The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a petition by former Sakon Nakhon teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot seeking a retrial to overturn a conviction in a fatal hit-and-run case in 2005 that saw her spend 18 months behind bars, citing a lack of reliable evidence.
Ms Jomsap, who is now 55, was found guilty of recklessly driving a pickup truck that struck a bicycle, killing elderly Lua Pobamrung, in Nakhon Phanom's Renu Nakhon district in March 2005. She was sentenced to three years and two months in prison by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Following a royal pardon in April 2015, she pursued a wrongful conviction case with the Justice Ministry in line with the 1983 Retrial of Criminal Case Act.
The Ministry of Justice later agreed to seek a retrial, making this the first case in 34 years since the legislation was promulgated.
In line with Thai judicial procedure, Ms Jomsap's petition was first submitted to the Appeal Court Region 4, which decided at a hearing this February to consider the retrial application. It then passed the case up to the Supreme Court for a decision.
In seeking the retrial, Ms Jomsap was able to produce a startling new material witness: While in prison in 2014, her relatives brought a man called Sap Wapee to the notice of the police who submitted a statement swearing he was behind the wheel when the pickup truck hit and killed Lua.
But according to the court's ruling yesterday, the evidence and witnesses that were brought to the hearing by the legal team representing Ms Jomsap with the aid of the Justice Ministry were neither new nor reliable.
The witnesses also gave conflicting testimonies, the court said, adding that Mr Sap's confession was not credible.
Among other reasons, he was not brought to testify at this year's hearing despite him being a key factor in the Appeal Court's decision to accept Ms Jomsap's petition for a retrial, the Supreme Court said, adding it saw no merit in altering the verdict.
Mr Sap told police he was driving to buy some eucalyptus wood when the crash occurred at around 8pm, but the court considered this to be unusual as wood traders would not normally make such a purchase at that time of evening.
Mr Sap also failed to testify at the court, which was seen as an attempt to avoid being questioned by prosecutors.
The court also found that Thassanee Harnphayak, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, gave inconsistent testimonies over three court hearings.
She told the court she was riding home pillion on a motorcycle with her friend, Thongres Wongsricha, at the time.
But Ms Thongres also failed to give a statement to police, thus making her an unreliable witness, the court said yesterday.
Police investigators said earlier they suspected Mr Sap belonged to a network that hired out scapegoats for crimes they did not commit in exchange for payment.
Ms Jomsap's friend, Suriya Nualcharoen, who helped seek the retrial, and Mr Sap were both suspected of being part of the network, police said.
Suriyan Hongwilai, a spokesman for the Court of Justice, said following the court ruling, Ms Jomsap has no right to receive any compensation and cannot request another retrial.
Somsak Dolprasit, acting secretary-general of the Teachers' Council of Thailand (TCT), said yesterday the body will not withdraw her teaching licence.
"Although Ms Jomsap's plea for a retrial was rejected by the Supreme Court, her crime was still an unintentional offence which is not against the TCT's criteria for licence renewal.
"However, whether she will be rehired as a public school teacher and civil servant depends on the Sakhon Nakhon Educational Area Office and the Office of the Teacher Civil Service and Educational Personnel Commission [OTEPC]," Mr Somsak said.
In September, the TCT returned a teaching license to Ms Jomsap, who earlier submitted a petition to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha via a public complaint centre for help.
The body approved her application for a new licence as her previous one had expired.
OTEPC secretary-general Pinitsak Suwanrang said if the local area office wants to reinstate Ms Jomsap, it will have to submit a petition to OTEPC justifying the move.
He added that OTEPC can only rehire people under the age of 50 by law.
