Prosecutor says Nakhon Sawan district police intended to kill the drug suspect
The head of a regional prosecutor’s office is claiming the now-ousted Nakhon Sawan district police superintendent intended to kill the drug suspect. Video footage of the interrogation early last month shows the suspect with a plastic bag over his head. A recently released autopsy report says the man died from suffocation, but police earlier wrote off the cause of death as a methamphetamine overdose.
Former station chief, Thitisan Utthanaphon, known as “Joe Ferrari” for his collection of luxury cars, is accused of demanding a 2 million baht bribe from two drug suspects before using plastic bags to suffocate the 24 year old man to death during an interrogation on August 5, according to complaints filed against the ex-cop. The other suspect was allegedly ordered to stay quiet in exchange for her freedom. Thitisan was fired on August 25 and arrested the following day.
Deputy chief of the Region 6 Public Prosecutor’s Office, Somphong Yenkaew, says the death was not an accident. He says that the prosecutor and investigation officers also agreed that Thitisan and the six other officers involved intended to kill the suspect.
“The victim’s head was covered with six layers of plastic bags, with the innermost layer clinging tightly to his face and therefore restricting his airway… Moreover, the victim’s head was forced in a downward position, then he was pinned to the ground, which made breathing even harder… CCTV footage revealed that the layers of plastic were tightly twisted around the victim’s neck for more than six minutes.”
Somphong says Thitisan claimed he was trying to get the suspect to reveal information. He says that reason is “inadmissible.”
“Please rest assured that the prosecutor will investigate this case carefully step by step, which should be completed in a timely manner.”
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
