The chief of Din Daeng Police Station has ordered an investigation into a video clip circulating on the internet purportedly showing a subordinate fleeing from at least two men who accuse him of blackmailing their female friend into having sex with him at a hotel.
The video clip showed an unidentified man in his 40s wearing a police uniform walking from a short-term rental apartment, Ban Petch Siri, in Prachasongkroh Soi 25/1 in the Din Daeng area. Another man’s voice was heard saying, “You, you, you come talk to me first. Where are you going?”
The man in uniform suddenly started running away from him, heading to the mouth of Prachasongkroh Soi 23, and was followed by a man wearing an orange T-shirt and another man who video taped the chase.
The photographer was heard telling his friend to try to catch the officer and not to fear him. The orange-shirt man shouted: “Thug, thug, (that) policeman is a thug.” And, “Why did you take my friend into the hotel?”.
The two men were heard yelling and alerting bystanders to help them catch the officer while they were running along the road. They said the man in front of them tried to rape their friend.
The video showed the officer going into Prachasongkroh Soi 23. About 100 metres from the mouth of the soi, two police officers arrived on a motorcycle. The pillion rider got off the bike and tried to contain the situation.
The first officer being chased by the men was seen calling on the pillion rider to rush back to his motorbike and then the three of them left the scene quickly.
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The video, entitled "Policeman flees people", was posted on YouTube on Saturday by a user named Kai Ja Dai Yin Mai Wa Siang Krai.
The user posted a message quoting a member of the Good Luck Community on Facebook identified as Saen Sathorn as saying that a man claiming to be a police officer conducted a drug urine test on his younger female friend. But the man ended up asking for money from her. When she said she did not have enough money, he then told her to give only half of the requested amount.
The man later told the woman to follow him and it appeared that he led her to a hotel and arranged to have sex with her. The woman sought help from her male friends by texting to their mobile phones.
Din Daeng police chief Pol Col Panop Worathanatchakul said a preliminary investigation found the incident likely occurred on Friday night in front of a petrol station opposite Prachasongkroh Soi 25. The officer who was being chased by the two men was Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit Nukulkij, 42, the squad leader of the crime control unit at the station.
Two officers on motorcycle patrol who were seen in the video escorting Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit from the scene were earlier alerted to the incident by a resident. They patrolled the area and came across a foot chase after they heard someone yelling.
Pol Col Panop said he was told by the two officers, whose names were not released, that they decided to take Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit back to the station to avoid a violent confrontation as about a dozen people were chasing him. The officers asked the men to come to the station so that they could talk about what happened.
After arriving at the station, the two officers asked Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit why he was chased by the civilians but the officer suddenly left the premises. The accusers did not show up at the station.
Pol Col Panop called on those involved in the incident to give information to him directly at the station.
He said he had not yet talked to Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit because he was on leave to take a promotional examination for a commissioned rank in Songkhla province from Saturday to Tuesday, April 27-30. The officer had applied for leave of absence before the incident took place, he said.
The two other officers were also on leave to take an examination, but both would be questioned along with Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit, he added.
He said an investigation is underway and a committee chaired by his deputy Pol Lt Col Prapoj Anusiri would be set up to investigate the allegation of misconduct against Pol Sen Sgt Maj Worawit. He would call him in for questioning once he had finished taking the exam, regardless of his leave period.
Pol Col Panop pledged to probe the case quickly and give fair treatment to all concerned parties.