The Justice Ministry wants to put to rights a wrongful conviction case involving a former Sakon Nakhon teacher who served two years in jail for allegedly killing someone in a reckless driving incident in Nakhon Phanom in 2005.
The case was reopened after Jomsap Saenmuangkhot, a 54-year-old former teacher, who was freed from prison in 2015, sought help from the ministry's Legal Aid Centre for Debtors and Victims of Injustice. She was convicted of reckless driving causing death in Nakhon Phanom in 2005.
Ms Jomsap denied the allegation against her, insisting she had an alibi. She said she was with her family in Sakon Nakhon when the accident happened.
However, she was sentenced to three years and two months in jail in 2013, and released in 2015 under a royal pardon.
Speaking at a press conference on the case Monday, Nithit Purikhup, a secretary at the centre, said the court agreed to revive the case after authorities managed, with the help of the legal aid centre, to arrest the person whom they suspect was the real offender.
They said they also managed to gather solid evidence to prove Ms Jomsap's innocence.
The press conference was also attended by Dussadee Arayawuthi, deputy permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry.
A new trial is scheduled to start next Monday, at which the new suspect will give testimony and plead guilty in court, Mr Nithit said.
As for compensation for Ms Jomsap, she will have to wait for the court ruling to prove her innocence before submitting a formal petition seeking compensation as a victim in a criminal case.
The compensation will be paid to her in accordance with the Compensation and Expenses for Injured Persons and the Accused Act, he said.
Meanwhile, Ms Jomsap said Monday her wrongful conviction has affected her and her family's lives as it has tainted her reputation and robbed her of career prospects.
The incident resulted in one of her children being forced to leave school because she could not earn an income to support the child.
She said she was working as a teacher in her hometown for 31 years before being jailed.
However, even though she would be proving her innocence at the new trial, education agencies in Sakon Nakhon are still refusing to re-hire her.
They say they need to wait for the court's ruling before they can review her application to work as a school teacher.