Missing man's parents face setback

The parents of a man – missing for three years with his wife – are facing a new setback because their request for the police autopsy on three skeletons to be verified is untenable as human remains cannot lawfully be removed from police custody. The remains were found in a police doctor’s ranch in Phetchaburi.
They want the Central Institute of Forensic Science to re-examine the remains, which are now at the police Institute of Forensic Medicine. However, in order to do that, the institute would need a special permission from police investigators handling the case or have it taken over by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
Samart’s parents, Sawang and Lek Numjui, are demanding a re-examination of the remains. Samart has been missing for three years with his wife Orasa Kedsab.
His parents said they were not convinced about the police autopsy results, which indicated that the remains were not those of Samart and Orasa, and requested that director of the Forensic Science Institute Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand examine the bodies again.
However, Dr Pornthip said yesterday that the parents did not show up as scheduled and have not contacted her since. The police Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Central Institute of Forensic Science have been in conflict since the latter was established in 2002.
Even though her institute has been designated as the sole agency to carry out DNA-based verification of anonymous deaths or of unclaimed bodies, Pornthip said it had not been provided with comprehensive, full-scale mechanisms and technology.
She said human remains could not be obtained by dredging up graves using backhoes, like the police did when they excavated the three skeletons in Pol Colonel Dr Suphat Laohawatthana’s property.
“If the graves are flooded, then they must first be drained before excavating the remains carefully,” she said. She went on to explain that coroners or forensic scientists can perform lab-based DNA verification tests, but archaeologists or anthropologists should be the ones excavating human remains.
“Tracking missing persons and hunting down suspects in the case of murder are the duties of the police force and the DSI. The forensic institute is only responsible for carrying out verifications relying on scientific evidence,” she added.
Meanwhile, Suphat faces the additional charge of possessing firearms without permission after police found in his possession several of rifles and handguns that are not allowed for civilian use. The police doctor has also been charged with unlawfully restraining a citizen and theft, but not yet with murder because police say they have yet to find links between him and the three skeletal remains found on his ranch.
Suphat has also been accused of making a false statement in a criminal lawsuit lodged by his brother Suthep, who accuses him of lying in a civil lawsuit in which Suphat sought sole custody of their ailing mother. Suphat said his brother Suthep was having financial problems and was unable to take care of their mother.
The Criminal Court yesterday accepted Suthep’s written complaint and set a hearing on October 31 to determine whether Suphat should be indicted.