The Civil Court on Monday ordered a police motorcyclist who ran down and killed a doctor on a zebra crossing in 2022 to pay 27.3 million baht in compensation to her parents.
The order was made against Pol L/Cpl Norawich Buadok, 23, who was driving the Ducati Monster big bike that ran down and killed Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, 33, on a pedestrian crossing in Ratchathewi district in the afternoon of Jan 21, 2022.
The junior policeman was attached to the Protection and Crowd Control Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.
He had earlier picked up a police document, and had overtaken other vehicles about 30 metres before the crossing. He was travelling at an estimated 108 -128 kilometres per hour when he hit the woman, an ophthalmologist, in front of Bhumirajanagarindra Kidney Institute Hospital.
The rider did not stop to help the victim, who died within an hour of being hit.
The plaintiffs were the doctor’s parents – Dr Anirut Supawatjariyakul and Ratchanee Supawatjariyakul, both aged 64 years.
They had sued for 72.26 million baht in compensation for lost financial support from their daughter. The plaintiffs also demanded 539,493 baht in compensation for funeral costs.
The Civil Court on Tuesday ordered Pol L/Cpl Norawich to pay 27 million baht in compensation for the parents’ lost financial support, and 331,230 baht in funeral expenses.
The court based the compensation on the dead doctor’s monthly salary of 31,000 baht as an employee of Police General Hospital, and 1.8 million to 2.4 million baht in estimated annual income from part-time jobs at three private hospitals.
The parents had also sued the Royal Thai Police Office. The court dismissed the case, ruling that Pol L/Cpl Norawich was personally responsible for the doctor’s death.
Pol L/Cpl Norawich had also faced criminal charges in the case, and was convicted and sentenced to prison. In January, the Court of Appeal increased his prison term to five years and one month.
