A computer company executive on Thursday filed a libel suit against Suwat Apaipak, the former lawyer of slain businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr, for saying he was one of the masterminds behind Akeyuth’s murder.
Somchai Jitpreedakorn assigned his lawyer to lodged a complaint with Thong Lor police station on his behalf against Mr Suwat for defaming him.
On Aug 16, Mr Suwat told a press conference that Achara Saengkhao, another lawyer who worked with him, met Santiphap Pengduang, a key suspect, at a prison late last month and the suspect retracted his confession of killing Akeyuth.
He claimed Mr Santiphap, Akeyuth's driver, told Ms Achara that he and a group of men in uniform were hired for 3 million baht by Mr Somchai, who was his former boss, to kill Akeyuth.
However, police denied Mr Suwat's claim, saying the suspect had insisted that he had not met Mr Suwat or any of the lawyer's representatives since arriving at the Bangkok Remand Prison.
The complaint was submitted along with published materials containing defamatory messages and Suwat’s interviews at the centre of the lawsuit. It said the accusation damaged Mr Somchai’s reputation and significantly affected his business.
Previously, Mr Somchai admitted that the suspect was his employee for a short period, but that they worked separately and did not know each other personally.
Mr Suwat is likely to face another libel suit filed by the lawyer of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra after he linked him with Mr Somchai in the murder plot against Akeyuth, a staunch critic of Thaksin.
Thaksin's legal adviser, Noppadol Pattama, said Thaksin had sometimes seen Mr Somchai overseas at business events. Thaksin had not ordered or asked Mr Somchai to kill Akeyuth, he said.