Police have vowed to prosecute a group of seven people suspected of involvement in an attempt to seek a retrial of a hit-and-run case and portray a schoolteacher as a scapegoat in the case.
Panya Mamen, a police inspector-general investigating the case, said on Wednesday that police would take legal action against those behind a plot to revive the case involving Jomsap Saenmuangkhot, a former teacher who claimed she was wrongfully imprisoned as a scapegoat for a fatal car accident in Nakhon Phanom in 2005.
It is thought they are keen to claim a slice of the compensation the state is likely to award her if she is found to have been wrongfully imprisoned.
Jomsap was sentenced to three years and two months in prison after being found guilty by the Supreme Court in 2013, but she was released following a royal pardon in April 2015 after serving 18 months.
Pol Gen Panya said a probe found that after Jomsap was sentenced in 2013, the seven people brought a new suspect, believed to be the real offender, to Nakhon Phanom-based Renu Nakhon police station, which oversaw Jomsap's case.
However, the suspect at the time was not Sap Wapee, the latest key witness who claims he drove the car involved in the hit-and-run accident.
Renu Nakhon police submitted a report about the new suspect to Nakhon Phanom Provincial Police as the suspect was arrested in an area which was not under their supervision.
The group later took the suspect to meet an officer with the rank of police colonel at the provincial police headquarters.
Pol Gen Panya said police had information about the seven suspects, adding they were also questioning the first person who claimed to be the real offender.
The investigation result was expected in a couple days. An investigation by the Provincial Police Region 4 also found one suspect's car, carrying the licence plate number Bor Khor 56 Mukdahan, was not registered to Mr Sap between 2004 to 2009.
Earlier, police said the gang had pulled off a similar stunt in several cases previously. They succeeded in some but failed in others.
On Monday, the Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court postponed hearing Jomsap's petition seeking a retrial until Feb 8-10 after Mr Sap failed to appear in court. His testimony is crucial to Jomsap's case. Jomsap's legal team said they would need time to contact Mr Sap.
Pol Gen Panya said the Nakhon Phanom officer overseeing the case in 2005 conducted his probe in accordance with investigation procedures.
Also Wednesday, deputy police spokesman Krisana Pattanacharoen called on the public not to jump to conclusions on Jomsap's case, saying they should wait for the probe result. Pol Col Krisana also warned that netizens who criticise the trial could face a contempt of court charge.
Police need to examine all aspects of the case including the seven people believed to have masterminded the scapegoat plot, he said. However, if the probe confirms police were framed, Pol Col Krisana insisted the Royal Thai Police would immediately file a lawsuit, demanding compensation from those involved in the scam.
On Tuesday, police also quizzed a former Mukdahan senator who was approached by someone asking him to represent Jomsap as her lawyer in the 2005 case after the Appeal Court acquitted her.
Meanwhile, deputy permanent secretary for justice Dusadee Arayawut said Jomsap also submitted three witnesses and evidence that had never been presented in the previous court trial when she sought help from the ministry with the retrial.
He believed the evidence would be solid enough to overturn the earlier verdict.