Thread: Probe after drug suspect dies in cop extortion bid

^ I doubt he will be convicted of anything, and if he is, it will be a minor charge for show, and he will be bailed on appeal that same day.

I'm sure they will make a big example of him and sentence him to life in prison.



















Before letting him slip out of the back door after the headlines have gone away.

CSD extends detention of torture case cops as investigations continue


BANGKOK(NNT) - The police Crime Suppression Division today requested an extension of pre-trial detention of seven former police officers alleged to have tortured a drug suspect to death; the investigation of the high-profile case is now 80% complete.


The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) of the Royal Thai Police today filed the request with the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.


The prime suspect in this group of police officers is Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, the former superintendent at Muang Nakhon Sawan Provincial Police Station.


The CSD Deputy Commissioner Pol Col Anek Taosuphab said the seven policemen are charged with misconduct that caused damage to a person, having assembled in a group of five or more to force a person to pursue or not to pursue an action, and involvement in murder and torture.


The CSD has now completed 80% of the questioning required for murder charges. The case file is expected to be sent to the National Anti Corruption Commission by 24th September.


The division has also summoned six other police officers in the arrest unit for questioning. These officers are not believed to have any involvement in the murder case.


The CSD has pressed an additional charge against one of the suspects, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wisut Boonkeaw, following the discovery of narcotics in his apartment.


Meanwhile, a search at the home of Pol Col Thitisan, commonly known as Joe, found no narcotics or medication for bipolar disorder, a condition which the suspect was once reportedly being treated for. Therefore, his case file will not include any indication of a bipolar condition.


The Royal Thai Police Commissioner General has ordered the CSD to gather more evidence surrounding Pol Col Thitisan’s ownership of exotic cars and a luxury car business, in order to press charges should these have been acquired illegally.


The CSD deputy chief said Pol Col Thitisan has so far denied all charges since the day of his arrest, especially on the murder charge.


He said the prime suspect has given his statement on what happened on the day of the incident, while stressing the police will pursue the case in a fair and objective manner, without giving preferential preference to fellow policemen.


National News Bureau Of Thailand

‘Joe Ferrari’ case lifts lid on police corruption



BANGKOK: A flashy cop with a taste for fast cars falls from grace following the leak of spine-chilling footage of a brutal interrogation gone wrong.

Not the plot of a blockbuster thriller, but the vivid reality of a story that has gripped the country in recent weeks and spotlighted police corruption that experts say infects almost every level of society in the country.


The case of Thitisan Utthanaphon, a former police station chief in a rural province ‒ nicknamed ‘Joe Ferrari’ for his extravagant lifestyle ‒ has fired up calls for reform.


The 41-year-old stands accused of murder, abuse of power and other offences after a drug suspect was suffocated with six plastic bags wrapped around his head in an alleged attempt to extort B2 million.


The incident was initially hushed up and recorded as an amphetamine overdose until a lawyer revealed the cause of death in a Facebook post.





In a move typical of the networks of patronage that critics say underpin systemic corruption, Pol Col Thitisan was then transferred to a regional police bureau in a nearby province ‒ commanded by the father of his television-presenter girlfriend.


But worse was to come for him: another lawyer released a chilling video leaked by a junior policeman that appeared to show Pol Col Thitisan suffocating the handcuffed suspect while other officers held him down.





The footage went viral, shocking the kingdom and prompting police to arrest Thitisan and several other officers.


Thitisan denies all the charges against him.


Sittra Biabungkerd, the lawyer who released the video, told AFP he did it to stop police “helping each other to get away” with murder.


“Many people may think that interrogating suspects using black plastic bags no longer goes on because times have changed,” he said.

“But this case shows that in reality it still goes on in secret.”


Flash cop, fast cars


Revelations about Thitisan’s wealthy lifestyle and a string of celebrity relationships made headlines after his arrest.


