Police vow fair CPF probe

BANGKOK’S POLICE chief yesterday promised fairness to all parties involved in the investigation into the deaths of five people, including a veterinary student, at a duck processing plant of listed agro-industrial and food conglomerate CPF last week.
Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahatavorn said he would take all things into consideration and base the probe on justice and fairness. He was referring to widespread criticism that police might side with CPF in the investigation because it is a big company.
On Friday, a Chulalongkorn University student, on her third day of an educational visit to the CPF plant in Bang Na, died after falling into a wastewater pond. Four CPF employees who tried to save her also died. 
Hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous colourless gas, may have contributed to their deaths. But questions remain about the cause of the incident.
Sanit said police were collecting evidence, which they would compile with expert opinions, to learn what had happened. He declined to disclose the information police had obtained from interviews with witnesses.
“We are looking into the details to establish who should be responsible for the criminal charges and civil charges, in which employers have joint responsibilities with employees, for damage to outsiders,” Sanit said.
Because of a lack of CCTV cameras at the scene of the accident, police had to be thorough in their investigation, he said.
Sanit also referred to the surrender of Preecha Tamporn, 51, the company’s chief of wastewater ponds. Preecha turned himself in about 4pm on Monday at Bang Na police station before being questioned for about four hours.
He was then charged with negligence causing deaths before being released on bail. The penalties are a jail term of not more than 10 years and a fine not exceeding Bt200,000.
Sanit said Preecha was in the area when the accident happened. “I assigned police to check the factory blueprint to know every detail of the crime,” he said.
The police chief added that the accident sent a signal to operators and factories to examine at-risk areas to ensure maximum safety.
Meanwhile, parents of a CPF employee, Pornsak Boonban, 40, who was among the five victims, said the corporation had already paid compensation of Bt3 million, but added that they would have preferred that their son was still alive.
“No matter how much money we receive, we do not want it in exchange for our son’s life,” Pornsak’s mother, Somta Boonban, 68, said during preparations for her son’s funeral in Chaiyaphum’s Konsawan district.
Somta said the family had been shocked by the accident, adding that Pornsak was the only family member working because the parents were too old to work.
“Pornsak worked to take care of the family. He sent home about B5,000 every month. The sum is enough for us to live,” Somta said.
In addition to the Bt3 million that CPF paid, victims’ families will also receive money from the Security Fund.