Former land official ‘commits suicide’ in DSI custody
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is probing the alleged suicide of a former land official, allegedly involved in the issuance of land ownership documents in Phuket and Phangnga, while in its custody.
Thawatchai Anukul was pronounced dead early yesterday while being rushed to Mongkutwattana General Hospital on Chaeng Wattana Road. The man, who was being held in a detention room, gave no response to officials’ calls and was found unconscious.
Officials gave him first aid as he was still alive at that time, but the help came too late, deputy DSI chief Songsak Raksaksakun said yesterday as he expressed his condolences to Thawatchai’s relatives.
According to an initial investigation, the suspect was found sitting with his back against the detention room’s door. Upon further inspection, officials found he tried to strangle himself by wrapping his socks around his neck and attaching them to a door hinge, Pol Col Songsak said.
“It was an air-conditioned room which was cold at night, so the suspect was allowed to wear socks,” Pol Col Songsak said, adding there was no security camera in the room.
Pol Col Songsak defended DSI procedures in treating detained suspects but said “we will find out whether our officials were careless”. There were three officials assigned to monitor the suspect.
Thawatchai, who was wanted on an arrest warrant implicating him in landrelated offences, was arrested in front of a barbershop in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district on Monday. He was then taken to the DSI as investigations continued.
The suspect had showed signs of stress during his detention after arriving on Monday evening, according to Pol Col Songsak. He ate little and asked DSI officials to turn off the light in his room as it disturbed his sleep. However, the officials could not agree to this request as they are prohibited by a regulation from doing so.
The DSI had planned to ask the court for permission to continue his detention and hold a news conference about the arrest yesterday, but the plans were cancelled following Thawatchai’s death.
Thawatchai, a former official attached to the Phuket and Phangnga land offices, became a key land fraud suspect after the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department filed a DSI complaint over his alleged involvement in encroachment at Sirinat National Park in Phuket.
Thawatchai had been on the run since 2003 when the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) implicated him in crimes, said Prawut Wongseenin, chief of the DSI’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime.
Thawatchai was accused of dereliction of duty when he issued land deeds for Layan beach in Phuket’s Thalang district.
He was also accused of illegally issuing land documents for part of Hat Thai Mueang-Khao Lampi National Park in Phangnga, covering 500 rai of land.
Thawatchai was allegedly involved in several land fraud cases in Phuket. One report said he allegedly issued land deeds for up to 700 plots of land.
Following a 2010 probe, the NACC believed Thawatchai committed severe disciplinary and criminal violations when he allegedly conspired to issue land deeds for more than 362 rai of land in tambon Ratsada in Phuket’s Muang district.
In 2013, the NACC also implicated him in a criminal conspiracy to forge land documents in tambon Karon in Phuket’s Muang district.
In March, the Anti-Money Laundering Office froze two plots of land at Freedom beach in tambon Karon in Phuket belonging to Thawatchai and his associates following alleged irregularities.