A committee will be set up to investigate the incident in which two young men were killed in a collision between their motorcycle and a police vehicle chasing them in hot pursuit in Thalang district of Phuket on Saturday, according to governor Chamroen Thippongthada.
The governor said this after a meeting between relatives of the two young men and Phuket police chief Pachara Boonyasit, meditated by Maj Gen Thinachat Jindangern, commander of the 41st Army Circle, .
He said the committee will comprise doctors, military officers, district officials and police. The investigation was expected to be completed in 30 days.
Mr Chamroen said if it was proved police were to blame for the incident which led to the death of the two young men, they would be subject to legal action and relatives of the victims would be fairly compensated.
- Photo coverage: Chase deaths stoke Phuket protest rage
He said the investigation committee would ensure justice for all concerned.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased.
Maj Gen Sansern said Gen Prayut understood the feelings of the parents who lost their children. The prime minister also ensured fair treatment to the families and the officers involved, and insisted that the government will not protect wrongdoers.
He called on the relatives and Thalang residents to refrain from vandalism as taxpayers paid for public property, Maj Gen Sansern quoted Gen Prayut as saying.
Pol Maj Gen Pachara, the Phuket police chief, said following this incident police would review their operational procedure to find out if there were any flaws in it.
The relatives of the dead said they were not satisfied with the result of the talks because no concrete conclusion had been reached. They said the four police officers involved in the incident should get harsher punishment than being transferred out of the area pending investigation.
The incident occurred at about 11am on Saturday when Pathomwat Panarak, 22, and Thirapong Srisamut, 17, both of Ban Don vilage in Phuket's Thalang district, sped on a motorcycle past a police checkpoint in a suspicious manner.
This prompted police to gave chase on a pick-up truck. The chase ended up in the police vehicle colliding with the fleeing motorcycle. Pathomwat and Thirapong were seriously injured in the collision. They were pronounced dead on being admitted to Thalang Hospital.
Police said 50 methamphetamine pills and a quantity of krathom leaves were found on them.
The incident prompted the relatives of the two and other residents to lay siege to Thalang police station and blocked Thepkasattri road in front of it, saying that the police had overacted.
During the 15-hour siege into the night, the protesters damaged the police station and set fire on nine vehicles. They also smashed and damaged 13 other cars and five motorcycles.
Fourteen policemen reportedly sufferred minor injuries in the incident.