Thread: Highway Policeman Shot Dead in Nakhon Pathom, Suspect on the Loose

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

If you harbour the notion that this is not a third world, lawless, medieval snake pit of a country then you are probably an idiot……or an American……or a Russian……..or an African…..or an Indian………or a camel fucker……or Iranian……..or Brazilian.

After the failure of the G20 to condemn Putin and his henchmen for being total cvunts I don’t suppose it really matters, the world is a worthless turd and what does it matter an entire police force can be corrupt and dysfunctional in a country without an ethical compass worth shit.

You forgot the services and govt at all levels.

Last night, divers found a CCTV server in a canal behind Ta Kong Temple in Mueang district. The server is reported to have been removed from Praween’s house, wrapped in a black plastic bag and dumped into the canal after the shooting.


A handgun, thought to have been used in the shooting, was also found last night, buried near a swamp.

it would seem some extremely robust interrogations have been carried out in order to elicit such detailed information about those locations. a few suspects will no doubt be applying ice packs to their scrotums for the next few days.

Well well, even by the prevailing standards, this one is murky.

The murkier ones are those you don’t know about.
When your attention is focused upon corrupt practices that see the light of day in this egregious country, think of an iceberg. What becomes visible is dwarfed by what is not.

Originally Posted by misskit

urachate harshly reprimanded the 25 police officers who were at the house that evening, saying that their conduct is totally unacceptable. Without the police’s help, he said Praween and the gunman would not have escaped from the house and some of the evidence would not have been destroyed.

So why haven't they been charged with any criminal offences?

Thai court extends detention of 6 police officers, denies bail

The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases granted a police request today (Monday) to have six police officers detained for 12 days, pending investigation into their alleged misconduct in abetting the escape of two murder suspects and destroying evidence.


The court also rejected bail applications for the six officers, on the grounds that they may attempt to escape or tamper with evidence related to the fatal shooting at the house of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, the chief of Ta Kong sub-district in Mueang district of Nakhon Pathom last Wednesday night, in which one highway police officer was killed and another injured.


The six officers, including four superintendents, were at Praween’s house at the time of the shooting. Some of them are accused of aiding and abetting in the escape of Praween and his body guard, the gunman, while others removed the CCTV server from the house.


Praween is currently detained for questioning, while the gunman, “Nong”, was shot and killed by police in Kanchanaburi province last week while trying to evade arrest.


It is reported that police will also seek court warrants for the arrests of six employees at the house, who are alleged to be involved in destroying evidence.


Meanwhile, the commander of Nakhon Pathom provincial police, Pol Maj-Gen Chakkrit Kruasunthornvanich, and Pol Col Phuphon Tapcharoen, the superintendent of Mueang district, were removed from their posts with immediate effect today, by Pol Lt-Gen Anayut Wuthicharasthamrong, the commissioner of the Region 7 Provincial Police Bureau.


The removal of the two senior officers is intended to ensure transparency in the ongoing investigation into the conduct of numerous Nakhon Pathom police officers who were found to have been at Praween’s house last Wednesday.


Pol Maj-Gen Wattana Yeejine, deputy commissioner of the Region 7 Provincial Police Bureau, was appointed the acting commander of Nakhon Pathom police and Pol Col Pongsakorn Upphapong, the incumbent deputy commander, has been appointed the acting superintendent of Muang district police.

Thai court extends detention of 6 police officers, denies bail | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Superior of Murdered Thai Highway Policeman Dies by Suicide

The commander of a murdered highway policeman, Pol. Maj. Sivakorn Saibua, has reportedly shot and killed himself at a private residence in Pathum Thani Province, after being accused of calling the now deceased Pol Maj Sivakorn to attend the suspect’s dinner party.

Pol Col Wachira Yaothaisong, the commander of Highway Police Sub-division 2, was found dead at his house in Pathum Thani on Monday, September 11th.

Pol Col Wachira was one of 25 police officers present at the dinner party of the detained sub-district headman, Praveen Chanklai, who allegedly ordered his right-hand man, Thananchai Manmak, to shoot and kill Pol Maj Sivakorn, the chief of highway police station 1.


Wachira was the commander of Sivakorn. He was accused by senior police of inviting Sivakorn to attend the sub-district headman’s birthday party, where he was shot dead after refusing to bypass normal procedures to promote the suspect’s relative to a higher position in the police force.


