The mother of TV actress Pattarathida "Tangmo" Patcharaveerapong has asked investigators to transfer the body of her daughter to the Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Science for re-examination, according to the lawyer assigned to the case.
Lawyer Kritsana Sriboonpimsuay said yesterday, "I have submitted a document to investigators at the Provincial Police Region 1 asking them to freeze the body before transferring it to the Central Institute of Forensic Science, as the family has raised concerns about wounds [on the body] and cause of death".
He said re-examination of the body would delay the cremation set for tomorrow.
The body was sent to the Police General Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine for a postmortem on Feb 26. The actress died after falling into the Chao Phraya on Feb 24.
On March 1, Pol Lt Gen Jirapat Phumichit, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, said a forensic examination confirmed Tangmo died by drowning and that her body had a deep cut on the left leg, possibly caused by a boat propeller. The examination could not determine whether she fell from the boat or was pushed.
The move to re-examine the body took place after actor and rescue worker Ekkapun "Tide" Bunluerit, who was among the first to see the body after it was retrieved from the river, told a TV show that Tangmo's face may have been struck by a hard object, as there was bruising around her right eye, with several teeth seemingly broken.
But on March 11, speaking on condition of anonymity, the doctor at the Police General Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine who conducted the autopsy said he found no broken teeth. Meanwhile, a check on the actress's skull found no signs of trauma from a hard object. The doctor said the body had several wounds, notably a large one found on the right thigh.