BANGKOK – Thai authorities are hunting down a group of police officers wanted for allegedly suffocating a drug suspect to death with a plastic bag in an incident captured on camera.
An investigation was ordered after video footage of the incident went viral on social media.
The clip shows a group of policemen – allegedly including the chief of a district police station in northern Nakhon Sawan province – wrapping a plastic bag around the man’s head while questioning him on August 5.
The footage shows the suspect loosing consciousness and some police officers trying to resuscitate him.
Authorities investigating the case said the station chief is suspected of causing the man’s death while trying to extract a two million baht (RM257,599) bribe.
“Everyone involved with this case will be probed. The process is ongoing,” national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk told reporters.
“We are not saying (the officers) are at fault, but the evidence is making us believe (that a crime was committed).”
The Nakhon Sawan provincial court has issued an arrest warrant for seven police officers, with three charges filed including murder by torture or cruelty.
Four policemen have been arrested so far, with the remaining three still on the run including the police station chief.
As many as 13 officers could be involved in the case, said Suwat. – AFP, August 25, 2021
