THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chon Buri man files complaint over false drug arrest

Chon Buri man files complaint over false drug arrest

A Chon Buri man filed a complaint with the Royal Thai Police spokesman on Monday, saying a false drug arrest against him in 2010 had caused him to lose his job and be blacklisted from employment.

Chalermpol Yudee, 27, told police spokesman Pol General Wirachai Songmetta said he was still listed as a drug suspect on the police’s online criminal record seven year after being arrested, although he had been cleared of drug use by a lab test.
Chalermpol added that the police officer who had recorded his arrest in May 2010 had refused to help him clear his name from the Criminal Record Division’s database on the grounds that he had lost the file.
He said he and six friends were returning home after work at 3pm in 2010 when their vehicle encountered a police checkpoint.
He said police randomly picked him for a urine test, which tested positive. He denied using drugs, but he and his companions were taken to Muang Chon Buri Police Station for further investigation.
He added that a police major told him to sign a document without reading it, and he then found out that it was a confession that he had abused narcotics.
He said police had refused to listen to his denial and brought him to court to be detained pending arraignment. He was released after posting Bt15,000 bail after seven days.
In his complaint, Chalermpol said he was later informed by the Chon Buri laboratory of the Medical Service Department that he had not tested positive for methamphetamine use.
His company had already fired him, he said, adding that his subsequent job applications had been denied.
He added that he had learned late last year that he was still listed in the criminal database when he was informed by an energy company that he would not be hired because of his criminal record, although he had been working there during a probationary period for four months.
“I was shocked to learn it. I went back to the police station on January 15 to ask to see the file, but that police officer said he had lost it,” Chalermpol said.
He went to the Police Criminal Record Division on January 16 and found that the Muang Chon Buri police had not updated the latest status in his case.
Chalermpol said he would consider filing a lawsuit against police to demand compensation.

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