A source has disclosed details of how the three police suspects allegedly helped former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her secretary to flee.
Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning
Yingluck's escape route revealed
POST REPORTERS
A source has disclosed details of how the three police suspects, Pol Col Chairit Anurit, former deputy commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, and two other officers of lower rank from the provincial police office in Nakhon Pathom province, allegedly helped former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to flee.
Pol Col Chairit told investigators that on Aug 23 he drove a police patrol car to the car park of Tesco Lotus on Watcharaphon Road in Bangkok to wait for Ms Yingluck at 6.20pm. Five minutes later, a black Mercedes-Benz car parked by one side of his car.
He could not see at the time if she was in the car, and can't remember the Mercedes-Benz's licence plate number.
Afterwards, the Mercedes-Benz pulled out and led his car to the Chaiyaphruek housing estate in the Watcharaphon neighbourhood where it entered soi 23 of the housing estate while Pol Col Chairit was waiting in the patrol car at the entrance to the soi.
About two minutes later, a grey Toyota Camry carrying the licence plate number Nor Yor 2123 Bangkok emerged from the same soi and led his car away, said Pol Col Chairit, who admitted to being aware by then that Ms Yingluck was inside the Toyota car.
He then switched to the Toyota Camry when both cars stopped at his house on soi 38 of the housing estate. When he got into the Toyota Camry he found Ms Yingluck and her female secretary, both wearing black surgical masks fully covering their mouths and noses, and a dark cap.
From the housing estate project, Pol Col Chairit drove the car into Ram Intra Road, heading to Min Buri district, turned left into Suwinthawong Road, headed on to Chachoengsao province and then travelled on to Sa Kaeo province. They arrived in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo about 10pm on Aug 23 and proceeded to an area on Suwannason Road about one kilometre from the Aranyaprathet train station where a dark-coloured pickup truck was waiting, Pol Col Chairit said.
A man about 180 centimetres tall walked towards the Toyota Camry car after it parked behind the pickup truck to pick up Ms Yingluck and her secretary before leaving in the pickup truck together. Pol Col Chairit said he could not tell whether the man was a Thai or a foreigner.
Pol Col Chairit said after that he drove on for about 500m and parked the Toyota Camry to catch some sleep until about 2am when he returned to Bangkok.
He was home by 6am and left the car there until Aug 28 when he replaced the car's licence plate to a new one – Chor Khor 5323 Bangkok – and drove it to Pol Sen Sgt Maj Pornpipat Makboonngam, another suspect, in Nakhon Pathom.
Pol Sen Sgt Maj Pornpipat told investigators he left the car at his restaurant, just opposite Silpakorn University, on Aug 30. He then contacted Pol Lt Col Samitr Chaiya-uenkham, a police investigator in Nakhon Pathom to get the car disassembled.
Pol Lt Col Samitr told investigators that after he took the car from Pol Sen Sgt Maj Pornpipat he simply left it at the house of one of his subordinates, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Thorarak Chaosuankaeo, until he was contacted by a superior of Pol Sen Sgt Maj Pornpipat asking him to return the car to investigators at the Royal Thai Police headquarters.
