FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Mother makes suicide threat over acquittal

Mother makes suicide threat over acquittal

VOWS TO FOLLOW HUSBAND’S LEAD AND|KILL HERSELF IF VERDICT UPHELD ON APPEAL

THE WIFE of a man who committed suicide after their son’s alleged adult killer was acquitted, revealed yesterday that she tried to kill herself along with her husband and threatened to take her own life if the Appeals Court upholds the verdict. 
“If I lose the court battle again, please collect my body [for the funeral],” Rewadee Kanlahasunthorn said tearfully about the case against Nattapong Ngern-khiri. 
On Monday, Rewadee’s husband Supachai jumped to his death from the eighth floor of the Criminal Court building on Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek Road after the judge announced he would give the benefit of the doubt to Nattapong.
Nattapong had been accused of fatally stabbing Thanit on Prachasongkroh Road in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district on April 15, 2016. The other defendant in the case – who has already been tried in the Central Juvenile and Family Court due to his young age – pleaded guilty to bringing a weapon to a public place and killing Thanit. 
The distraught mother also revealed that she intended to commit suicide at the same time as her husband, but was subdued by security guards at the court.
“I have been suicidal since the death of my son. No one has really helped us with the case. My husband had to leave his job to try to gather evidence. We had done our best and we had never imagined that the court would just acquit |the defendant,” she said. 
She said her husband was quite optimistic when they went to the court together on Monday. 
“So, I didn’t think that he would jump from the building. He told me he would go to the toilet,” Rewadee said. 
“Then, I heard someone had jumped,” Rewadee said. “It turns out to be my husband.” 
Rewadee yesterday collected her husband’s body from the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Nattapong is described as the son of a wealthy, locally-influential family. Rewadee said “witnesses are afraid” to come forward. 
The only witness who told police he saw the killing has suffered brain injuries in a road accident and is unable to appear in court to testify. This contributed to Nattapong’s acquittal.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt-General Chanthep Sesavej has set up a panel to examine the case, headed by his deputy Pol Maj General Sompong Chingduang.
“This panel will also re-investigate the crime and gather evidence as best as it can. We will consult the court too about what additional evidence we should seek,” Chanthep said. 
He said police had found recordings that showed the victim had engaged in a fistfight at the mouth of a soi. “But the fatal stabbing took place at another spot in the soi later and there are still no recordings on this part,” he said. 
Rewadee thanked police for their fresh efforts to gather evidence. 
“I believe that the culprits will be brought to justice if police try harder during the investigation process,” she said.

RELATED
nationthailand