Police are stepping up a crackdown on juvenile delinquency nationwide in the wake of the brutal slaying of a middle-aged woman, allegedly at the hands of five teenagers in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district early this month.
National police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol said on Monday he had ordered the crackdown to curb criminal acts by young offenders within a month.
He also instructed the Sa Kaeo police chief to keep records on all juvenile delinquents in the province while police have been ordered to keep a close watch on teenagers aged 10-15 years who remain outdoors after 10pm.
If they are found alone after that time, police will record their details, and their parents will be brought in for questioning, Pol Gen Torsak said.
In some provinces such as Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan, where incidents involving unruly youths often occur but also where there are not enough local police officers to deal with them, the Provincial Special Operation Sub-Division will also assist in the crackdown, he said.
Pol Gen Torsak also said that investigators have forwarded the results of a probe into the alleged misconduct of two police officers at the Aranyaprathet district police station to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. They are accused of torturing Panya Khongsaenkham into falsely confessing to killing his mentally unstable wife, Buaphan Tansu, known as Pa Kob.
She was killed by a group of teenagers aged 13 to 16, police said.
The suspects, caught on a security camera attacking the victim in Aranyaprathet, later admitted to killing Buaphan and disposing of her body in a pond on Jan 11. They are now being detained in connection with her murder.
Pol Lt Gen Somprasong Yentuam, chief of Police Provincial Police Region 2, previously said the officers had violated a disciplinary code under the 2022 National Police Act and the Criminal Code regarding dereliction of duty and malfeasance.
The two, however, were not at this point found to have violated the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, said Pol Lt Gen Somprasong.
A panel will hand over all evidence to Sa Kaeo police so its officers can investigate further whether these officers had actually breached the act, he said. At this stage, there wasn't enough evidence to determine that.
Pol Gen Torsak insisted that investigators were not dragging their feet or trying to help their colleagues.
Investigators need to be sure that solid evidence is gathered before bringing further charges against the officers under the prevention and suppression of torture and enforced disappearance law, he said.
Pol Gen Torsak added that Mr Panya cannot testify to police as a witness because he is now being treated for alcoholism in a hospital.
"Please don't rush investigators. They are trying to ensure that complete and correct evidence is gathered," the police chief said.
Arrested shortly after his wife's body was found on Jan 12, Mr Panya allegedly confessed to the crime before footage from a security camera showed it was the five youths who were responsible.
Mr Panya said he was ordered to strip inside an air-conditioned room and told he could not leave the station until he had signed a written confession, according to deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.
Activist Kanthat Pongpaiboonvej, known as Kan Chompalang, on Monday went with a niece of Mr Panya's to the Department of Special Investigation to seek justice because the police probe implicated only two police officers in the forced confession.
Mr Kanthat said Mr Panya's niece asked the DSI to investigate whether there were any other police officers at Aranyaprathet district police station involved and whether the two officers could also be charged under the prevention and suppression of torture and enforced disappearance law.
Thawatchai Thaikaeo, a former director-general of the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection, on Monday suggested that a curfew be imposed to prevent teenagers from remaining outdoors for the sake of their own safety.
He said an 11pm curfew is imposed in Washington DC and other US cities such as New Orleans and Atlanta.