

Chuvit decided to hand over the money — accepted by CSD’s commander Pol Maj Gen Montri Thetkhan — for investigations into claims made by lawyer Sittra Biabangkerd.

Mr Chuvit had accepted the 6 million baht from an associate of a police inspector who is being investigated in connection with an illegal online gambling network. He said he donated all the money to Siriraj Hospital and Thammasat University Hospital.

However, both public hospitals decided to return donations to Mr Chuvit after it was claimed by Mr Sittra that they came from a shady source.

Before he met with CSD officers, Mr Chuvit showed the media a donation document for the 6 million baht in cash, which included two sets of donation cheques issued by the two public hospitals, amounting to 3 million baht each.

Mr Chuvit said he got the money legally and donating it was a straightforward process while adding that he never used it as a tax refund as some people have claimed.

He explained the time gap between receiving the money and making the donation, saying that since both of the beneficiary hospitals do not accept cash from walk-ins, he needed to make appointments with them in order to make the donations.

He denied an accusation comparing similarities between a plan with his land plots and controversial land plots in Buriram’s Khao Kradong area, which remains the subject of a conflict with the Chidchob family.

He also said that he had met a former media tycoon, Sondhi Limthongkul, and Tanthai Narongkul, CEO of Titan Capital Group, with the help of a higher-ranking police officer with the Thai initials “Chor”, to discuss an online gambling business that Mr Tanthai owned.

He then questioned Mr Sittra on a 300,000-baht “risk factor expense” through the media to determine if it was legitimate.