Investigators told local media he owned a luxury mansion in Bangkok, a fleet of 42 top-end cars including a $1.5 million Lamborghini Aventador and had a personal fortune estimated at $18 million ‒ all on a police superintendent’s salary of B40,000 a month.


Activist Srisuwan Janya told AFP the anti-money laundering authority has been asked to investigate Thitisan’s wealth.


“It is impossible that a man with some B40,000 salary can have 40 cars including luxury cars,” Mr Srisuwan said.


Some of Thitisan’s substantial wealth came from auctioning hundreds of imported luxury cars seized by Thai customs, according to senior officers quoted in local media.




Investigators are due to hand over their findings to the National Anti-Corruption Commission tomorrow (Sept 24) before deciding whether to forward the case to the state prosecutor.


Uphill reform


After taking power as army chief in a 2014 coup, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to eradicate corruption.


Seven years on, the Joe Ferrari case shows how little has been achieved in stamping out police malpractice, and observers hold out little hope of serious change.


Reform has been a “spectacular failure” because those connected to the top are shielded by “protection and favouritism” and whistleblowers are punished or silenced, said analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University.


In an attempt to kickstart police reform, the government approved a draft amendment to the National Police Act early this year.


But the draft remains under deliberation in parliament, moving at a snail’s pace as committee members ‒ some of them former policemen ‒ haggle over the details.


Since the Prayut administration depends on police support, it is careful about reform, said lecturer Paul Chambers of Naresuan University.


“The only change which the Joe Ferrari case will likely spur is that rogue cops take greater care to hide the illegal activities in which they engage,” Mr Chambers told AFP, pointing to repeated past efforts to reform the police.


“None have worked and none are likely to anytime soon.”


Royal Thai Police Chief Suwat Jangyodsuk has blamed the current scandal on “one bad apple”.


But public trust in the khaki-uniformed police force has long been eroded.


Almost every Thai entrepreneur, whether their business is legal or not, is familiar with paying local police just to operate ‒ from motorcycle taxi riders and street food hawkers to brothel owners and drug traffickers.


Nearly half of Thais said they had paid bribes to the police in the previous 12 months, according to a study by Transparency International published in November 2020.


And Thailand’s economic crisis, fuelled by the pandemic, has only made corruption worse, with police given more power to enforce COVID-related laws.


Thailand has lost 19 places in Transparency International’s corruption ranking since 2014, and now stands 104th out of 180 countries.


https://www.thephuketnews.com/joe-fe...tion-81491.php

Originally Posted by tomcat

The total amount of cars he was involved in smuggling is likely off the charts.

Good objective journalism there.

Is it a few bodies or bags of gold bullion that's stopping the Porsche's bonnet from closing?

no punishment will be given. he will disappear from the news and will quietly carry on his work in the police.

he knows far too much about the colleagues and superiors that have expedited his activities, usually for their own gain, and will not want that information disclosed.

like any mafia boss with half a brain, he is virtually untouchable.

Or he will "commit suicide" by shooting himself three times in the back of the head.

Public prosecutors have decided to indict seven policemen accused of suffocating a drug suspect to death with a plastic bag on all charges recommended by investigators, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief said on Friday.

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) had agreed to prosecute Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, a former chief of the Muang district station in Nakhon Sawan and six colleagues.

The prosecutors agreed to the four charges proposed by the police in the investigation report submitted to them on Nov 3: malfeasance, abuse of authority, torture causing death and coercion, he added.

A police source said the OAG would indict the men in the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases next week.

The charges bear the maximum penalty of death.

Prosecutors to indict 'Joe Ferrari'

^ torture causing death, as if him dying was an unexpected outcome of being deprived of air...murder it was, hence the need for a murder charge, they can discuss first/second/third degrees in court

Originally Posted by Farang Ky Ay

^ torture causing death, as if him dying was an unexpected outcome of being deprived of air...murder it was, hence the need for a murder charge, they can discuss first/second/third degrees in court

Do they have "first/second/third" degree murder in Thailand?

