A dispute between a Surat Thani resident and the police is giving the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) a serious headache.
A 51-year-old woman, identified only as "Ni", told the CSD that when she and her son reported to local police that they had been assaulted by a group of plain-clothes police officers in April, she was turned away and told that she had fabricated the incident to discredit the police's investigation into a murder, which was allegedly committed by her husband.
"They asked me about my husband's whereabouts. When I told them I had no idea, they assaulted me," said Ni, as she filed a report with Pol Capt Sorasirat Niyomrot, the deputy inspector of CSD Subdivision 5.
Ni recalled that on April 10, a group of 10 plain-clothes police officers came to her home in Surat Thani's Phrasaeng district and forced her and her relatives into several police cars. They were then driven to the house of Ni's in-laws in Wiang Sa district.
The officers told Ni that they were looking for Arun -- Ni's husband -- who they believed was living with her or Arun's relatives.
Despite the fact that she had no idea of her husband's whereabouts, Ni said that she was assaulted several times by the officers.
"They hit my neck repeatedly as they drove us to Ban Pakya School in Krabi's Plai Phraya district," she said. "It was there that the murder, which allegedly involves my husband, took place."
On March 31, 65-year-old Charoen Yungthong was shot dead by a group of armed men. "Mr Arun is believed to be among the suspects," investigators said.
She was not only the only person who was assaulted. Her son, who was told to sit in another car, was also beaten up.
"I heard his cries when one of the officers who sat beside her in the car called his colleague who was riding in the other car," she said. "The officer ordered me to tell them my husband's whereabouts, or their colleagues would hurt my son."
Ni was later interrogated at the Plai Phraya Police Station on the same day before she was released the following morning. On April 14, she sought treatment for her injuries at Phrasaeng Hospital in Surat Thani province.
After that, she lodged a complaint at Wiang Sa police station and asked for help from Vibhavadi Rangsit military camp in Surat Thani's Muang district.
The investigation made very little progress, and was completely halted when a senior police officer called her.
"If nobody assaulted you, you should not report them. They just sat beside you," she said, referring to part of the call.
Ni said that she understood that the officers were simply doing their jobs, but she disagrees with the way they treated her and her family.
Deputy Krabi police chief Somchai Suetortrakul on Wednesday rejected Ni's claims.
He admitted the officers went to her house, but insisted that no one was hurt.
Ni also lodged a petition with the military camp after the court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Arun, said Pol Col Somchai.
"The soldiers looked into the allegation, but Ni's medical report did not indicate that she was assaulted, he said Pol Col Somchai, before adding that he clarified the issue to the military officers.
"I suspect somebody might have advised her to make the complaint to discredit the police force," he said.