Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has been caught wearing yet another luxury watch, his 11th, according to a Facebook post.
The wristwatch, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona edition, is worth 554,000 baht, says the CSI LA post, which also gave details of 10 other luxury watches allegedly worn by Gen Prawit in the past.
The Facebook page posted a picture of Gen Prawit wearing the Rolex, which it said was taken from Matichon newspaper published on Jan 16 this year. The picture accompanied a news article on migrant workers.
The 10 other watches worn by Gen Prawit were three Richard Mille, three Rolex, three Patek Philippe and one Audemars Piguet.
The Richard Mille watches are worth between three and four million baht each.
Two of the Patek Philippe cost between 1.5 million baht and 3.1 million baht each.
Apart from the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, Gen Prawit has been pictured sporting three other Rolex watches, the prices of which vary from 800,000 baht to 2.4 million baht each, according to the CSI LA Facebook page.
None of the watches is believed to have been included among the assets declared by Gen Prawit to the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Gen Prawit has so far declined to say whether he has provided details of his luxury watch collection and other extravagant items he was seen wearing to the NACC.
The controversy initially arose after the deputy prime minister was pictured wearing a Richard Mille watch during a group photo session of cabinet ministers at the Government House on Dec 4. Gen Prawit said he would clarify matters to the NACC in writing. It is unclear whether he has done so despite public pressure that the military regime be held to account by the same transparency standards it insists from everyone else.
On Dec 24, Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, said Gen Prawit's case would show whether Thailand is serious about fighting corruption.