I don't know but they get to assess intention and the circumstances to be reflected in the guilty party's punishment.

Murder Death (Sections 288-294) | Thailand Law Library

Prosecutors Indict Seven Police Officers for Torture Causing Death

Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief announced on Friday that prosecutors have decided to indict seven police officers accused of suffocating a drug suspect to death with a plastic bag.

The Attorney-General will prosecute Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, a former chief in Nakhon Sawan, and fellow police officers.


Public prosecutors agreed to indict the seven policemen on four charges; malfeasance, abuse of authority, torture causing death, and coercion.


A police spokesperson said the Attorney-General would indict the men in the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases next week. The charges being laid carry the maximum penalty of death.

Former Pol Col Thitisan, 30, aka Joe Ferrari is also being investigated for his extraordinary wealth. Thitisan and his six fellow police officers are accused of killing Chiraphong Thanapat, a 24-year-old drug suspect. They were allegedly trying to extort 2 million baht from him.


A video posted on Thai social media and YouTube showed Mr. Chiraphong’s with his head covered by a black plastic bag during the interrogation and that he was being suffocated.


He was officially pronounced dead the next day.




The police officers other accused are:


Maj Rawirot Ditthong
Capt Songyot Khlainak
Lt Thoranin Matwanna
Snr Sgt Maj Suphakon Nimchuen
Snr Sgt Maj Wisut Bunkhiew
L/C Pawikon Khammarew


All of the accused police officers have been discharged from the Royal Thai police force but they maintain their rank pending the outcome of the court cases.

Pol Col Thitisan has denied all charges and vowed to fight the case all the way to the supreme court.

Prosecutors Indict Seven Police Officers for Torture Causing Death - News

Originally Posted by misskit

Almost every Thai entrepreneur, whether their business is legal or not, is familiar with paying local police just to operate ‒ from motorcycle taxi riders and street food hawkers to brothel owners and drug traffickers.

Entrepreneurship at its finest

Col. Thitisan Utthanaphon, the police chief better known as Joe Ferrari, testified Wednesday that although he did kill a man in his custody with a plastic bag, he didn’t mean for him to die.

On trial for murder at Bangkok’s Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct, the former Nakhon Sawan police chief said he only intended to intimidate and scare Jeerapong Thanapat, who was brought in on suspicion of a drug-related crime.

He admitted that Jeerapong was one of many suspects whose heads he wrapped in a plastic bag, saying he would make sure the bag wasn’t tied too tight. He also said the video of the killing, leaked in August by an unnamed whistleblower who said the chief was trying to extort money from Jeerapong, was tampered with.

He is joined by six co-defendants in the case. All were charged with multiple crimes inculding conspiring to murder by torture, malfeasance, and coercion.

At the hearing, Thitisan said he and his subordinates had gone undercover in August to arrest Jeerapong and his wife, who were found with 300 grams of meth.

Defense lawyer Chokchai Angkaew said the first witnesses will be heard starting Feb. 19, with testimony to wrap up March 13.

After Thitisan became a pariah for what looked to be a brutal jailhouse execution, his extensive collection of luxury sportscars drew attention to his unusual wealth.

He initially went on the run and, in the ensuing manhunt, a raid on his home revealed a massive collection of sports cars, launching an inquiry into how he obtained millions of baht worth of vehicles.

Chief Joe has said the cars were obtained as “rewards” for his sting operations. In November, Thitisan and his subordinates were charged with murder.

‘Chief Joe’ says he suffocates suspects to scare, not kill them | Coconuts

Seven former policemen accused of murdering a drug suspect by suffocating him with a plastic bag will learn their fate on June 8, the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases has announced.
After four months of inquiries and testimony from both plaintiffs and defendants, the court on Thursday announced that it would rule on the high-profile case at 9.30am on June 8. Closing statements from both sides are to be delivered within 30 days from Thursday.
The announcement was made after the court heard the accounts of the last two defendants, Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wisut Bunkhiew and Pol L/C Pawikon Khammarew, to complete the hearing process that started in November.
Others accused in the case are Pol Col Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphon, Pol Maj Rawirot Ditthong, Pol Capt Songyot Khlainak, Pol Lt Thoranin Matwanna and Pol Snr Sgt Maj Suphakon Nimchuen.

