Lawyer Sittha, wife face intense questioning as investigation deepens

Well-known lawyer Sittha Biabungkerd and his wife Pathitta were shifted to a higher floor in the Crime Suppression Division headquarters for further questioning on Friday morning.

Sittha appeared tired, though expressionless, as he glanced at the awaiting reporters at the entrance.

Police restricted the media to outside the building and would not allow any photographs to be taken.

Reports say that once the interrogation is completed, police will escort the pair to the Criminal Court to seek permission to detain them pending further investigation.

Investigators have also decided to oppose their temporary release due to concerns of evidence tampering, flight risk and witness intimidation.

Police have reportedly searched Sittha’s law firm located on the 24th floor of a luxury building in Bangkok’s Sathorn area, but have not revealed their findings.

Pol Maj-General Suwat Sangnum, deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, said both suspects continue denying all charges and have presented detailed explanations to counter all allegations. They had been interrogated for 11 hours as of press time.

The couple were arrested at around noon on Thursday driving down a road in Chachoengsao. Police believe they were heading to Sa Kaew to skip over the border to Cambodia, though the couple insists they were heading to a merit-making ceremony and were not trying to flee.

Meanwhile, Sittha’s lawyer Saiyut Pengboonchu said Sittha had been waiting to be arrested over the embezzlement charges, but nobody came. Suwat responded by saying: “No matter how long he waited, we couldn’t make an arrest without a warrant.”

Police said that the search in Sittha’s two residences went smoothly on Thursday and enough evidence has been seized to establish the suspects’ guilt or innocence. The authorities have also frozen accounts linked to funds received from the victims, while police are coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to seize other assets.

Pol Maj-General Montree Teskhan, chief of the Crime Suppression Division, said police is still gathering evidence to grab a second group of suspects. He added that police is still undecided whether to use Sittha’s close associates as witnesses or suspects. The close associates have been interrogated and relevant evidence gathered.

The arrests were made after Sittha’s former client Jatuporn “Jeh Oy” Ubollert filed a complaint saying the lawyer had stolen the 71 million baht she had sent him to set up an online lottery platform for her.

In the four days of questioning by police, Jatuporn claimed that Sittha had:

Deceived her into paying 71 million baht to invest in an online lottery platform

Deceived her into paying his relatives 39 million baht as reimbursement for what they claimed was the cost of bitcoins allegedly transferred to a Chinese entertainer in payment for a meeting with Jatuporn

Charged 1.5 million baht above the market price for a Mercedes Benz SUV she told Sittha to purchase

Charged almost three times more for hotel design. She reportedly paid 9 million baht for a job that actually cost 3.5 million baht.

Several other victims have also come forward claiming Sittha ripped them off.