Srivara orders dorm kill case transfer
Kin, fearing for safety, want CSD in charge
Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul has ordered police to speed up the transfer of a case involving the gruesome killing of a university student in Phetchaburi to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD).
Pol Gen Srivara said yesterday that he has ordered the case transferred from Cha-am police to the CSD’s sub-division 5.
The instruction came after the family of the victim, Teerapong Thitathan, a 24-yearold student at Silpakorn University’s Phetchaburi campus, met Pol Gen Srivara on Wednesday at the Royal Thai Police, calling on him to help get the CSD to take over the case.
The family made a formal request, saying they feared for their safety since several suspects involved in the case are the sons of local influential figures.
CSD commander Suthin Sapphuang said yesterday that the CSD was in the process of taking over the case from Cha-am police who are under the supervision of Provincial Police Region 7.
According to the Police Region 7 commander, no official order has been received to transfer the case. Pol Maj Gen Suthin added, however, that once the case was handed over to the agency, he would assign his deputy, Pol Col Suwat Saengnoom, to supervise the investigation.
On Feb 25, Teerapong died after he was beaten and stabbed in the head with a screwdriver at his dormitory in Cha-am district. Four other students were also badly hurt.
Three of the injured later filed a complaint against the attackers at Cha-am police station on Monday.
All 18 young people allegedly involved in the attack later turned themselves in to police. They were all charged with premeditated murder, intruding upon a property at night, and assault.
According to Cha-am police, an investigation found the attack had stemmed from the girlfriend of one of the assailants, Dechanon Moonmanee, who had left him earlier to go out with another man, called Ake (real name withheld).
She later left Mr Ake and returned to Mr Dechanon, who was told Mr Ake hurt her feelings.
Angry at how his girlfriend had been treated, Mr Dechanon led his group to search for Mr Ake at the dormitory, but could not find him, so they attacked Mr Ake’s friends, i ncluding Teerapong, instead, police said.
The victims said Teerapong had never met the attackers before and was only a friend of Mr Ake, adding several attackers were the sons of local influential figures.
Also yesterday, Songkan Atchariyasap, a lawyer representing Teerapong’s family and chairman of the Network Against Acts that Destroy the Kingdom, Religion and Monarchy, handed over a 30-minute audio clip of recorded conversations between the suspects after the incident, to CSD investigators.
He believed more than 20 suspects were involved in the attack, adding he would bring three or four witnesses to meet investigators soon.
Teerapong’s body would also be moved to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police Hospital for a post-mortem exam, Mr Songkan added.
As for a rumour that all the suspects could be temporarily released, Pol Gen Srivara yesterday said the release could be approved without surety at the discretion of investigators as all of them turned themselves into police without any warrants having been approved.
A police source said the victims, some suspects and witnesses were also questioned by investigators on Wednesday by police who tried to obtain further information about the case.