Bangkok cop gets more than 10 years in jail for fatally hitting doctor in 2022

The police officer had initially been sentenced to just one year and 15 days in prison. However, on Wednesday the court increased the sentence to 10 years and two months in response to an appeal filed by the family of the deceased.

The family said the punishment was too lenient for someone whose job it is to uphold the law.

On January 21, 2022, Pol Lance Corporal Norawit Buadok was riding a red Ducati big bike when he slammed into ophthalmologist Waralak Supawat-Jariyakul as she was crossing the road in front of Bhumirajanagarindra Kidney Institute Hospital on Phya Thai Road.

Waralak was thrown into the air by the impact of the collision and died of her injuries.

Investigators found that Norawit was travelling at 108-128km/hour, well above the speed limit of 80km/hr.

He was charged with reckless driving causing death, speeding, driving a vehicle without a licence plate, not driving in the left lane, not complying with signs (to stop at a zebra crossing), not driving a properly maintained vehicle (no side mirror), driving without paying road tax, driving without insurance and driving without due care for others’ safety.

The Appeals Court said on Wednesday that the punishment given by the lower court was too low for a police officer who broke the law. Hence, it changed the sentence to 10 years for reckless driving causing death, and two months for driving without due care for others’ safety.

Since the defendant confessed to his crimes, the new sentence will be halved to five years. The 4,000-baht fine ordered by the lower court was upheld.

After the verdict, Norawit offered 300,000 baht as a bail guarantee, but the court decided the forward the bail appeal to the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce the decision in the next two to three days. Norawit, meanwhile, will be held at the Bangkok Remand Prison.