Phuket’s new top cop makes a stand for human dignity

PHUKET: The incoming commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont, has vowed to better protect the privacy and human dignity of suspects by calling for careful consideration before staging public “re-enactments” of crimes and criminal press conferences.

“I will not order a ban on officers staging such events, but I will ask the superintendents of all police stations across Phuket to carefully consider the implications of staging media stunts,” Gen Ong-art, who yesterday officially began his first day as the island’s top cop, told the Phuket Gazette.

“These media events are not in line with suspects’ rights to privacy as protected under Section 28 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand,” Gen Ong-art told the Gazette.

“We will still work with the media as necessary, but we will not parade alleged criminals around for them,” he said.

— Saran Mitrarat