Lopburi gold heist suspect might have fled the country: police chief
The suspect in the Lopburi gold heist case, who also allegedly killed three people on January 9, might have fled the country, National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said on Wednesday (January 15).
The police chief blamed media coverage of investigations for alerting the suspect. Speaking after a meeting with the investigating team in Lopburi province, Chakthip said he believed the suspect might have fled the country by crossing the border.
“This is because of the media’s reporting, which might have tipped the suspect off that we were getting close to identifying him,” he said. “I would like to ask the press to use discretion in reporting progress in a case so that it does not jeopardise the investigation.”
Chakthip added that he would consider disciplinary action against police officers who had revealed classified information regarding the case investigation and the names of interrogated suspects to the press.
The National Police chief admitted that the investigation had faced some obstacles and also pressure from society. “I believe police could work faster and better if we withhold information from the press until we have solid evidence,” he added “Online media is the biggest obstacle, as most of the time they tend to guide readers towards a certain direction instead of staying neutral.”
As for progress in investigations in the case, on Wednesday the police summoned for questioning the owners of 13 guns of the same model allegedly used by the gunman, but found that none of the 13 guns were the one used by the suspect.
