Senior Justice Ministry official to be questioned in Jomsap probe
The deputy permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry, Pol Colonel Dusadee Arayawuth, is among the officials expected to be questioned for allegedly aiding former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot’s failed attempt to win a retrial over her hit-and-run conviction.
Police will also ask a television host whose name begins with “P” if he had checked his information before presenting news reports about Jomsap, according to a police source.
After a 30-minute videoconference with Nakhon Phanom police officers over progress in the case, national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta told reporters in Bangkok on Tuesday that investigators were waiting to receive information from the Justice Ministry.
Police expected to question ministry officials over the next day or two, he said. Dusadee, who publicly supported Jomsap’s petition for a retrial, was expected to be questioned as an official state witness, Weerachai said. He added that he did not feel awkward about the fact that he and Dusadee were both members of the 37th police cadet class, as they were both just doing their jobs.
Weerachai said police would also question Natchapol “Mark Pitbull” Supattana, a social network celebrity who runs a Facebook club, who raised funds to help Jomsap, although he added that he personally believed that Natchapol had just meant well.
Weerachai added that after the Supreme Court dismissed Jomsap’s petition for a retrial, neither the Justice Ministry nor any other agency had apologised to the Royal Thai Police or case investigators, even though they had faced strong criticism.
A police source said investigators also intended to ask Corrections Department officials for information from its visitor log to determine who had visited Jomsap during her detention.
They also wanted to listen to any existing recordings of their conversations. Police also intended to discover who among those allegedly involved had withdrawn Bt170,000 from the bank that Sap Wapi presented to the family of elderly cyclist, Lua Phorbumrung, who was killed in the 2005 crash.
Sap has confessed to falsely claiming responsibility for the crash in return for payment.
The source said police would also check if donations that Natchapol had raised matched the amount that Jomsap received.