Wachira was being investigated for negligence by the Inspector General of Police. He had also been transferred to an inactive post, along with all other officers present at the party.


Police suspected that Wachira died by suicide due to the pressure of the investigation.

The death of Pol Maj Sivakorn also prompted two high-ranking policemen in Nakhon Pathom Province to be transferred to inactive duty, including Pol Maj Gen Chakkrit Khruesunthornwanich, the Provincial Police Commander of Nakhon Pathom, and Pol Col Phuphon Thapcharoen, the Superintendent of Muang Nakhon Pathom Police Station.


So far, six police officers at the party were formally charged with assisting the cop-killer, Thananchai, who was now deceased after having allegedly resisted arrest and having been shot by Thai police, in escaping the crime scene and helping Praveen’s staff destroy evidence. They have also been fired from the police force, and their bails have been denied by the court. Some of them reportedly confessed to the allegations.


Praveen, on the other hands, continued to deny all allegations at the time of reporting and maintains his innocence.

UPDATE: Superior of Murdered Thai Highway Policeman Dies by Suicide - The Pattaya News

That's a bit convenient.

Deleted.

As ever, when the pressure builds up and their environment is threatened, rats will always turn on each other.

Even if the suicide were to be found genuine, no one would truly believe it given their inability to lie straight in bed they’re that crooked.

Ghastly country, ghastly society, ghastly people.

Head of highway police promises to get justice for Pol Maj Sivakorn

Acting Highway police commander Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankeaw has lost two of his officers in less than a week.


The first, Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua, was killed in a shooting at the house of an influential sub-district head in Nakhon Pathom province last Wednesday.


Five days later, Pol Col Wachira Yaothaisong, the immediate boss of Sivakorn, killed himself out of guilt, believing that that he was the reason Sivakorn had been murdered.

Jaroonkiat said he had kept Pol Col Wachira under surveillance by putting him in a hotel room with an officer on guard on Sunday night.


He had decided to do so after seeing that Wachira was under stress and kept saying that he was the reason Sivakorn had been killed. Wachira blamed himself because he was the one who persuaded Sivakorn to attend the dinner party.


Jaroonkiat’s attempt to calm Wachira failed and he escaped from the room, went to his residence in Pathum Thani province and took his own life.

“The officer guarding the room left when he saw Wachira fell asleep. We could not find him when we went to the hotel on Monday morning. CCTV footage shows that he escaped through a fire exit early in the morning,” he said.


Video footage also shows that he arrived at his house by taxi and climbed into his house compound. A medical examiner stated that Wachira committed suicide about 5am.


Wachira was among scores of police attending the dinner party and who are now being investigated in connection with the death of Sivakorn, including for helping Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok” escape and tampering with evidence.


Wachira was among a group of officers who rushed Sivakorn to hospital, where he died. Reports said he was shot seven times.


Jaroonkiat told reporters earlier that he was also at the hospital. Before Sivakorn succumbed to his injuries, he put his hand on Sivakorn’s head, saying that he will certainly get justice for him.

Head of highway police promises to get justice for Pol Maj Sivakorn | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

DSI probes Kamnan Nok’s construction business

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has launched an investigation into the construction business of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, to determine whether it was involved in price collusion when bidding for road construction projects or had attempted to intimidate other bidders.


Praween inherited the construction from his father, a former headman of Ta Kong sub-district in Mueang district of Nakhon Pathom province, who established the P. Raweekanok Construction Company, which reportedly won several road, building and bridge construction projects, as well as providing canal dredging and rental services in Nakhon Pathom and several neighbouring provinces.


Praween later set up another company, the P. Phatanarungrod Construction Company.


According to an informed source, the DSI is focusing its probe on the e-bids for two highway construction projects, namely Highway 375, from Don Toom district to Lum Look Bua sub-district, estimated to cost about 300 million baht, and Highway 346 in Lum Look Bua sub-district, estimated to cost about 350 million baht.


33 companies bought the bid forms, but only 3 submitted bids through the e-bidding platform for the Highway 375 project. For the Highway 346, 32 companies bought the bid forms, but again only three submitted bids.


The source said that P. Phatanarungrod won both projects.


