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Thai policemen charged over Saudi gem murder

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

BANGKOK — Thai authorities Tuesday charged a senior policeman and four other police officers with murder over the disappearance of a Saudi businessman that was linked to the theft of Saudi royal jewelery.

The charges came a day after the Saudi charge d'affaires in Bangkok met with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to seek an end to the bloody 20-year saga sparked by the theft of the gems from a Saudi prince's palace.

The deaths of three Saudi diplomats, the wife and daughter of a jewelery dealer, and Saudi businessman Mohamamad al-Ruwaili have all been linked to the case, which has soured relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Lieutenant General Somkid Boonthanom, police commander of Thailand's northern region, and four fellow officers had been indicted with the murder of al-Ruwaili in 1990, the office of the Thai attorney general said.

"Somkid and four accomplices were indicted today at the criminal court for premeditated murder, illegal detention and concealment of wrongdoing," said Thanapich Mulapruk, a senior official at the attorney general's office.

All five suspects denied the charges and the court set March 29 as the opening date of the case, he said.

The case -- one of Thailand's biggest mysteries -- began when a Thai janitor was jailed for stealing gems worth 20 million dollars in 1989 from the Saudi palace where he worked, before smuggling them back to Thailand.

Police recovered most of the jewelery but much of what was returned to the Saudi owner proved to be fake and many pieces are still missing.

As the Saudis pressed Thai authorities to find the rest of the hoard, the three Saudi diplomats were shot dead in two separate incidents in a single day in 1989.

The indictment accuses Somkid, who at the time ran Bangkok's southern district, and the other four policemen of abducting al-Ruawaili in 1990 because they thought he was connected with the deaths of the envoys.

In October Thailand's Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for another former senior policeman who in 1994 abducted and murdered a gem merchant's wife and son as he investigated the theft of Saudi royal jewelery.

The merchant, Santi Srithanakhan, had bought some of the jewelery stolen in the heist.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...k3jCD8urDbOi48w

Court asked to declare Saudi businessman "missing"

The Office of the Attorney-General on Wednesday asked the South Bangkok Criminal Court asking it to declare a Saudi business who disappeared in 1990 a "missing person".

The missing man was seen in a car with Saudi consul Abdullah al-Besri on Feb 12, 1990, and was reported missing three days later.

It was widely suspected that al-Ruwaili was kidnapped by police investigating the Saudi consul's murder, and that he was tortured and later killed by his captors to cover up their brutal actions.

The businessman's disappearance and the consul's murder followed the killing of three other Saudi diplomats were in separate shootings on Feb 1, 1989. One of the diplomats, Saleh Abdullah al-Maliki, third secretary at the Saudi embassy in Bangkok, was shot dead in front of his home in soi Pipat 1.

Thailand indicts five police officers in Saudi blue diamond case

DPA

Jan 12, 2010, 5:44 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's attorney general on Tuesday indicted five serving and former police officers in the murder of a Saudi businessman allegedly linked to the theft of a prince's 50-carat blue diamond and other jewelry.

'The new evidence we have is sufficiently strong to believe the officers have done wrong,' said Thampitch Moonlapuk, executive director of the Office of the State Attorney Commission.

The five officers were charged with involvement in the murder of Mohammad al-Ruwaili, who went missing in Bangkok in 1990.

The 20-year statute of limitations on the case was due to run out next month. Failure to prosecute the police officers would have likely led to further deterioration in Thai-Saudi relations.

Diplomatic ties have been poor for the past two decades because of Thailand's failure to solve the al-Ruwaili case and the murders of three Saudi diplomats. The Saudis are also awaiting the return of millions of dollars of jewelry stolen from the home of Prince Faisal Bihn Abdul Ra-ish in Riyadh in 1989, including the blue diamond.

From June to August 1989, Thai janitor Kriangkrai Techamong stole an estimated 502 million baht (15 million dollars) of jewelry from the prince's Riyadh palace and managed to post it to Thailand before returning home himself. The theft prompted a Saudi investigation in Bangkok that has been linked to the slaying of three Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of al-Ruwaili from 1989 to 1990.

Thai police arrested Kriangkrai, who confessed to the thefts and went to prison, and Thai authorities retrieved much of the stolen jewelry, but when it was returned to Saudi Arabia, many of the items proved to be imitations, including the blue diamond.

Thai Police Lieutenant General Chalor Kerdthes, who was originally in charge of the investigation, has been sentenced to death for abducting and murdering the wife and son of a Thai jewelry dealer allegedly involved in the case.

Saudi Arabia downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand in 1990 over the unsolved cases, refusing to allow Thai labourers to work in the country and barring Saudi tourists from visiting Thailand.

In a recent statement, the Saudi Arabian government said it expected Thailand to tackle the unsolved murders and return the blue diamond before relations could return to normal.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asi...ue-diamond-case

OCTOBER 7 CRACKDOWN

Somchai, Chavalit, and Patcharawat to face criminal charges

By The Nation

National anti-graft commission will file criminal charges against ex-Premier Somchai Wongsawat, ex-Deputy PM General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and Police Chief Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan for their involvement in the October 7 crackdown on yellow shirted protesters.

The NACC also decided to seek both criminal and disciplinary actions against then Metropolitan Police Chief Police Lt-General Suchart Meunkaew.

PM denies to reinstate 3 police officers ordering Oct 7 crackdown on PAD

BANGKOK, 11 January 2010 (NNT) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has rejected the Police Commission’s proposal to reinstate three police officers held accountable for the violent crackdowns on PAD protesters in 2008

The Prime Minister stated that the Police Commission has no authority to overturn the ruling by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against the three police officers who had committed serious disciplinary offences.

He said he had provided the explanation to Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, the chairperson of the Police Commission, and asked the commission to revise the resolution which is against the constitution.

The three officers involved are former National Police Chief Police General Phatcharawat Wongsuwan, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Police Lieutenant-General Suchart Meunkaew and former Udon Thani police commander Police Major General Permsak Paradonsak.

The police board's recent decision to reinstate the officers contradicts the NACC's ruling that they must be dismissed from their posts.

The former Police Chief and the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner were found guilty of mishandling the mass demonstration led by the People's Alliance for Democracy in October 7, 2008, while the former Udon Thani police commander was charged with his failure to prevent the violent clashes between the supporters of the anti-government United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and those of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occurring in northeastern province of Udon Thani province.

The Prime Minister added that those three embattled police officers have legal rights to seek justice from the Administrative Court.

-- NNT 2010-01-11

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Funny to read the article and the Reds' attempt to distance themselves from Thaksin or the violence they've instigated and attempt to move into mainstream politicking. Then, they follow that up later in the article with quotes from the likes of the Udon Thani madman who led the disgusting armed assault by the Reds there:

"We fight through peaceful means," explained pro-UDD radio broadcaster Kwanchai