Injured activist well enough to make statement

THALANG: Environmental activist Siripoj Cheechang, severely injured in what appeared to be an assassination attempt on October 4, was yesterday well enough to make a full statement to officers investigating the incident. But investigators are having trouble getting witnesses to come forward, and have had to resort to issuing subpoenas to force them to make statements. K. Siripoj, who is a member of the Pa Khlok Tambon Council, had been campaigning to stop the operation of a 600-rai prawn farm in a protected mangrove forest. He was knocked off his motorbike by a pick-up truck whose driver, it is alleged, then turned the vehicle around and ran over him. Witcharn Busapawanit, Chief Officer of Thalang District, said today that K. Siripoj had not been well enough to make a statement before yesterday. He added that until the witnesses come in for questioning, the police would be unable to move the investigation forward. Asked why the case was moving so slowly, the Governor of Phuket, Pongpayome Vasaputi, told reporters, “There is no question of the police going slow on the investigation. “They have been waiting for K. Siripoj to recover enough to give evidence. And until the witnesses show up, the investigators don’t have enough evidence to put together a case [that can be forwarded to the Provincial Prosecutor].” Meanwhile, the driver of the pick-up, Buncha Noppawong, from Songkhla, remains in custody, charged with reckless driving and attempted murder.