Four men and two women who attended a party in Nonthaburi and were arrested following the death of the product presenter Thitima “Lunlabelle” Noraphanpipat have been released on bail.
Police on Friday took the six suspects to the Nonthaburi provincial court to seek their detention from Sept 27 to Oct 8 pending questioning of six more witnesses and lab tests of evidence.
They are: house owner Chaiyaphon Panna, 29; his wife Phikulthong Boonph, 24; his brother Nathee Sathitpongsathaporn, 33; Kritsada Lohidee, 27; Pathanan Raksakul, 26; and Koset Ritnitiruek, 35.
The six were apprehended on Thursday in a separate case involving another young product presenter or "pretty", identified only as Deer.
Police said the suspects had encouraged the young woman to drink alcohol at the party held in the house in Bang Bua Thong district. She had been asked to pour alcohol from a bottle into her mouth for about five seconds to loud cheers from all present. Deer later became unconscious.
Later, someone at the party allegedly molested the woman. Traces of semen were found on underwear, shorts and a blanket seized from the house, Thai media reported.
Police have charged them with illegal assembly and colluding in indecent assault of a person aged more than 15 by using force against a person who was not in a condition to resist.
The Nonthaburi provincial court approved the police request to detain them. But it then approved bail for the six suspects. Mr Chaiyaphon, Ms Phikulthong and Mr Nathee reportedly placed 36,000 baht each as surety but will have to wear electronic monitoring (EM) bracelets. Mr Kritsada, Ms Pathanan and Mr Koset each placed 180,000 baht as surety.
Criminal suspects can be detained for up to seven 12-day periods, or 84 days, before an indictment must be formally laid.
Like Thitima, Deer had been hired to serve drinks and entertain guests at the party, starting from 10pm on Sept 16. Thitima left the party earlier that evening after finishing her shift. She too had consumed a huge amount of alcohol.
Thitima, 25, was found dead early on Sept 17 on a sofa in the lobby of a condominium building in Talat Phlu where her co-worker Rachadech “Nam Oun” Wongthabutr lives.
An autopsy found she had died from alcohol poisoning. Rachadech, 25, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with unlawfully detaining Thitima in a way that caused her death, sexual assault, and committing an indecent act.
Police cordon off a room at the house in Nonthaburi where the party was held. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Police take suspects to a party room at a house in Nonthaburi for a crime re-enactment. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
(Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)