Police have charged a driver with murder after a 19-year-old girl who he claimed had jumped off his semi-trailer died. He denied the charge.
Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said on Thursday police informed Surapol Darakham, who was detained in the Ayutthaya provincial prison, of the additional charge because there was enough evidence.
Pol Gen Srivara also said he ordered subordinates to contact the management of the hospital where the teenage girl had been treated before her death. Police were trying to find the dead's missing underpants, an important piece of evidence, he said.
The deputy national police chief referred to the death of Nareekan Yawirat who was pronounced dead in the morning of July 20. Mr Surapol, 23, brought her to Karunvej Hospital in Ayutthaya in the late night of July 19, claiming she jumped off his lorry while he was sending her home and was seriously injured.
Pol Gen Srivara said existing evidence pointed to Mr Surapol as the only suspect.
The deputy national police chief also ordered a probe into the claim that local police had earlier been bribed for 300,000 baht to distort investigation in the case.
Earlier, police in Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in district concluded that Nareekan died of the injuries from the fall after visiting an entertainment venue with friends on July 19.
A subsequent autopsy showed that Nareekan's head had been hit with a hard, blunt object inconsistent with injuries sustained by the fall.
Police from the Crime Suppression Division and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division had also stepped in to find out if the case involved human trafficking.
Nareekan's friend Sirinart Robrum, 18, was charged with colluding in the detention of Nareekan in a manner leading to her death. Earlier, police charged Mr Surapol with detention causing death.
Miss Sirinart, her boyfriend, Mr Surapol and Nareekan had reportedly visited an entertainment venue before the incident.
Ms Sirinart earlier denied she was a decoy who lured Nareekan to a group of truck drivers. She said she and Nareekan had known Mr Surapol for two months and Nareekan had accepted a ride in his truck back to her dormitory because it was on his way.
