Police will conduct a full investigation into the 25 officers who were present during the fatal shooting of a highway police officer at a party in Nakhon Pathom on Wednesday night, police inspector-general Pol Gen Visanu Prasarttong-Osoth said on Saturday.
Pol Maj Sivakorn Saibua was gunned down following a heated argument with influential subdistrict head Praween “Kamnan Nok” Chankhlai. The gunman, Thananchai Manmak, managed to escape despite the presence at the scene of two dozen police officers.
As well, it has been reported that evidence at the scene was tampered with or destroyed and surveillance video erased.
Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the national police chief, quickly contacted the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and asked it to initiate a disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of the 25 officers.
Pol Gen Visanu said the office would also coordinate with the ongoing criminal investigation led by Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, a deputy national police chief.
He said Pol Gen Damrongsak had acknowledged that the officers may face charges of negligence of duty, as they were unable to stop the gunman from fleeing or prevent the destruction of evidence.
The officers may also be investigated for other types of misconduct, amid suspicions that they might have acted in support of illegal activities attributed to the wealthy Kamnan Nok, including accepting bribes.
Mr Praween, who is accused of ordering the hit, surrendered to police on Thursday and was ordered detained on Saturday.
The police inspector-general said serious action would be taken in this case and pointed out that the most severe penalty for some instances of misconduct could be expulsion from the police force.
Thananchai, who was wanted on a court warrant for the fatal shooting, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police in Tha Rua district of Kanchanaburi early Friday morning.
“(The gunman) surely had help,” Pol Gen Surachate said on Saturday. “Today, we know who was among those providing help. All will face legal action.
“Some abandoned the scene of the crime. Some left. Or it could be said in simple terms that they failed to perform their duty as police and they also helped the suspect.”