Police investigate claims that officer accidentally killed a man in extortion attempt

The Royal Thai Police are looking into a report that claims a police officer from the northern Thai province Nakhon Sawan accidentally killed a suspect while the officer was attempting to extort the suspect for 2 million baht.

The investigation came about after celebrity lawyer Decha Kittiwittayanan publicised the claim on Facebook. Decha’s post stated the case starts with the arrests of a man and a woman over drug offences. The lawyer says the officers pressured the twosome into paying 1 million baht to be released, but the police colonel demanded they pay double.

While the police and the suspects negotiated over the price of release, an officer allegedly put a plastic bag over the man’s head in order to intimidate him. The man then suffocated to death, the lawyer claims.

As the man’s body was taken to the hospital for examination, the colonel told officers to report the cause of death as a drug overdose, the lawyer claims. The woman was then released from police custody, reportedly as a quid pro quo for staying silent. Decha says an official who witnessed the alleged extortion and subsequent killing decided to file a complaint.

Police inspector general Visanu Prasattongosoth responded to the complaint by saying that national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk has ordered the investigation expedited as the incident has harmed the police’s credibility.

Visanu adds that inspector Chettha Komolwanna has been tasked with overseeing the investigation. The Muang Nakhon Sawan police superintendent has also been called in to help the investigation.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post