Thai man arrested for drunk driving accuses 5 police officers of assault and robbery

Photo via Facebook/ ข่าวช่องวัน and Amarin TV

A Thai man accuses five police officers from Nong Hin Police Station in Loei Province, Isaan brutally attack him and flight his gold necklace and 1,000 baht in cash after police arrested him for drunk driving.

The family of Santi, 42, have called on Channel 7 to help them seek justice, accusing five officers from Nong Hin police station of physically assaulting Santi while he was in police custody for drink-driving at around 10pm on Friday, June 28.

Thunchanok, a 46-year-old relative of Santi, told the media that a drunken Santi was riding his motorbike looking for his runaway wife. He met two police officers outside his home and the officers searched him at a grocery store in the community.

A police van picked up Santi and took him to the police station. Then an undercover officer sent him home. Santi told Thunchanok and his 21-year-old son, Surasak, that five police officers, whose names he could not remember, had physically assaulted him and stolen a gold necklace and some cash.

Surasak revealed that he took his father to Nong Hin Hospital and told the medical staff that his father had been assaulted by the police. Surasak claimed that the hospital refused to treat his father after learning of the police assault and insisted that he take his father home.

Namfon, another of Santi’s relatives, aged 42, told Channel 7 that she then transferred Santi to the same hospital the next morning. A doctor took Santi to intensive care due to a collapsed lung before transferring him to Loei Hospital.

Police deny allegations

According to Namfon, Santi is now in stable condition but is unable to communicate due to injuries and bruises to his face. He told the family that police handcuffed him and brutally assaulted him at the police station.

Nong Hin Police Station Commissioner Terdsak Boonchote said the officers did not brutally assault Santi as he and his family members alleged. Santi had engaged in an argument and physical altercation with his wife before meeting the police. The injuries and bruises on his face were the result of a domestic dispute.

The police advised Santi to go home and avoid driving while intoxicated, but he refused. The police had to take Santi to the police station. Santi bit a police officer, fought with other officers, destroyed objects at the station, and tried to escape.

Santi’s rampage left him with even more injuries and bruises. Terdsak added that Santi crashed into a door while trying to escape the police station, further aggravating his injuries.

Terdsak promised to bring justice to both sides by questioning the five police officers and seeking more evidence before concluding the case. Terdsak did not mention the necklace and money stolen by Santi.

Crime News News from Thailand