Officials face the grip of Jomsap ‘whitewash’
Activist says over 20 suspects, including 10 officials, plotted to clear ex-teacher.
JUSTICE MINISTRY deputy permanent secretary Pol Colonel Dusadee Arawuit has fallen under a cloud of suspicion for allegedly taking sides with a network that attempted to whitewash the record of a former teacher in a high-profile 2005 hit-and-run case.
Police expected Dusadee and 13 other officials from the ministry and Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to provide information today in the ongoing investigation into convict Jomsap Saenmuangkhot’s alleged plot to hire a scapegoat to claim responsibility for the fatal accident. Dusadee had openly backed Jomsap’s efforts to seek a retrial. He admitted that he was aware that at least two persons testifying in favor of Jomsap had failed lie-detector tests only after the Supreme Court rejected her request for a retrial on November 17.
Throughout the past two weeks, Dusadee has kept a low profile as he faces a Justice Ministry investigation. Jomsap, who was convicted and jailed for the 2005 accident by the Supreme Court, had been trying to overturn the guilty verdict against her by seeking a retrial. The Court of Appeals ordered a review of evidence in response to her request for the retrial, after she received support from the Justice Ministry.
Jomsap has claimed she was innocent while another individual, Sap Wapi, came forward to claim responsibility for the accident. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected her request for a retrial and indicated that there had been a plot to hire Sap as a scapegoat. After the court announced the decision, police initiated perjury investigations against several |suspects including Sap, Jomsap |and her close friend Suriya Nuancharoen. Jomsap and Suriya are now being detained during the investigation.
Sap has admitted he was offered Bt400,000 to claim responsibility for the accident. Police spokesman Pol General Wirachai Songmetta said yesterday that he expected 14 officials to testify to investigators handling Jomsap’s case today. “We have already interrogated more than 30 persons involved,” he said. Jomsap’s former husband Nirun Saenmuangkhot did not show up for questioning yesterday, but one of |his relatives submitted a letter asking for a postponement of questioning.
Tassanee Harnpayak, who reportedly witnessed the accident, answered the police summons yesterday and claimed her memory was poor because she had health problems. Police then took Tassanee to a hospital for a medical check up. At present, Tassanee is not being treated as a witness in Jomsap’s case but as a perjury suspect. She has changed her testimony several times, raising suspicions |that she might have lied to help Jomsap.
Meanwhile, Help Crime Victim Club president Atchariya Ruangrat-tanapong yesterday presented items to police that he said could be used as evidence against the suspects. “This gang involves more than 20 persons of them, 10 are state officials,” he said. He said a lawyer with 11 fingers whose first name begins with a “T” had been a key figure behind the plot. He added that he really doubted Dusadee’s intentions in trying to help Jomsap. “There are many questions he and his team should answer,” Atchariya said. Source: Asia Nation
