BANGKOK, Thailand – National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kitrat Phanphet has ordered a fact-finding investigation into the handling of former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riewrang, after images showed the suspect smoking while being questioned and without handcuffs.
Pol. Gen. Kitrat said on August 11 that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had called him directly to raise concerns over police procedures following the arrest of Chalong, who is accused of shooting and killing Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation chief Pol. Col. Thongchai Yenprasert.
The prime minister raised several issues, including police procedures during press briefings, the use of restraints on suspects and the decision to allow Chalong to smoke while under police control.
Pol. Gen. Kitrat said he accepted the prime minister’s instructions and had ordered National Police Inspector-General Pol. Gen. Ittipol Atchariyaprasit to establish a committee to examine the facts.
He said the investigation was expected to be completed quickly and stressed that police procedures governing the use of restraints and the handling of suspects had existed for many years.
Pol. Gen. Kitrat said the rules had been in place since the tenure of former national police chief Pol. Gen. Kowit Wattana.
He added that even though Provincial Police Region 1 Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Wattana Yeechin was his senior colleague, there was no reason to feel uncomfortable about the investigation.
“All procedures must follow the law and regulations,” he said, adding that if the investigation found conduct potentially falling under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, the matter would have to be examined carefully.
The police chief also said the prime minister had instructed police to strengthen weapons searches and checkpoints following a series of shooting incidents. He acknowledged that preventing people from carrying firearms was difficult, but said police must combine investigative skills, operational knowledge and intelligence information to identify potential threats and improve public safety.
Meanwhile, Pol. Gen. Kitrat said he had not yet received a report concerning claims that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had provided information to Thai authorities that led police to search the home of the suspect in the Debsirin Nonthaburi school shooting. He said he had assigned deputy national police chiefs Pol. Gen. Thana Chuwong and Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitaneelaboot to oversee the investigation.
The assignments are intended to ensure the case is fully investigated and to identify measures that could help prevent similar incidents in the future. Pol. Gen. Kittirat stressed that Thai police would continue working to protect the public and investigate serious crimes. “Under the sky of Thailand, there is no case that Thai police cannot handle,” he said.
