"[3] Upon appointment to chair AoT and TOT, he purged the management, initiated investigations into the overthrown government, and donated 200 million baht of the agency's funds to the Army.
Saprang was considered one of the top contenders to lead the army and the junta after CNS leader Sonthi Boonyaratkalin's mandatory retirement in 2007.
[4] However, in September 2007 he was demoted to be Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Defense Ministry, while his rival, General Anupong Paochinda, was promoted to lead the Army.
[7] Saprang started his military career in 1969 as rifle platoon leader in the 3rd Infantry Battalion, 4th Regimental Combat Team.
In April 1997, Saprang was shortly transferred to the Ministry of Defense as a staff officer, before being promoted in October 1997 to Commanding General of the 15th Infantry Division, at the time stationed in Pran Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.
General Pongsak had been criticized for ineffectually fighting the South Thailand insurgency after 39 successful arson attacks occurred in just one night.
[11] In a surprise to many observers, Saprang was promoted to 3rd Army Area Commander in October 2005, headquartered in Phitsanulok and responsible for most of northern and northeastern Thailand.
Coup planning occurred prior to the April 2006 elections, during Thaksin's controversial sale of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings and the peak of the People's Alliance for Democracy's campaign to oust the government.
[4] Saprang played a key role on the evening of 19 September 2006, securing Thaksin's home town and power base of Chiang Mai.
On 27 December 2006, it was revealed that the Thai Cabinet had approved over half a billion baht worth of funding for a 14,000-man secret, anti-protest, special operations force, of which General Saprang was the commander.
[19] Saprang's first move as TOT Chairman was to hand-pick three Army colonels and vocal Thaksin-critic Vuthiphong Priebjrivat to sit on the state enterprise's board of directors.
"[16] The junta had earlier announced plans to cancel the initial public offering of both TOT and CAT Telecom and to merge the two state enterprises.
[23][24] Under Saprang's leadership, TOT reaffirmed its ownership rights to all existing backbone telecommunications networks under a new strategy to act as a "genuine" national telecom company.
Karun Chandrarangsu, president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand noted, "Suvarnabhumi is like a patient in a coma who continues to suffer from severe bleeding.
"[40] The Engineering Institute of Thailand sent a formal warning to AoT in November 2006 about the urgent need to drain water from beneath the tarmac and noted that immediate action should be taken.
[41] The airport faced ongoing operational challenges, including a computer virus that shut down the automated luggage bomb-scanning system in June 2007.
[42] A study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released in July 2007 found the airport unsafe, citing numerous spots where checked passengers can meet people who have not passed through security checkpoints.
[44][45][46] On Tuesday 27 February 2007, Saprang led a 13-member delegation to Europe, on what was claimed to be a week-long trip to study safety and security measures at major European airports.
[52] In the first quarter after Saprang was appointed chairman, AoT profits plunged 90 percent compared to the previous year, despite higher traffic volumes and increased passenger service charters and airline fees.
Operating expenses surged 137 percent, contributing to the AoT's worst quarterly earnings report since it was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The fall in profit was attributed to AoT's court case against King Power, the operator of duty-free shops within Suvarnabhumi Airport.
"[8] Saprang also suspected that Oliver Jufer, a Swiss man who was jailed for lèse majesté for spraying paint on a portrait of the image of King Bhumibol, was hired by somebody to perform his vandalism.
[59] Saprang claimed that "the evidence and intelligence information proves that the bombs were the dirty work of politicians who lost power and benefits.
[62][63] In May 2007, Saprang claimed that he had information regarding the seizure of an instructional manual on terrorism in Bangkok from a London apartment by English soldiers and police.
The Bangkok Post reported that Pridiyathorn resigned in protest after a CNS member lobbied him to sell shares of IRPC (formerly known as Thai Petrochemical Industry) back to a former shareholder.
In an interview with Thai Rath (Thailand's most popular newspaper) on 8 April 2007, he called an unspecified enemy a "mad dog" who he claimed was destroying the monarchy.
[70] Saprang was considered a strong contender to lead the junta given the mandatory retirement of Army commander-in-chief and CNS President Sonthi Boonyaratkalin in September 2007.
The Bangkok Post reported in October 2006 that Sonthi was grooming Anupong to be his successor by giving him responsibilities over coup logistics, a greater task than had been assigned to Saprang.
"[62] In an interview, Saprang warned that "the three pillars of society - the nation, the religion and the monarchy - might crumble...If rogue politicians return to power following the next [post coup] general election.
[73] Panitan Wattanayagorn, a military scholar at Chulalongkorn University and a personal adviser to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont noted in early September 2007 that "if the army is going to take a full step into politics, then it will be Saprang.