A provincial public prosecutor accused by fugitive Chaowalit Thongduang of plotting to have a drug suspect snatched from the clutches of police has been transferred to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) pending a fact-finding investigation.
OAG spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun said yesterday that the attorney-general had signed an order to transfer prosecutor Phongphiphat Kerdthep from the Songkhla Provincial Prosecutor's Office to the OAG's Office of Trafficking in Persons Litigation during the fact-finding inquiry.
Chaowalit, alias "Sia Paeng Nanod", recently posted videos online accusing a public prosecutor, only identified by the Thai alphabet initial "Bor", and six others of involvement in a plot to seize a suspect called Sitthidet from police in Phatthalung province in 2019.
In the videos, Chaowalit, 37, claimed he was unfairly treated and he was the only person sentenced despite numerous other suspects being involved.
The OAG spokesman said the public prosecutor's transfer did not imply guilt but was to uphold transparency in the investigation and maintain public confidence.
The probe panel would also look into the fugitive's claims that certain prosecutors had allegedly demanded 500,000 baht from him to drop a case against him, said Mr Prayuth.
On Oct 22, Chaowalit escaped from Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, where he was taken from the provincial prison for dental treatment and has since evaded capture.
He was serving a 20-year and six-month sentence in Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison for attempted murder related to an armed attack on police during the attempted snatch on Sept 2, 2019, in Phatthalung.
Although cornered in a forest hideout in Trang province on Nov 8, the fugitive, along with armed bodyguards, managed to escape after exchanging fire with police.
Earlier this month, the Songkhla provincial prosecutor filed a report with police in Muang district after allegedly receiving a death threat from a Chaowalit associate, whose identity was not disclosed at the time.
The letter, dated Oct 27, demanded the prosecutor return money to Chaowalit, threatening harm to him and his family if he refused.
The message contained the word "die" and a drawing of a gun.
The prosecutor denied knowing the fugitive, adding that he had been transferred to work in Songkhla from the Office of Juvenile and Family Prosecution in Phatthalung in April.