The source also said that the DSI would invite representatives of the companies which bought the bid forms for questioning about why they did not tender their bids, whether they were intimidated by Praween or whether they were involved in price collusion with Praween, noting that each bid form is costly and it was strange that the companies did not submit bids.


Praween is currently being held in police custody on charges of involvement in the killing of a highway police officer and injuring another officer at his home in Ta Kong sub-district on September 6th, after the officer had refused his request for the promotion for one of his relatives, who is also a highway police officer.

DSI probes Kamnan Nok's construction business | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

PM Calls for Thorough Investigation Into Shooting of Veteran Police Officer

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has expressed deep regret over the fatal shooting of a veteran police officer at a local influential figure’s residence in Nakhon Pathom.


The premier affirmed that his government does not condone the practice of buying or selling official positions, in response to speculation that the incident may have been related to conflicts over such appointments.


The tragic incident occurred during a meal hosted at the home of the chief of Takong sub-district in Nakhon Pathom’s capital district. Among the guests were several local police officers.


Royal Thai Police Deputy Commissioner Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn revealed that the crime scene had been tampered with, including via the disabling of CCTV cameras, removal of blood stains, and disposal of bullet casings. He noted that despite the presence of three superintendent-level police officers at the scene, evidence was still allowed to be destroyed.


The prime minister urged authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter, stressing the impact that unfair allocation or purchasing of official positions could have on the morale of dedicated civil servants.

PM Calls for Thorough Investigation Into Shooting of Veteran Police Officer

Police recover files from discarded CCTV server from Kamnan Nok’s house

Data forensics officers have managed to recover files from a CCTV server from the house of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, which they hope will provide investigators with important information about what actually occurred there on September 6, when one highway police officer was shot dead and another injured, allegedly by Praween and his bodyguard.


A police source said that the recovered files cannot be opened yet and will have to be cloned onto a new server first. Then the files can be opened, but it is a four to six hour process.


Data forensics officers are still trying to recover files from a second server found during the investigation, but without success so far.


Both servers were recovered from a canal behind a temple in Ta Kong sub-district, where they had been dumped by one of Praween’s staff, presumably in an attempt to hide or destroy evidence.


Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, said today (Wednesday) that they had recovered images from 13 out of the 15 surveillance cameras at Praween’s house.


The images are undamaged and clear, he said, adding that he will hold a press conference this evening to disclose details from the CCTV system.


He said he has met with the national auditor-general for a discussion about an investigation into Praween’s construction businesses adding, however, there have been no complaints against his two construction firms from competitors, probably because they are afraid of him.

Police recover files from discarded CCTV server from Kamnan Nok's house | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Brief details of “Kamnan Nok’s” extensive construction business

Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok, operates two construction firms, P. Phatanarungrod and P. Raweekanok, which have won contracts in 1,544 construction projects in 11 provinces combined. These contracts have been worth 7 billion baht since 2011, according to police investigation reports.


Praween, former head of Ta Kong sub-district in Mueang district of Nakhon Pathom province, is currently being held in police custody for the alleged murder of a highway police officer and wounding another at his house on September 6th, after one of the victims declined his request for the promotion of one of his men.


Several state agencies, among them the Department of Special Investigation, the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, the Revenue Department and the Central Investigation Bureau are investigating Praween’s vast construction business, to determine whether the contracts with state and local agencies were won through price collusion or the intimidation of competitors.


The construction projects mostly concern road building and are individually worth between 30 million and 300 million baht. They include work on Highway 375 in the Don Toom district of Nakhon Pathom and Highway 346 in Lum Look Bua sub-district, also in Nakhon Pathom.


The 1,554 construction contracts awarded to Praween’s two companies since 2011 are (by location):


Nakhon Pathom, 1,498 projects


Bangkok, 3 projects


Kanchanaburi, 13 projects


Kamphaeng Phet, 1 project


Chachoengsao, 6 projects


Nonthaburi, 1 project


Prachuap Khiri Khan, 2 projects


Phetchaburi, 3 projects


Ratchaburi, 6 projects


Samut Sakhon, 4 projects


Suphan Buri, 7 projects


The contracts awarded to Praween’s companies Nakhon Pathom alone are estimated to be have been worth about 6.8 billion baht.


