Somchai Khunpluem, alternatively spelled Kunplome ( th, สมชาย คุณปลื้ม; 30 September 1937 – 17 June 2019), was a Thai politician, businessman and organized crime boss. He was also known by the nickname ''"Kamnan Poh"'' ( th, กำนันเป๊าะ, " subdistrict headman Poh"). Highly influential in his home province of

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

and the whole eastern region, he was dubbed "godfather of Chonburi" or "godfather of the east" by Thai media. Somchai was long-term mayor of Saen Suk,

Mueang Chonburi District Mueang Chonburi ( th, เมืองชลบุรี, , ) is the capital district ('' amphoe mueang'') of Chonburi province, eastern Thailand. Geography Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Bang Pakong of Chachoengsao province ...

Life, business, and political career

Somchai was born as the son of a village headman, the second of eight siblings. He dropped out of school after grade four and started working as a teenager. He began as a restaurant bus boy before starting his own bus service. After some time as a monk and as a soldier, he became the partner of a French businessman active in the fishing industry in 1963. He married Satil Sancharoen, daughter of a fish trader. Later he expanded to the building sector, establishing his company ''Bang Saen Maha Nakhon''. In 1968, he became headman ("kamnan") of Saen Suk sub-district. He opened a liquor distributorship, and later broadened his economic empire to several other industries. Most profitable were his activities in the construction and real estate sectors. He engaged in illegal activities like smuggling strategic goods during the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

war and the

Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...

. The national government started to develop the eastern seaboard as an industrial region in the 1980s. Somchai became a key intermediary between the central government and multinational and local investors. This spurred the rise of his economic and political influence which he, in turn, used to provide for a further boost of the urban and industrial development of his home province. In 1989, Saen Suk (which includes the much frequented beach resort of Bang Saen) received the status of a municipality and Somchai, as the only candidate, became its first mayor. After the

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

, which Somchai supported, won the national election in 1995 and its leader

Banharn Silpa-archa Banharn Silpa-archa (also spelled ''Banhan'', ''Silapa''-, ''Sinlapa''-, -''acha''; th, บรรหาร ศิลปอาชา, , ; ; 19 August 1932 – 23 April 2016) was a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1995 ...

became prime minister, he was often rewarded with government contracts. The combined assets of the Khunpluem and Sancharoen families were estimated on four billion baht in 2004. Somchai enlisted as a canvasser for the

Social Action Party The Social Action Party ( th, พรรคกิจสังคม, ) was a political party in Thailand. History The Social Action Party was formed by the more liberal members of the Democrat Party in 1974 under the leadership of Kukrit Pramo ...

in the 1970s. He later supported the

Justice Unity Party The Justice Unity Party ( th, พรรคสามัคคีธรรม, ) was a Thai pro-military and conservative political party established after the military coup d'état of 1991. It was founded by Narong Wongwan, who became party chairma ...

(1992), the National Development Party (1992-95) and the

(1995-2001). Without holding a high office, he was considered one of the most influential political figures of Thailand until 2004. Whichever party he supported usually won most of the electoral districts of Chonburi Province. By financially supporting parties and candidates, he controlled up to 20 seats in the Thai

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Murder case

Somchai, together with local councillor Passakorn Homhuan, was charged with the

premeditated murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

of Prayoon Sithichote, headman of a neighbouring sub-district, through hired killers in 2003. They were sentenced to 25 years in jail by the criminal court in June 2004. Pending appeal proceedings, Somchai was set free on terms of a ten million baht bail. The appeals court confirmed the verdict in October 2005. He was also convicted in a

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

case in connection with the construction of a garbage dump, for which he was sentenced to five years and four months in jail. Somchai, however, was absent from the trials, jumped bail and lived in hiding for several years. He was arrested on 30 January 2013 on his way to a hospital in Bangkok's Pattanakarn area.

Family

Somchai was the father of

Sontaya Kunplome Sontaya Kunplome ( th, สนธยา คุณปลื้ม, ; born 10 December 1963) is a Thai politician. He was appointed political advisor to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in April 2018. Later in September 2018, he was appointed Patta ...

, leader of the

Phalang Chon Party The Phalang Chon Party ( th, พรรคพลังชล, Phak Phalang Chon) is a political party in Thailand founded in 2011 based in Chonburi Province. The party's key figure is its "chief adviser" Sontaya Kunplome, former minister of touri ...

, president of

Pattaya United F.C. Pattaya United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลพัทยา ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai football club based in Pattaya, Chonburi Province. Defunct after the 2018 season, the club was renamed to Samut Prakan ...

minister of culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

under

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the Pri ...

and former

tourism minister The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

under

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

, Wittaya Khunpluem, president of

Chonburi F.C. Chonburi Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดชลบุรี) is a Thai professional association football, football club based in the city of Chonburi, Chonburi province, that competes in the top division ...

, chairman of the provincial administrative council of Chonburi and Member of Parliament representing Chonburi,

Itthiphol Khunpluem Itthiphol Khunpluem ( th, อิทธิพล คุณปลื้ม; born 15 December 1973) is a Thai politician. he serves as Minister of Culture in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Early life and education Itthi ...

, mayor of

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

and Narongchai Khunpleum, Mayor of Saensuk Municipality.

Death

Somchai died of colon cancer at Samitivej Chonburi Hospital on 17 June 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khunpluem, Somchai 2019 deaths 1937 births

Somchai Khunpluem Somchai Khunpluem, alternatively spelled Kunplome ( th, สมชาย คุณปลื้ม; 30 September 1937 – 17 June 2019), was a Thai politician, businessman and organized crime boss. He was also known by the nickname ''"Kamnan Poh"'' ( ...