Police motorcyclist to pay B27m for killing doctor

The parents of Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul participate in a campaign on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in November last year. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
The parents of Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul participate in a campaign on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in November last year. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)

The Civil Court on Monday ordered a police motorcyclist who ran down and killed a doctor on a zebra crossing in 2022 to pay 27.3 million baht in compensation to her parents.

Pol L/Cpl Norawich Buadok, 23, rode the Ducati Monster big bike that ran down and killed Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, 33, on a pedestrian crossing in Ratchathewi district in the afternoon of Jan 21, 2022.

The junior policeman was attached to the Protection and Crowd Control Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

He was travelling at an estimated 108 -128 kilometres per hour when he hit the woman, an ophthalmologist.

He did not stop to help the victim, who died within an hour of being hit.

The doctor's parents had sued for 72.26 million baht in compensation.

The Civil Court on Tuesday ordered Pol L/Cpl Norawich to pay 27 million baht in compensation for the parents' lost financial support, and 331,230 baht in funeral expenses.

The court based the compensation on the dead doctor's monthly salary of 31,000 baht as an employee of Police General Hospital, and 1.8 million to 2.4 million baht in estimated annual income from part-time jobs at three private hospitals.

The parents had also sued the Royal Thai Police Office. The court dismissed the case, ruling that Pol L/Cpl Norawich was personally responsible for the doctor's death.

Pol L/Cpl Norawich was sentenced to prison. In January, the Court of Appeal increased his prison term to five years and one month.

Learn from listening

Click play to listen to audio for this story, or download to save the file
: :

Vocabulary

  • compensation: money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them - เงินชดเชย
  • dismiss a case: (of a court of law) to decide that the charges made against a person or organisation are not correct or proper procedures have not been followed and the case should not be taken to court - ยกฟ้อง
  • ophthalmologist: a doctor who is an expert in illnesses of the eyes and who can perform operations on people’s eyes - แพทย์รักษาตา
  • pedestrian crossing: zebra crossing, crosswalk - ทางม้าลาย, ทางขีดเส้นดำสลับขาว เป็นที่ให้คนเดินข้ามถนน
  • responsible for: deserving to be blamed for something that has happened - มีความรับผิดชอบ
  • sued: legal action taken against a person or organisation, especially by making a legal claim for money because of some harm that they have caused you - ฟ้องร้อง
  • term: a period of time for which something lasts; a fixed or limited time - ระยะเวลาที่กำหนด
  • victim: someone who has been affected by a bad situation, such as a disaster, illness or an accident - เหยื่อผู้เคราะห์ร้าย
Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (6)
MORE IN SECTION