Ruling on 'Joe Ferrari' case set for June 8

From the same article:

Here is a summary of what the seven suspects said in court during the trial. All said they had no intention to kill Chiraphong and offered different details of their involvement.

Pol Col Thitisan: He said the torture was intended to get information from Chiraphong so that police could expand their operation to clamp down on illicit drugs.

Pol Maj Rawirot: He admitted that he took part in the interrogation in the room leading to the death.

Pol Capt Songyot: He said he entered the room later to hold the man, whose head had been already wrapped in a plastic bag.

Pol Lt Thoranin: He said he had to follow the order of his supervisors.

Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wisut: He also said he had to follow the order of his supervisors.

Pol Snr Sgt Maj Suphakon: He said he entered the room only for one minute and then left.

Pol L/C Pawikon: He said he was asked by his supervisors to help other colleagues to hold Chiraphong.

Former Thai police chief “Joe Ferrari” sentenced to death penalty, commuted to life, for murder of drug suspect in Nakhon Sawan


Former police chief Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphone was sentenced to death, later commuted to life, for murdering a drug suspect in custody by suffocating him with a plastic bag at Nakhon Sawan police in August last year.


The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Wednesday, June 8th, has sentenced the former superintendent (chief) and the defendants No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 to the death penalty for murder. However, the sentences were commuted to life imprisonment for payment of damages to the victim’s family. The 6th defendant was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for official misconduct under Section 157 of the Penal Code.

On August 5th, 2021, the former police chief and his followers were caught in leaked footage, appearing to cover a suspect’s head with a plastic bag at a police office while beating him. The victim was pronounced dead afterward.


All of them were prosecuted on four charges, including:


– Being a government official who jointly misconducts or neglects to perform duties to cause damage to the persons.

– Being a government official who abuses their power in a position for wrongful duty to cause damage to the persons.


– Jointly murder others by torture or by cruelty


– Joining in a group of 5 people or more to force others to do anything, or not do anything, or surrender by causing fear of life, body, liberty, reputation, or property of the compelled person or by using violence until the compelled person has to commit such an accused act or to surrender.

Probe after drug suspect dies in cop extortion bid

Originally Posted by Edmond

I doubt he will be convicted of anything, and if he is, it will be a minor charge for show, and he will be bailed on appeal that same day.

Well, that aged like a Chiang Mai volleyballer.

I imagine in the course of the next few years there will b two amnesty reductions and a parole likely in, say, 8 - 10 years.

Joe might well b the leader of a new political party in 15 years.

Originally Posted by taxexile

no punishment will be given. he will disappear from the news and will quietly carry on his work in the police.

he knows far too much about the colleagues and superiors that have expedited his activities, usually for their own gain, and will not want that information disclosed.

like any mafia boss with half a brain, he is virtually untouchable.

Not one of your better prognostications, eh Tax.

My Brexit forecasts have been spot on, after all these years .......devalued £, stagflation, GDP growth contraction, labour supply problems, supply chains fuck'd.

Har, har.

Originally Posted by tomcat

Most of the cars were smuggled from Singapore and Malaysia. Joe Ferrari was initially arrested in August for attempting to extort drug suspects and suffocating one of them. After the arrest, an investigation was opened to determine how a police chief was able to live such a lavish lifestyle, and the discovery of corruption spiraled from there. The total amount of cars he was involved in smuggling is likely off the charts.

These cars were not stolen from Malaysia but most likely nicked from UK ( right hd drive ) and exported to MYS and then distributed to Thailand. One of the MYS princes was a leading player in the scam a few years back but escaped prosecution because of his then 'royal' immunity.

Little fuckers, these Asians.