The state agencies engaged with Praween’s companies include the Provincial Administration Department, the Local Administration Department, the Highways Department, the Rural Roads Department, the Royal Thai Air Force, the Royal Thai Police and the Office of the Higher Education Commission.


Brief details of "Kamnan Nok's" extensive construction business | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Shootings at Kamnan Nok’s house were planned : Deputy national police chief

Someone appears to have pulled the plug on two CCTV servers at the house of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, shortly before the shooting on the night of July 6, suggesting the attack on the two highway police officers was planned, according to Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief.


The two servers from the scene of the shooting were recovered from a canal behind a temple in Ta Kong sub-district of Nakhon Pathom, after they had been dumped there by an employee of Praween in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence relating to the shooting, in which Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua, a highway police inspector, was killed and another officer was injured.


The files on the two servers were not 100% perfect, suggesting that the device had stopped functioning abruptly due to the power supply being suddenly cut, said Surachate.


Images recovered from another 13 CCTV servers from the house show a security guard holding a handgun during the dinner party on July 6. The security guard was later detained for questioning.


A police source said that the handgun, belonging to a member of the Ta Kong Tambon Administrative Organisation, had been lent to the guard, adding that the TAO member will also be brought in for questioning.

Shootings at Kamnan Nok's house were planned : Deputy national police chief | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Originally Posted by misskit

the promotion must follow the normal process.

The brown envelope was a bit light ?

Police claim evidence found that Kamnan Nok ordered shootings

Police claim to have circumstantial evidence that Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, ordered the shooting of the two highway police officers at his house, because all his security guards were alerted in advance and armed. Additionally, other people and some cars were told to leave, allegedly to pave way for an escape, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, said late last night (Friday).


Images from the CCTV system, relating to the shooting on September 6th, have been released to the media by police.


Pol Gen Surachate said that Praween is believed to be the one who disconnected two CCTV cameras in the room where a dinner was being hosted for a group of police officers, possibly because someone might have advised him that it would be highly inappropriate for armed officers to be seen shirtless and drinking alcohol.


There were 15 surveillance cameras in the house. The servers connected to 13 of them were found to be functioning well, another was malfunctioning and the other stopped working on August 23rd, he said.


The CCTV images show that five of the 25 police officers present helped to take the two injured officers to hospital after the shooting.


Almost all the police officers present were armed, but none of them even attempted to arrest the shooters, said Surachate, adding they will all face charges for dereliction of duty. The senior police officers present quickly fled the scene, he said.


The shooting was allegedly motivated by the rejection by one of the highway police officers, Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua, of a request from Praween to promote one of his relatives, who is also a highway police officer, said Surachate, adding that he was possibly also unhappy with the officer’s enforcement activities against overloaded trucks, as Praween operates a fleet of them.

Police claim evidence found that Kamnan Nok ordered shootings | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Originally Posted by misskit

all his security guards were alerted in advance and armed

Alerted by a cop no doubt.

How many of the police in the room knew that the police major was going to be executed ?

It does seem like chamong kee nok was staging an exhibition to cement his power over the police

Someone appears to have pulled the plug on two CCTV servers at the house of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok”, shortly before the shooting on the night of July 6, suggesting the attack on the two highway police officers was planned

Elementary my dear Somchai.

Of course, if this was even remotely approaching a civilised society, that entire police command would be dismantled and replaced by an emergency task force led by a judicial appointee in conjunction with a government commission tasked with investigating this m@fia- like organisation and its relationship to the construction industry, both private and state funded.

But it isn’t, so nothing will happen except for a scapegoat or two for appearances sake.

Witness claims he saw gunman fire seven shots into highway police officer

The Superintendent of Phaya Thai police station in Bangkok, who was among 25 officers at the house of Praween Chanklai, aka “Kamnan Nok” on the night of September 6th, claims that he saw the gunman, Nong, fire seven shots into the now deceased Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua, a highway police officer.


Pol Col Krisdaporn Jong-aksorn recalled that he saw Nong approach Sivakorn. Then he heard one gunshot, which he initially thought had been fired into the air, followed by six more shots.


He also claims that he saw one of the victims fall from his chair and heard a non-commissioned police officer exclaim that Sivakorn had been shot. He admitted that he was shocked by the shooting, but ordered his men to take the victim tohospital.


