The family of the late tycoon Chuwong Sae Tang petitioned national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda on Thursday, calling for justice in the share transfer case they believe is related to his alleged murder.
Their move follows the decision by the chief of the Southern Bangkok Civil Litigation Department, Sutthi Kittisupaporn, on Aug 26 not to indict the four suspects in the alleged theft of 263 million baht in shares from Chuwong.
The case investigators had recommended indictment and arraignment in court.
Sirirat Sae Tang, Chuwong's wife, and Wanpen Thanawamsiri, Chuwong's elder sister, submitted their petition to Pol Gen Chakthip through an officer at the Royal Thai Police head office.
Mrs Sirirat said the family did not know why Mr Sutthi decided not to proceed with the case, as they had yet to see the copy of the order.
She said the prosecutors at the Southern Bangkok Civil Litigation Department were at odds over Chuwong’s share transfer case. Three prosecutors, one of them the deputy department chief, recommended indictment, but Mr Sutthi and another prosecutor decided against indictment.
Mr Sirirat said the prosecutors did not indict despite a well-executed investigation by the Crime Suppression Division. Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission had ruled there were irregularities in the transfers of Chuwong’s shares, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office had frozen some of the suspects’ assets.
“We want society to watch closely whether there is an intervention in this case,” Chuwong’s wife said.
Mrs Sirirat said the family was confident that the investigator’s case report had substantial evidence to indict the suspects in court, and appealed to Pol Gen Chakthip to review the 3,000-page dossier discreetly, because she believed he would then disagree with the prosecution's decision.
The four suspects are former deputy commerce minister Banyin Tagpakorn, 52, former model Kanthana Siwathanapol, 26, former stock broker Uracha Wachirakulton, 27, and her mother Srithara Phromma, 52.
They face fraud and forgery charges in connection with the suspicious transfer of Chuwong’s shares worth 263 million baht a short time before he was found dead in the front passenger seat of Mr Banyin's car after a minor crash in June last year.
The family has never believed he died in the accident and commissioned an independent medical inquiry which supported their allegations he died after being hit several times on the head with a blunt instrument.
It is alleged he was killed before he could receive word from the regulator that shares he had placed only as a guarantee against a loan had been transferred from his name to other people.
Under the law, if Pol Gen Chakthip decides there should be an indictment in the shares case, it will be sent back to the Office of the Attorney-General, where attorney-general Pongniwat Yuthapanboriparn will have the final say on the indictment decision.
The process will end if the police chief supports the prosecutor’s decision not to indict.
Mr Banyin, a retired police lieutenant colonel, has also been charged with the premeditated murder of Chuwong. Police have yet to wrap up their investigation report.