An arrest warrant has been issued by the local court for Apichai Kroppetch, the head of the Pattaya police force. The arrest warrant was issued after Apichai left Thailand on a trip and failed to turn up to a hearing.
But the case is not directly related to his job in the force.
The matter relates to a private disagreement between the chief and another high ranking officer called Phairat Phaiphonrat over the spreading of information on social media.
Apichai is the defendant in the case.
Yesterday a fellow officer at the Pattaya Station attended court on behalf of the chief but was told that as it was a private matter the chief had to appear in person. He could not send a representative.
It was explained that the chief was out of the country from March 14th to 17th. When he got back, his representative Chatchaphon Patanasiriporn said, he would contact the court to explain matters.
Court procedure meant that an arrest warrant was issued for the chief for his absence when required to be at a hearing.
Pattaya News did not give details of the case between the two policemen apart from saying that it referred to the sharing of information on social media.
Source: Pattaya
