'Choke' to be included in checkpoint probe

'Choke' to be included in checkpoint probe

Pol Lance Corporal Ekkapol Juisongkaew (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun)
Pol Lance Corporal Ekkapol Juisongkaew (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun)

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: The Thung Yai police chief will be questioned as part of a police investigation as his name was brought up by a chief justice who refused to show his driving licence to a lance corporal.

Chief investigator Pol Col Sukkasem Nakhonvilai said on Monday the panel will ask Thung Yai police chief Pol Col Chokedee Rakwattapong for information after he is back to work after a vacation.

Krairat Veerapattanasuwan, a judge, claimed "Choke", believed to be the moniker of Pol Col Chokedee, was his friend when Pol Lance Corporal Ekkapol Juisongkaew signalled him to pull over and asked for his driving licence on the night of May 2. Mr Krairat refused to comply and was later let go by another higher-ranking policeman.

Mr Krairat is chief justice of of the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases for Region 8, which has jurisdiction in the upper South, inlcuding Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Pol L/C Ekkapol was transferred by Pol Col Chokedee a day later from a patrol duty so he could learn to be "more respectful when performing duty", according to Pol Col Chokedee.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha intervened and ordered the reinstatement of the lance corporal.

The incident caught attention in social media after a video clip had been posted and the catchphrase "I'm Choke's Friend" went viral.

The investigation, which started on Monday, will focus on the incidents before and after the clip was recorded and the transfer order, according to Pol Col Sukkasem.

Pol L/C Ekkapol on Sunday said he was ordered by his supervisors not to give statements while public support for him continued, including a show of solidarity by the principal of a school where he studied, who sent him flowers.


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