Five senior Koh Samui police officers transferred over two criminal case investigations

Five senior Koh Samui police officers have reportedly been transferred over two criminal cases on the island. Surat Thani provincial police chief, Sathit Phonphinit, signed the order to transfer the officers pending factual evidence in the two cases. The order was carried out on Wednesday, one day after it was signed.

One of the criminal cases being investigated allegedly involves a Koh Samui police officer, who told an arrested Thai man’s wife that she could have sex with him (the police officer), in order to get her husband released. The woman and her husband, named Chaiwat, submitted a letter to the Justice Ministry on Tuesday, seeking witness protection and justice over the alleged bribe.

The woman says Chaiwat was arrested on August 11 with a trumped-up drug charge that involved accepting one methamphetamine pill from a customer at his business. Chaiwat says a customer who wanted to buy fighting fish from him gave him a meth pill instead of paying for the total amount of the fish in baht. He says the customer said he would be back to swap out the pill with real money after Chaiwat tried to refuse the pill.

Police allegedly arrived at the man’s shop after the customer left and arrested him. But, the man’s wife says a police officer demanded 50,000 baht from her in exchange for the release of her husband, but she did not have the money. The same officer allegedly called the woman into a dark room and tried to persuade her to have sex with him in exchange for her husband’s release. The woman denied the man’s request, with reports noting that the woman allegedly had a recording of the policeman asking her for sex. Thai media also reported that Chaiwat ended up paying 2,000 baht to the police officer and was then released.

The other criminal case that has reportedly seen senior police officers transferred, is that of a current Russian couple on Koh Samui who says they were extorted of US$50,000, or 1.8 million baht in cryptocurrency on September 15. The couple reported the robbery, saying a gang of six foreigners surrounded them at a coffee shop in tambon Taling Ngam demanding money. So far, one of six alleged suspects has been arrested. But, no other information was given as to why this case contributed to senior police officers on the island being transferred.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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