Manas Paorik, who is wanted under a warrant issued by the Saraburi military court for illegal possession of war weapons, surrendered to deputy police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang at the Crime Suppression Division headquarters on Tuesday.
Lt Gen Manas Paorik, in grey jacket, surrenders at the Crime Suppression Division on Tuesday. (Photo by Wassayos Ngamkham)
He brought with him a medical documents claiming he was too ill from diabettes and an eye disease to report before, and he had 200,000 baht in cash to apply for bail.
Lt Gen Manas is a former deputy commander of the 3rd Army Region and adviser to a cabinet minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government. He was a classmate of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Class 10 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.
He said he contacted police to surrender after learning from newspapers that a warrant was issued for his arrest on June 25 by the military court in Saraburi province. He was one of 13 people named as "wanted" on the same day.
The warrants went out after authorities seized weapons in Wang Noi district of Ayutthaya province, Muang district of Lop Buri province and Krathumban district of Samut Sakhon. Authorities claimed they turned up evidence that linked the 65-year-old former officer to the weapons. The warrant said he was wanted for suspected plotting against the coup makers.
Lt Gen Manas denied any involvement with "men in black" during the political protests in 2010 or with Maj Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng, a polarising military figure killed by a sniper during the red shirts' uprising in May of that year.
He said he knew fugitive former Prime Minister's Office minister Jakrapob Penkair. Lt Gen Manas said he had not seen Mr Jakrapob since 2009.
Pol Gen Somyos Phumphanmuang, a deputy national police chief, said Lt Gen Manas would be questioned over allegations that he had been involved in many cases of political violence.
Former senator Somchai Sawaengkarn alleged in a Facebook post made on June 29, after seeing the arrest warrant, that Lt Gen Manas could shed light on attacks by ''men in black'' in April, 2010, including a clash at Khok Wua Intersection in which then-Colonel (but posthumously promoted) Gen Romklao Thuwatham and several others were killed.