Drug police pay off 'wrongful arrest'

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Drug police pay off 'wrongful arrest'
Published: 27/06/2011 at 01:52 PM
Bangkok Post: Online news:  

The police Narcotics Suppression Bureau on Monday paid 300,000 baht to a man who was wrongly arrested on drug charges and detained for 23 days.

The money was handed over to Somjai sae Lim, 39, by NSB commissioner Atithep Panjamanont.

Pol Lt-Gen Atithep said Mr Somjai was wrongly arrested on May 26 this year on drug charges.

In this case, the NSB police in 2009 arrested two drug suspects in Nong Ya Plong district of Phetchaburi province while two other suspects  escaped.

Following  an investigation, the NSB obtained a warrant for the arrest of the two escapees, and one of them was named as Mr Somjai.

Mr Somjai was subsequently arrested on May 26 this year.

But the suspects caught earlier confirmed Mr Somjai was not the right person.  At the time, Mr Somjai had already been indicted before the court.

Pol Lt-Gen Atithep said he helped Mr Somjai  petition the court and he was subsequently freed after being detained for 23 days.

He apologised to Mr Somjai for the mistake.

Pol Lt-Gen Atithep said a disciplinary committee had been set up to investigate police who were involved in the wrongful arrest and to prevent a recurrence of the mistake.

Mr Somjai thanked the police for the financial assistance.  He said the money would be used partly to repay debts his wife, Surin Pikulkhao, had incurred to pursue the case and partly on medical treatment bills for his wife, who has Thalassemia.

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Payout for wrongful arrest
The Nation 2011-06-28

A man wrongfully implicated and detained by the police Narcotics Suppression Bureau has been awarded Bt300,000 in compensation.

NSB commander Pol Lt-General Atithep Panjamanont, speaking at a news conference yesterday, apologised to Somjai sae-Lim, 39, for pressing a charge against him and detaining him for 23 days. He blamed a citizen registration database for wrongly identifying Somjai because another suspect had exactly the same name.

Before Somjai's arrest two years ago, police detained two suspects in a sting in Phetchaburi, who gave the name Somjai sae-Lim to police as an accomplice, leading to Somjai's arrest. During a line-up identification, the two suspects later said he was not a party to their dealings and NSB agents began the process of dropping the charges against him.

Somjai thanked the NSB for giving him the money, which he said would be spent on legal counselling over his detention, as well as to treat his wife for thalassaemia, a blood disease.

He plans to be ordained as a monk on July 10.