Dusadee Arayawuth, the deputy permanent secretary for the Ministry of Justice, will be questioned by police over a so-called scapegoat-for-hire scam involving former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot and a hit-and-run case that dates back several years, a senior police officer said Tuesday.
Acting deputy national police chief Pol Gen Wirachai Songmetta said the senior justice official will be quizzed as a witness over his decision to help the ex-teacher, whose vehicle struck and killed an elderly man.
Ms Jomsap, after serving 18 months in jail for the incident, lodged a petition with the ministry's support, claiming she was wrongfully convicted. Pol Col Dusadee is known to have backed her bid to seek a retrial.
According to Pol Gen Wirachai, several more people will also be summonsed for questioning.
Already included on the list are Natchapol Supattana, who initiated a campaign to solicit funds to support Ms Jomsap's legal battle, and a television show host who interviewed her several times.
Pol Gen Wirachai said even though Mr Natchapol's campaign appeared to be well-intended, police must interview him to make sure he was not involved in any wrongdoing as authorities suspect the former teacher or her family hired a surrogate to act as a fall guy for the crime so she could be exonerated.
He said police were also asking corrections authorities at the prison where Ms Jomsap served her sentence for information that could be useful to the investigation.
Meanwhile, two people including Ms Jomsap's husband Nirand Saenmuangkhot have reported to police in Nakhon Phanom to answer questions about the suspected scam.
Pol Maj Gen Suwicharn Yankittikul, chief of Nakhon Phanom police, said Mr Nirand and Thassanee Hanphayak, who testified earlier in Ms Jomsap's favour, reported to the police on Monday to give statements. Both were released without being charged.
According to Pol Maj Gen Suwicharn, eight people were accused of being involved in the alleged scam but so far only four have been charged.
They are Ms Jomsap; her teacher friend Suriya Nuancharoen, who helped seek the retrial; Sap Wapee, who was allegedly hired to pose as the driver; and his wife, Jan.
The Ministry of Justice, which has been criticised for its role in supporting Ms Jomsap's retrial bid, plans to rewrite the ministerial regulations for cases that go to trial, it said.
Among the proposed changes is a requirement that a committee must consider any request for a retrial, rather than handing the authority to just one person.
Mr Suriya, one of prime suspects in this case, was also embroiled in the illegal possession of Siamese rosewood in another case dating back to 2014, according to Cheewaphab Cheewaphan, head of an anti-poaching task force under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Task force officials confiscated 500 sheets of wood worth 10 million baht his house earlier but have since returned most of it, Mr Cheewaphab said.
