A police sergeant from the Muang district station, in a province north of Bangkok, was apprehended late Wednesday. All five suspects in custody, including a major and a captain, were brought Thursday before a judge who was to rule on whether they should be held on charges of dereliction of duty, torture and murder.
In their search for him and Lt. Thoranin Matwanna, Thai police have asked neighboring countries to be on the lookout in case they have already managed to get across the border. “Successive Thai governments have a long history of failing to ensure accountability for even the most ghastly police abuses against people in custody,” he said.
The policemen first demanded 1 million baht from the suspects, which they agreed to pay for their release, according to the account. But then Thitisan demanded double that amount and ordered his subordinates to cover the male suspect’s head with a plastic bag and beat him until he agreed, said the junior policeman, whose name was not revealed.When the suspect died, Thitisan allegedly ordered his men to take the body to the hospital and tell the doctor the death was caused by a drug overdose.
“Shaken down in custody for cash”. Hey, I support law enforcement but only when they don’t break the law which seems to be happening a lot these days.
horrible