Police in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo insist that “stress and anxiety” killed a suspect in their custody who just happened to have ties to a high-ranking police figure suspected of being a criminal mastermind.
Pakphoom “New” Saengnil had been arrested on suspicion of laundering money through the operation of dozens of online gambling sites when he was found dead in a cell Monday. He was known as the right-hand man of a senior police official very publicly outed as beyond corrupt by a famous pimp-politician-loudmouth. The police said his death was a suicide.
Pakphoom was a nasty piece of work, according to additional allegations which have emerged. He has also been accused of plying a couple with drugs in March at a residence in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao area until they lost consciousness. The 25-year-old man died while his 25-year-old partner awoke to find she had been sexually assaulted.
Achiraya Ruangrattanapong, chairman of the Crime Victims Assistance Club, told reporters that the crime took place in a rented house, adding that Pakphoom was arrested Sunday night after the Department of Special investigation obtained a warrant and took him into custody.
However, officers at the Khlong Luek Police Station said that while preparations were being made to transfer him to Bangkok, Pakphoom hanged himself in the detention room with a blanket. They said killed himself out of stress.
Phakphoom’s death, Achiraya added, closes off any hope for justice or compensation for the female survivor.
Phakpoom is accused of operating 27 gambling websites based just across the border in Poipet, Cambodia. He was known as a trusted aide to Lt. Col. Wasawat Mukrasakul, known in the media as Inspector Sua, who former politician Chuwit Kamolvisit had railed publicly against as being deeply corrupt, at least until he accepted – in his own words – THB6 million (US$178,000) from Wasawat to stop. Earlier this month he changed that story, saying the money was a gift from an old buddy.
Wasawat was nonetheless suspended from duty after Chuwit laid out a case that he owned multiple companies and businesses that served as a front for his illicit operations. More of the usual eyebrow-raising details soon emerged, such as Wasawat’s ownership of a costly supercar on a THB32,000 (US$950) monthly cop salary.
In April, police raided various locations, including four in Bangkok, and made multiple arrests of other suspects believed to be part of the network.
Human rights advocates have long complained of Thailand’s unusually high rate of deaths in police and military custody.
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