Nong, the alleged gunman, was shot dead by police a few days later in Kanchanaburi province, reportedly because he had resisted police arrest by shooting at his pursuers.


The police colonel explained that he also drove to the hospital, but got lost and arrived later, which is why he is not seen on the CCTV at the hospital among a small group of police taking the two victims into the emergency room.


The officers who took the two victims to the hospital will be spared charges of dereliction of duty, while the rest, who did not intervene or ran away from the crime scene after the shooting, will face charges.

Witness claims he saw gunman fire seven shots into highway police officer | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

The making of Kamman Nok

While Thais were being obsessed with something else, Praween Chanklai, aka Kamman Nok, made senior police officers strip almost naked “for fun” at one of his “parties”, fired celebratory shots into the sky, conducted allegedly-questionable business activities, listened proudly to “Happy Birthday to you” sung respectfully by senior bureaucrats and built up a suspected bribery payroll.


That was before the alleged arrogance led to a tragic and unbelievable incident early this month. That was before something hit the fan and shocked the entire nation. Last but not least, that was before stunned Thais realised that, very gross and obvious as they were, rural corruption and rampant bribery had been gravely underestimated. Everyone knew it was rotten, but nobody knew how rotten it actually was.

“Kamnan” is one of the lowest governing positions but it is also a word associated with great power and dark influences. It’s a title whose holders feature as the bad guys in numerous Thai movies and make people in certain areas squirm in real life. Kamnan Nok’s state salary was just around Bt15,000 per month but his assets were said to be in the billions.


As recent Thai charters sought to restrict business transactions of political office holders in the highest government in order to make corruption more difficult and conflicts of interests more glaring and condemnable, Kamnan Nok’s business empire grew inexorably. His construction dealings expanded far beyond Nakhon Pathom, building roads and bridges and laying down gigantic sewerage systems in many other provinces.


“He and his father were among the best politically-connected entrepreneurs in their field of work,” said a news report. Kamnan Nok’s father, Prayote Chanklai, was a former village headman in Nakhon Pathom and the young Chanklai duly followed the old man’s footsteps. But only one year after becoming a village headman, the kamnan of Tambon Takong passed away, so Praween ran for the vacant position. The rest is history.


Prayote founded the P. Raweekanok Construction Company. Praween later set up the P. Phatanarungrod Construction Company. According to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the two companies may have been involved with a great number of fishy biddings for government projects.


Praween was said to be an effective lobbyist, but as the construction empire grew, so was his clout. What started off as humble, albeit shrewd, lobbying morphed into cocky influences and it was the other people’s turn to show inferiority.

Since 2015, both companies have won bids for well over a thousand state projects valued at over Bt70 billion, a huge number of business victories. Scores of other companies involved in government biddings one way or another have been summoned for questioning related to Kamnan Nok’s business.


Politically, the Nakhon Pathom tragedy will send many scurrying for cover. In the last general election, constituency seats in Nakhon Pathom were split among Chart Thai Pattana, Move Forward, and Ruam Thai Sang Chart parties.


Move Forward has been forced to deny that Kamnan Nok is one of its members. The party had comfortably won the biggest number of popular votes in the province, yet it was one of its outspoken MPs who helped bring to national attention the issue of “Sticker Tribute”. The scandal had to do with truck stickers that appeared normal but in fact indicated how much bribes had been paid and how illegally-overweight a truck can be.


The before and aftermath of the “Sticker Tribute” scandal brought several Nakhon Pathom figures to the underground and legitimate tables. Highway police were involved and so were business people in the transport industry. It was initially thought that the officer slain at Kamnan Nok’s party met his doom because he rejected the host’s transfer request, but calls are growing for investigators to look at the dead man’s attitude toward overweight trucks.


Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua of Highway Police Division 2 was killed in exceptional circumstances at Kamnan Nok’s dinner party, but circumstances that laid foundations for Kamnan Nok’s business empire were anything but exceptional. They are the ugly norm, in fact, in various rural areas. Nakhon Pathom was just the first volcano to erupt.

