Miscarriage of justice in Sherry Ann murder case

On July 22, 1986, the teenager, later identified as Sherry Ann, was abducted on her way home from school. She was dragged into a taxi and her body was later found dumped on Sukhumvit Road in Samut Prakan. A police team headed by Colonel Mongkol Sripho arrested Winai Chaipanit, 41, a construction contractor and Sherry Ann’s boyfriend. Four other men – thought to be either Winai’s employees or business associates – were also charged with premeditated murder.

In July 1990 the Samut Prakan Provincial Court dismissed the case against Winai. At the same time it handed down four death sentences. An appeals court in January 1992 dismissed the case against the three surviving men – Rungchalerm had died the previous October while in jail – but they remained in detention after the prosecution referred the case to the Supreme Court. At that time Winai petitioned the National Police Office, claiming the men had been wrongfully convicted on false evidence. A police fact-finding committee concluded Mongkol had hired a tuk-tuk driver, Pramoen Pochplad, to proffer false testimony against the four defendants. In March 1993 the Supreme Court upheld the appeals court’s verdict, and the three men were freed.

Colonel Mongkol, a former investigation chief in charge of the Sherry Ann case, was found guilty of dereliction of duty. The Royal Thai Police ordered that he be fired from the service, effective retroactively from October 1993. However, Mongkol resigned before the order was issued. He escaped criminal proceedings and later disappeared from Thailand. Documents now show he settled down in the United States more than six years ago. Other investigators in the case received career advancements before retiring from service. To this date, none faces criminal action.