A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a former deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) with an alleged link to a high-profile lese majeste case.
Pol Col Siwapong Patpongpanit is facing charges of negligence of duty in connection with the possession of police radio communication devices. The devices had been requested by one of the three people charged last year with lese majeste for allegedly exploiting the monarchy during the organisation of the Bike for Mom and Bike for Dad cycling events. Two of the accused have since died in custody.
Police investigators handling cases involving lese-majeste offences sought approval from the Criminal Court to arrest Pol Col Siwapong for violating Section 157 of the Criminal Code, which covers use and possession of radio communication devices without permission.
The request followed the search of a unit belonging to the late Pol Maj Prakrom Warunprapa at La Maison Condominium on Soi Phanom Yothin 24, in which more than 200 radio communication devices were found.
Prakrom died while in military custody shortly after his arrest in October last year.
The investigation found that Prakrom had asked for 100 radio communication units from the police communication division, claiming they would be for official use. Pol Col Siwapong, then the deputy CSD chief, handed over the devices to his fellow officer, investigators say.
Pol Col Siwapong had been under a police watch for suspected links with a lese majeste network led by celebrity fortune-teller Suriyan ‘’Mor Yong’’ Sucharitpolwong. Suriyan also died while in military custody last year.
After the arrest of Suriyan and the two other suspects, Pol Col Siwapong was transferred to the Central Investigation Bureau before voluntarily resigning from the police service.
Suriyan, Prakrom and Jirawong Watthanathewasilp, an aide to the fortune-teller, faced charges of breaching Section 112 of the Criminal Code for allegedly citing the monarchy in business dealings connected to the cycling events to obtain personal benefits.
Jirawong remains in detention.