Provincial commander transferred amid lottery windfall row
Pol Maj-Gen Sutthi Puangpikul, commander of Kanchanaburi provincial police, has been transferred to Bangkok so the Crime Suppression Division can conduct a transparent investigation into the Bt30-million lottery controversy in which he’s embroiled.
Sutthi was to report for duty at the Royal Thai Police (RTP) operations centre in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon.
The transfer order, signed on Wednesday by RTP Inspector-General Pol General Suchat Theerasawat, explained that investigators needed to gather evidence linked to the case to ensure justice to all sides in the dispute.
Sutthi has conceded that he invited retired police lieutenant Charoon Wimul to his house in Kanchanaburi to discuss the case, saying he wanted to help settle the dispute Charoon is having with schoolteacher Preecha Kraikruan over who owns jackpot-winning lottery tickets.
Charoon has claimed Preecha asked him to split the winnings with Preecha.
A police source said Sutthi’s transfer might stem from testimony by a police captain in Muang Kanachanaburi that Sutthi had instructed him to question all witnesses regarding Preecha’s complaint of losing the winning tickets and make sure they were all “in harmony”.
The unnamed captain amended statements given by Preecha and two lottery ticket vendors so there were no contradictions.
