Police say the prime suspect in the "hired scapegoats" scam, Suriya Nualcharoen, has admitted he hired two men to pose as the culprits in the deadly hit-and-run case in which former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot is believed to be a mastermind.
He was the latest suspect nabbed by police in Bangkok on Saturday night and, after his subsequent confession, deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta said Sunday investigators now have solid evidence to implicate Ms Jomsap in the scandal.
According to Pol Gen Wirachai, Mr Suriya told officers at Thung Song Hong police station he hired Sert Rupsa-art and Sab Wapee to fabricate evidence that they were drivers of a pickup truck which struck a bicycle, killing an elderly man, Lua Pobamrung, in Nakhon Phanom's Renu Nakhon district in 2005.
Police claim that Suriya Nualcharoen has confessed to being the mastermind who hired scapegoats to 'confess' they were responsible for the hit-and-run accident that jailed school teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot. (Photo by Pattanapong Sripiarachai)
The fabrication was part of the scam which Mr Suriya allegedly used to help his close friend, Ms Jomsap, seek a retrial in the case in which the Supreme Court found her guilty in 2013 of recklessly driving the vehicle causing Lua's death.
During the interrogation, Mr Suriya said he initially hired Mr Sert for 200,000 baht to pretend that he was the driver. However, because of a lack of evidence to support the false claim, he had to look for another person to be a scapegoat.
Mr Suriya turned to Mr Sab and paid him 400,000 baht to pretend to be the driver. Mr Sab told police he had not received the money.
Mr Suriya was thought to have given Mr Sab some money, which he declared before the Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court during the time Ms Jomsap was in jail, after she launched her claim to have been unjustly imprisoned.
- Earlier report: Prime suspect arrested
He suggested it be used to compensate Lua's family, to show responsibility and lend weight to the claim that Mr Sab did drive the truck.
Mr Sab turned himself in to Nakhon Phanom police on Nov 22. He allegedly admitted to the wrongdoing and implicated Mr Suriya as the person who hired him to pose as the driver.
However, Pol Gen Wirachai said the court-declared money which Mr Sab claimed Mr Suriya had given him did not belong to Mr Suriya. It was paid by another mastermind, the deputy national police said, referring to Mr Suriya's statement.
Police believe the scam was hatched even before the Supreme Court handed down the ruling against Ms Jomsap. This showed Ms Jomsap must have had a role since the beginning, Pol Gen Wirachai said.
Ms Jomsap, a former teacher based in Sakon Nakhon, now 55, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison over the car crash. After serving 18 months, she was granted a royal pardon in April 2015.
She later sought the retrial for what she claimed was a wrongful conviction against her. The retrial request was supported by the Justice Ministry.
However, the Supreme Court earlier this month dismissed her petition for a retrial due to a lack of new, credible evidence.
Nakhon Phanom police then brought charges, including making a false statement, against seven people who were summoned to report to the police. Mr Sab, together with his wife, Chan, and his two relatives -- Boontheong and Lerd, all of whom were implicated in the scam -- have already met police to acknowledge the charges.
Mr Suriya, a former school director in Mukdahan, is also among the seven suspects, but he failed to report to police. Nakhon Phanom police found he fled to Bangkok after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Police managed to locate Mr Suriya after tracking signals sent by a global positioning system in his car.
They nabbed him at Lak Si railway station in Bangkok on Saturday night while the suspect was waiting to meet a friend.
Two other suspects -- Niran Saenmuangkhot, Ms Jomsap's husband; and Thatsanee Hanphayak -- are still at large.
Police also accused Ms Jomsap of colluding to fabricate evidence. She was arrested in her home in Sakon Nakhon on Saturday.
