The Court of Appeal on Wednesday increased the prison term handed to a junior policeman who ran over and killed a doctor on a pedestrian crossing in January 2022.
The sentence imposed on Pol L/Cpl Norawich Buadok was lengthened from one year and 15 days to five years and one month.
It said the original sentence handed to the officer attached to the Protection and Crowd Control Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, was too lenient.
The court said Pol L/Cpl Norawich failed to slow down when approaching the zebra crossing while driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle with no licence plate.
Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul died from her injuries after being hit by a motorcycle driven by the officer at the zebra crossing on Phaya Thai Road in Ratchathewi district. The tragedy sparked calls to improve road safety for pedestrians.
Pol L/Cpl Norawich was initially sentenced to two years and 30 days in prison and fined 8,000 baht by the Criminal Court in April 2022, but the sentence and fine were cut due to his confession.
He was released on bail pending an appeal in which he asked the court to suspend the jail sentence. The prosecutor and the victim’s family asked for a tougher sentence.
The Court of Appeal initially sentenced him to 10 years for reckless driving causing death and added two months for speeding before cutting the sentence by half. The 4,000-baht fine ordered by the Criminal Court was upheld.
Pol L/Cpl Norawich submitted a bail request with a surety of 300,000 baht but the Criminal Court forwarded the request to the Supreme Court for consideration. He will be held at Bangkok Remand Prison pending the court decision, which is expected in a few days.