Justice Ministry officials may face charges as Jomsap investigation nears end: police
THE INVESTIGATION of an alleged plot to exonerate hit-and-run convict Jomsap Saenmuangkhot will be concluded by December 20 and Justice Ministry’s officials may face charges, police have said.
“We will hold joint meetings with relevant investigators to determine if any official of the Justice Ministry should be charged,” Provincial Police Region 4 deputy commander Pol Maj-General Tanasak Rittidejpaiboon said yesterday.
His office has summoned 14 retired and current officials of the Justice Ministry for questioning this week in regards to Jomsap’s alleged plot to hire a scapegoat to take responsibility for the fatal road accident she was convicted of. An elderly man was killed in the 2005 crash.
Of the summoned officials, 12 have already come forward while the two others have reportedly been overseas.
The first seven officials underwent five hours of grilling on Thursday and five more were separately interrogated by police at the Provincial Police Region 4 headquarters yesterday.
Tanasak said official Chartchai Tosinthiti would face the toughest questioning given that he knew almost all of the perjury suspects who have so far been charged in connection with Jomsap’s case.
Sap Wapi, the man who was allegedly paid to take responsibility for the crash, reportedly told police that he had confessed to Chartchai that he had been hired to claim responsibility for the accident so that Jomsap could be exonerated.
Police started investigating the plot after the Supreme Court threw out her request for a retrial last month.
Jomsap was convicted and jailed for causing a fatal hit-and-run accident and eventually released early on a royal pardon. After her release she continued to insist on her innocence and requested help from the Justice Ministry, which assisted her petition for a retrial.