In an interview with PPTV, a police officer described a situation that he found normal but many others may consider extremely worrisome. “Most of highway police in Nakhon Pathom have good ties with the family of Kamnan Nok,” the policeman said. “(The police) have been taken good care of, not just by Kamnan Nok, but ever since his father. I’m familiar with the family myself because the chief at my kiosk took me to see them.”


It’s a statement that tells a thousand more words. But such a statement doesn’t contain any secret. It only got drowned out over the years during the making of Kamnan Nok _ and most likely a lot more like him _ while the country’s attention was elsewhere.


The making of Kamman Nok | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

Suchanun ‘Minnie’ Sucharitchinsri: The woman in spotlight of latest Thai police scandal

Suchanun ‘Minnie’ Sucharitchinsri is in the spotlight after photos of her cuddling up to a close aide of deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn went viral amid allegations that she runs several online gambling websites linked to high-ranking police officers.


Suchanun was in Singapore when the photos made headlines, prompting widespread anticipation she would go on the run. But far from doing that, the young woman headed straight back to Thailand and jumped under the glaring media spotlight to dismiss the “groundless allegations” against her.


“No, I am not behind gambling websites. Someone just wanted to force me to confess to this crime and implicate certain figures,” Suchanun declared firmly to reporters last Thursday,


She also demanded to know how her private photos had been leaked to social media, adding that only Unit 4 of the Cyber Taskforce Police had access to her phone.


Suchanun was arrested on July 30 on suspicion of involvement in online gambling but then bailed.


The gambling case is the latest in a string of high-profile scandals to hit the police force.


Fighting back


People have expressed surprise that someone so young – Suchanun is just 25 – could be accused of a scandal of such scale. Intrigued, journalists and others began digging into her background. Reporters traveled to her home province of Loei to interview her neighbors and workers for information on her character, past, and family.


“I am here to answer your questions,” Suchanun declared on September 28, showing no signs of stress as she was surrounded by cameras and reporters firing questions.


She protested her innocence and alleged that a member of Police Cyber Taskforce 4 had tried to force her to confess to a crime she had not committed.


Suchanun described herself as straightforward and brave enough to face whatever comes her way. “But don’t use me as a tool,” she said, apparently referring to the ongoing drama within the police force.


That drama began on September 25 when Surachate’s house was raided by armed police, just days before the new national police chief was due to be named. Surachate was among the candidates for the much sought-after post.


Police said the search was related to Surachate’s close aides, including Pol Colonel Pakpoom Pisamai, who was serving as deputy commander of the Provincial Police Region 4’s investigation division when the scandal broke.


Police investigators say Pakpoom accepted money earned from Suchanun’s online gambling operations.


Suchanan admitted to making several money transfers to Pakpoom but said the payments were not bribes or dirty money. “I just loaned him some money,” she said, adding that police officers were paid relatively small salaries.


Affair with high-ranking cop


Suchanan said she first met Pakpoom in 2020 in Loei, where he was serving as a station superintendent. They dated for a while, until she found out that he was already married, she explained.


She said the two of them got close again in late 2022 and they dated again in early 2023.


So, when she was arrested on gambling-related charges at 3am on July 30, she called Pakpoom for help. He advised her to seek bail.


Suchanun also said the photos of her kissing and cuddling Pakpoom were taken in public areas such as restaurants.


Powerful family


Suchanun is the youngest daughter of Chatchada Jansawang, who has served several times as a Loei councilor and operates the biggest cotton business in her hometown. Her father also owns a large cassava trading business in Loei.


Although her parents are divorced, Suchanun apparently enjoyed a lavish lifestyle as a youngster, riding horses, caring for pets (including dogs, birds and snakes) and taking frequent trips overseas.


As a teenager, she married a wealthy Laotian and moved to Laos. The couple had one child together before deciding to go their separate ways.


After returning to Thailand, Suchanun reportedly had no shortage of suitors. A source said that apart from Pakpoom, she dated the son of an ice-factory owner, and a police officer with the initial “B” in his name.


She also studied briefly in China. During the COVID-19 outbreak, she imported facemasks for sale and engaged in various businesses.


Acquaintances of Suchanun describe her as witty, cheerful, friendly, and nice.


“She’s well-loved, though a bit stubborn,” said one of her former lovers.

Suchanun 'Minnie' Sucharitchinsri: The woman in spotlight of latest Thai police scandal | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world