Teacher Preecha Kraikruan has started cooperating with investigators in the 30 million baht lottery ticket case and been released on bail.
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) took Mr Preecha, 50, and lottery vendor Ratanaporn Supatip, 58, to the Criminal Court in Bangkok on Friday morning for approval to prolong their detention after the first 48 hours expired following their arrest in Kanchanaburi on Wednesday.
Before the trip to the court, CSD commander Maitree Chimcherd talked to Mr Preecha for about two hours.
A source said Mr Preecha told Pol Maj Gen Maitree he would need a few days to consider matters before answering all police questions.
The source said that Mr Preecha's recent answers were very useful, and the CSD did not object to the request for temporary release.
Mr Preecha and Mrs Ratanaporn were arrested in Kanchanaburi province on Wednesday on charges of filing false information with police in claiming that prize-winning tickets from the Nov 1, 2017 draw belonged to Mr Preecha, and accusing retired officer Pol Lt Jaroon Wimool, 62, of embezzlement.
The former deputy inspector for crime suppression in Kanchanaburi has all along insisted the tickets were his.
Mr Preecha and Mrs Ratanaporn had been detained and questioned at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok since Wednesday. They had denied all charges and insisted on their innocence.
Kriangkrai Nakawaree, Mr Preecha's lawyer, said Mr Preecha and Mrs Ratanaporn would offer to place 200,000 baht each as bail. The court later released both suspects on bail of 100,000 baht each.
Pol Lt Gen Thitirat Nonghanpitak, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, arrived at the CSD on Thursday night and questioned the two suspects for about an hour. Pol Lt Gen Thitirat said he was there so that both would have better understanding of the matter, as police did not relish sending anyone to prison.
The lottery dispute came to light when Mr Preecha claimed in December that he had purchased the prize-winning tickets and filed a complaint with police against Pol Lt Jaroon, who cashed in the tickets.
Mr Preecha claimed Pol Lt Jaroon picked up the tickets after he purchased and then dropped them.
As a result, the remaining cash from the Nov 1, 2017 prize was frozen pending the conclusion of the probe. Pol Lt Jaroon had already spent some of the money.
The case was originally handled by Provincial Police Region 7, which oversees Kanchanaburi and other western provinces.
That investigation concluded Mr Preecha was the real owner of the tickets, based on the testimony of witnesses. The finding was met with loud scepticism by the public, and the national police chief on Feb 5 ordered the regional police to transfer the case to the CSD.
