Retired Police General Vasit Dejkunjorn dies in Bangkok hospital

The former deputy national police chief had been treated for cancer at Police General Hospital prior to his death, according to a hospital official.
Rumours last week about his death were dismissed.
His funeral ceremony is being held at Makut Kasatariyaram Temple in Bangkok, starting on Thursday.

The bathing rite, presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, starts at 5 pm.
The abhidharma praying ceremony will be held daily from Thursday to next Monday, starting at 7 pm.
Vasit was a well-known writer, with dozens of fiction and non-fiction works to his credit. Many of his novels, mostly about police and crime, were turned into television series. His literary works earned him the title of National Artist in Literature from the Ministry of Culture in 1998.
Serving in the police force for over three decades, Vasit worked in Special Branch, Central Investigation Bureau, and Border Patrol Police. Later, he moved to Office of Police Attached to the Court and became its head commander in 1978.
He became an assistant national police chief in 1986 and a deputy national police chief a year later.
Vasit was appointed a senator in 1989 and again in 1996. Vasit left the police force to join the Chatichai Choonhavan government in August 1990 as deputy interior minister but left the Cabinet in December that year.
Born on November 14, 1929, in Udon Thani province, Vasit graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science.
He earned his master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University. While in the US, he also attended courses at the New York police academy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).