Police bungle case, theft suspect freed

By The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- A court in Thonburi has dealt a blow to police esteem, freeing a Nakhon Phanom man accused of theft and criticising investigators for weak evidence and poor handling of witnesses.

Phisit Suwanpim was accused of posing as a buyer for a Bt15.8-million diamond ornament in 2006 and then stealing it from a house in Thonburi’s Bang Waek area.

 

He was arrested despite having proof he was in Nakhon Phanom at the time of the robbery.

 

When Phisit’s family complained to the Justice Ministry that he was falsely accused, a further investigation was conducted that uncovered flaws in the police probe.

 

Its findings were presented to the court in the defendant’s defence.

 

The court determined that police had ignored the insistence of two witnesses that Phisit was not the man who’d pretended to be the jewellery buyer.

 

It noted that police had failed to collect DNA evidence from the chair and table where the thief sat while discussing the jewellery’s purchase with the owner. The DNA could have been compared with Phisit’s.

 

The court acknowledged that the phone number the thief used to set up the meeting was registered in Phisit’s name, but found that police had failed to check whether Phisit registered the number himself or if someone else could have used a photocopy of his ID card to do so.

 

The lack of strong evidence and the defendant’s alibi left the court no alternative but to release Phisit from detention.

 

He was scheduled to be freed from Thonburi Prison on Tuesday evening.

 

Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Pol Col Dussadee Arayawut said he hoped the outcome of the case would prompt police to be more careful.

 

He said he had ordered the Department of Special Investigation probe on receiving the complaint from Phisit’s family and agreed there were several flaws in the original police work.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30327725

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-26

WOW, been in detention since 2006, without the conclusion of the case?

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

A court in Thonburi has dealt a blow to police esteem

 

Quote

 

es·teem

əˈstēm/

noun

noun: esteem

1. 1.

   respect and admiration, typically for a person.

   "he was held in high esteem by colleagues"

   synonyms:

   respect, admiration, acclaim, approbation, appreciation, favor, recognition, honor, reverence;

 

Got a problem/contradiction right in the first sentence.

1 minute ago, 2008bangkok said:

WOW, been in detention since 2006, without the conclusion of the case?

Thats what i would like to know also,not really clear from the article.

Wonder what the legal fees were like?

Let's hope if he receives any compensation for 'wrongful detention', that he doesn't just Phisit all away

Tell me this isn't another FIRST !

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The lack of strong evidence and the defendant’s alibi left the court no alternative but to release Phisit from detention.

No not really. The courts can convict people without strong evidence. They always have alternatives. Koh Tao as a case in point

RTP...Master Bunglers of anything more serious than collecting money !

Updates from BP - the theft was reported on Dec28 2016, not 2006. The guy has been in custody for 200 days, and is eligible for B500/day for wrongful imprisonment.

43 minutes ago, halloween said:

Updates from BP - the theft was reported on Dec28 2016, not 2006. The guy has been in custody for 200 days, and is eligible for B500/day for wrongful imprisonment.

 

Plus the proceeds from his theft, maybe?. We may never know with the bungling RTP on the job.

6 hours ago, Ceruhe said:

"he was held in high esteem by colleagues"

Not totally wrong. The colleagues is probably the only ones that have a high like that in their lifes. 

3 hours ago, tomta said:

No not really. The courts can convict people without strong evidence. They always have alternatives. Koh Tao as a case in point

Remember, the police officers word is enough, no real evidence needed, police don't lie, especially in Thailand, so I'm told

He had to go to jail...the real perpetrator paid way too much to go himself. Put another one in the Thai police win column. Oops, minus one eleven years later.