Update: Just before 2pm, Gen. Prawit said he is not ready to send a letter to the anti-corruption commission. He refused to take any further questions from reporters.
BANGKOK — Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan will submit a letter Tuesday afternoon to anti-corruption officials clarifying how he obtained a multi-million baht watch and diamond ring that were not declared among his assets upon taking office, according to sources in the Government House.
Aides speaking on condition of anonymity said Prawit is at work but keeping mum about the controversial wristwatch by refusing to answer questions about whether he would claim the pricy items were not his.
Show and Don’t Tell: Gen. Prawit Won’t Explain His Bling Watch to Public
The undeclared objects came to public attention after Prawit, who’s the junta second-in-command, flashed them while shielding his eyes from the sun while taking a group photo for the new cabinet earlier this month.
There was no record that Prawit had declared the objects, including the Richard Mille watch, when he was appointed after the 2014 coup. The least expensive Richard Mille watch available is Bangkok costs about 3 million baht.
On Tuesday, 72-year-old Prawit refused to respond when asked if he would say the watch was a loaner from a business friend and the diamond ring from his mother.
It is unclear when the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which last week gave Pravit 30 days to explain the watch, would make Prawit’s argument public.
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