Nakhon Sawan cop to face perjury charges over suspect’s death
Perjury charges will be filed against former Nakhon Sawan Police Station chief, Pol Colonel Thitisan Uthanapol, after his statement about the death of a drug suspect was found to be in contradiction of the evidence and autopsy results, deputy National Police chief Pol General Suchart Theerasawat said on Wednesday.
Suchart said this while reporting investigation results to the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Human Rights.
Police have faced allegations of human rights violations after a video clip was shared on social media showing Thitisan suffocating a drug suspect with plastic bags.
Later, other officers from the station filed complaints against their chief alleging that he demanded 2 million baht from two drug suspects – a man and a woman – on August 5 before suffocating the man with plastic bags. He then allegedly ordered the doctor to put the case down as a drug overdose and told the woman to stay quiet before releasing her.
“Thitisan told the hospital that the male suspect had died while being arrested after a sting operation,” Suchart said. “However, it has been proven that the suspect died from being suffocated with layers of plastic bags during interrogation. There is also evidence of resuscitation techniques being applied to the suspect’s body before it was sent to hospital.
“As for the demand for 2 million baht, the father and girlfriend of the deceased have seen no evidence of Thitisan demanding the money,” Suchart added.
The public prosecutor said on Tuesday that autopsy results and CCTV footage confirmed that the death was caused by suffocation, not overdose as claimed by Thitisan.
“Layers of plastic bags were tightly twisted around the victim’s neck for more than six minutes. Though the victim’s blood has shown traces of drugs, covering anybody’s head in such a manner can be fatal,” said Sophong Yenkaew, deputy chief of Region 6 Public Prosecutor Office.