Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant arrested for suspected murder

Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant colonel Banyin Tangpakorn was arrested this morning, along with two other people, in the central province of Nakhon Sawan. Police believe the three were involved in the disappearance of the brother of a senior Criminal Court judge. Banyin is a former MP for Nakhon Sawan, of the now-defunct Palang Prachachon party. The arrest comes after police received a tip implicating him in the disappearance.

Police say the judge’s brother, whose name has been withheld, was kidnapped by a group of men on February 4 and forced into a taxi. The incident took place in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court between 4 and 5pm. The victim has not been seen since and is believed to have been murdered.

One of the suspects allegedly said the brother had indeed been murdered and his body dumped into a river in Nakhon Sawan. A team of divers is to be deployed to search the spot where the body was reportedly dumped.

According to authorities, CCTV footage taken from in front of the court shows Banyin among the alleged abductors. It’s alleged that Banyin later called the victim’s younger brother, the judge, demanding he be acquitted in an ongoing case in a case the judge was handling.

In the case, Banyin was charged with falsifying documents and using the fake documents in the transfer to himself of about 300 million baht in shares belonging to Chuwong sae Tang, a wealthy construction contractor. Chuwong was later found dead in a suspicious road accident, in the company of Banyin.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court is due to hand down a verdict in the share transfer case on March 20.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World| Bangkok Post