Three more questioned in Jomsap investigation
NAKHON PHANOM: Local police probing the case involving an attempt to deceive the justice system by former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot and 10 others have questioned three more suspects who were earlier summonsed to acknowledge charges connected to perjury.
Pol Maj Gen Suwichan Yankittikul, chief of the Nakhon Phanom provincial police, said yesterday the three additional suspects brought the total number involved in the case to 14.
One of the three additional suspects is Sert Roopsa-ard who had falsely claimed to be the driver in the 2005 hit-and-run case in which Jomsap spent 18 months in jail for hitting and killing an elderly cyclist.
With assistance from a group of people, Jomsap had, after serving her sentence and being released by royal pardon, sought a retrial of the 2005 case against her but the Supreme Court rejected her retrial bid citing a lack of evidence.
In the weeks following the court’s decision, Jomsap, 55, was transformed from victim of a miscarriage of justice into a suspect in a case involving perjury and payment to individuals to take the blame for the crime. Police have been teasing out the connection between Jomsap and the gang involved in attempting to buy the witness testimonies.
Mr Sert was identified as the man who claimed to be the real driver in the 2005 hit-and-run incident, while Sap Wapee was the second person to later claim to be the driver, Pol Maj Gen Suwichan said.
On Jan 11, the Nakhon Phanom prosecutors indicted Mr Sap along with his wife, Jan Wapee, based on witness statements and evidence pointing to the fact that Mr Sap had been hired to falsely confess to being the driver to help Jomsap get off the hook, an informed source said.
Both Mr Sap and Ms Jan deny any wrongdoing and have been released on bail, the same source said.
The other t wo additonal suspects are Wech Khlongkhlaew and Wijitr Khamluechai.
The three are all residents of the northeastern province of Mukdahan and the investigators had evidence to prove that they had been hired by Suriya Nualcharoen, a friend of Jomsap, as part of the plan to secure the retrial, Pol Maj Gen Suwichan said.
All three suspects have already met police investigators to formally answer their charges of misrepresentation of the facts, falsifying evidence and witness statements and perjury.
After they answered the charges, the suspects were questioned and released on bail. The investigators believe they posed no flight risk and had provided police with useful information in the investigation, Pol Maj Gen Suwichan said.