The father of a woman on Monday turned to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) to investigate his suspicion that the death of his daughter was not simply an accident.
Nareekan Yawiratch, 19, died on July 19 in Bang Pa-in district of Ayutthaya province after apparently accepting a ride home from an entertainment venue in an articulated lorry.
Lorry driver Surapol Darakham told Bang Pa-in police that the woman suddenly jumped out of the vehicle when he was behind the wheel that night. Bang Pa-in police recorded her death as an accident and later charged the 23-year-old trucker only for "detaining her", according to Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, a lawyer of the volunteer group that helps victims.
Sirinart Robrum, 18, who called Nareekan to come to the venue where she worked, was summonsed to Bang Pa-in police station for interrogation, but she was not charged.
The lawyer said he and the victim's father, Subin Yawiratch, had found evidence that convinced them that her death was not an accident. The two men, along with family members, went to the CSD office on Monday to present the evidence.
Mr Subin said the evidence included a voice recording of her daughter before she died, a record of her location before she died, and messages on the LINE application she sent to her friends. All indicated that her daughter might not have died in an accident, he added.
The family members of Nareekan Yawiratch bring an empty coffin to the Crime Suppression Division to get police attention on her death case. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
The evidence was already in the hands of police at Bang Pa-in police station, according to the father. The case went nowhere, he said, and he was not even summonsed to give his accounts to the investigators, he went on.
While checking the evidence at their office on Monday, CSD police received a surprise visit from deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul.
He was briefed about the case before going to the location where Nareekan was found dead in Bang Pa-in.
"Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon pays special attention to this case and ordered me to look into details," Pol Gen Srivara said.