David Rising
The Associated Press Staff
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Three of five police officers who are accused of jointly murdering a suspect are brought to Nakhon Sawan Provincial Court to request a remand in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Surat Sappakun)
BANGKOK -- A Thai police colonel known as “Jo Ferrari” due to his collection of fine cars, who was wanted on suspicion of involvement in the death of a detained drug dealer who was allegedly being shaken down for cash, turned himself in on Thursday amid a nationwide manhunt.
Police officials said Col. Thitisan Utthanaphon turned himself in at a police station in Saen Suk, a coastal village southeast of Bangkok. Another suspect, Lt. Thoranin Matwanna, was apprehended in a town southwest of the capital.
“I apologize that this has happened,” National Police Chief Suwat Janyodsuk told reporters at a news conference late Thursday. “We never release anyone who did wrong without punishment.”
He said little more about the case, but gave the apprehended colonel an opportunity to address reporters by telephone and answer questions.
Thitisan defended his actions, denying any part in a shakedown and insisting he was attempting to get information from the drug dealer about where he had stashed his main supply of methamphetamine.
“Since I've been in the police I have never been involved in corruption,” the colonel said. “I did not have any intention to kill him. I just wanted to do my work.”
Thai media have reported that Thitisan had a collection of 29 luxury automobiles worth more than 100 million baht ($3 million), some of which he kept at a home in Bangkok worth about 60 million baht ($1.8 million).
One of the cars found at the house, a yellow Lamborghini, was purchased by Thitisan from a car company that was involved in a tax evasion investigation two years ago, the police Department of Special Investigation said. Thitisan was not charged in that case.
Police on Thursday did not immediately say what charges Thitisan is being held on.
Earlier in the day, five other suspects, including a major and a captain, were brought before a judge who ordered them held without bail on charges of dereliction of duty, torture and murder.
Thitisan, who was chief of the station in Nakhon Sawan province, disappeared shortly before a video surfaced on social media that appears to show him directing the deadly assault on the suspect.
Police started investigating the case only after a well-known lawyer, Decha Kittiwittayanan, published an account of it on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Decha said he had received a complaint from a junior policeman in Nakhon Sawan who said that police had arrested two drug suspects, the 24-year-old man and his female companion, with more than 100,000 methamphetamine tablets.
The policemen first demanded 1 million baht ($30,560) from the suspects, which they agreed to pay for their release, according to the account. But then Thitisan demanded double that amount and ordered his subordinates to cover the male suspect's head with a plastic bag and beat him until he agreed, said the junior policeman, whose name was not revealed.
When the suspect died, Thitisan allegedly ordered his men to take the body to the hospital and tell the doctor the death was caused by a drug overdose. The junior policeman said the woman was released but told not to say anything about it, and that Thitisan paid the victim's father to remain silent.
The initial police response to the furor over the story posted by the lawyer was to transfer Thitisan to another post.
On Tuesday, however, a video clip of the incident was shared on the Facebook page of another lawyer, Sittra Biabanggerd, who said he had received it from a police officer at the Nakhon Sawan station where all but one of the suspects worked.
It shows the male suspect in handcuffs being led into a room, his head covered with a black plastic bag.
He is then assaulted and thrown to the floor by officers who put more bags on his head. One of them appears to briefly kneel on him until he goes limp.
Allegations of police brutality and corruption are not uncommon in Thailand, and Human Rights Watch called Thursday for a transparent, outside investigation.
“A prosecution fully independent of the Thai police is needed if there is any hope of justice,” said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.
“Successive Thai governments have a long history of failing to ensure accountability for even the most ghastly police abuses against people in custody,” he said.
Associated Press reporters Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Thai police chief accused of killing suspect in custody is arrested
Manhunt for Thitisan Utthanaphon followed allegation he tortured suspect to death to extort money
Thitisan Utthanaphon (left) at a press conference at which he admitted
using violence during interrogation, but said he had been trying to obtain information. Photograph: Royal Thai Police Handout/EPA
Ryn Jirenuwat and Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok
Thu 26 Aug 2021
A Thai police chief accused of torturing and killing a suspected drug dealer while in custody, allegedly in an attempt to extort tens of thousands of pounds, has been arrested following a manhunt.
Thitisan Utthanaphon, 39, who has been removed from his position as superintendent of Muang police station in Nakhon Sawan, north of Bangkok, is accused of trying to extract 2m baht (£44,463) from the suspect. He disappeared days before a video of the incident went viral on social media, but was detained by police on Thursday.
The woman on a mission to expose torture in Thailand’s troubled south
As police searched Thitisan’s home this week, Thai media showed footage of his vast, luxury estate, including a collection of expensive sports cars. He reportedly owns 29 cars worth more than 100m baht (£2.2m), which have earned him the nickname “Jo Ferrari”.
At a press conference held after his arrest, Thitisan, who was dialled in to speak to media, admitted using violence during the interrogation but said he had only been trying to obtain information about potential criminal activities. “I must testify that I didn’t have any intention to kill him. My intention was to work, to work for the people, and prevent people’s children from getting addicted to drugs,” he said.
Kissana Phathanacharoen, deputy spokesperson for Royal Thai police, said two other officers had been arrested on Thursday in relation to the case, and that a further five were arrested on Wednesday. “Disciplinary actions have also been taken against those seven police officers,” he said.
In his comment, Thitisan said: “For my subordinates, I take all responsibly [for what they did] because I ordered them. They have nothing to do with this. They tried to stop me. I take all the responsibility.”
He denied suggestions that he had been trying to extort money, stating: “We did it because it is for our job. Money isn’t involved.” He added: “Never once in my police life I have ever been corrupted.”
A recording of the interrogation shows an officer placing multiple plastic bags over the head of a handcuffed man. The man is then pushed to the floor. Police later try to revive him by carrying out CPR and pouring water on his face, but are not successful.
The man has been named by Thai media as Jeerapong Thanapat.
When Jeerapong died, Thitisan allegedly ordered officers to tell doctors the death was caused by a drug overdose, according to an account of the incident posted on Facebook by a prominent lawyer, Decha Kittiwittayanan, who said he had been contacted by intermediaries for at least one anonymous whistleblower.
The officers had tried to report the incident internally, Decha told Thai media, but no action was taken. They shared their accounts with him because they wanted the story to be made public and forwarded to the national police commissioner, he said. “They made complaints to various places. They made complaints to local media, few [well known] Facebook pages, and supervisors but nothing was done,” he said.
Footage was also sent to a different lawyer, reportedly by a junior officer who wanted the matter investigated. It was shared widely on social media, prompting public outrage and calls for reform.
Thai police already face growing criticism over its use of force, including rubber bullets, to control recent anti-establishment demonstrators in Bangkok. The response to recent protests has been disproportionate, according to rights groups, who also warn the case involving Jeerapong is far from isolated.
“This is not the first death in custody in this country. It is just one that has been caught on camera,” said Pornpen Kongkachonkiet, director of Cross Cultural Foundation, a human rights group.
“Trust in the police among the public is at rock bottom. This is yet another reminder of the urgent need for an end to police impunity and for the police force to demonstrate to the public – who pays their salaries – that they work for them,” Pornpen said.
Human Rights Watch has said the case should be a wake-up call for Thai police, and that an independent investigation was needed. “Successive Thai governments have a long history of failing to ensure accountability for even the most ghastly police abuses against people in custody,” said Brad Adams, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
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