A FACT-FINDING probe is being undertaken to determine if the seizure of 204 cars late last year was the reason why a Bangkok police investigator committed suicide last week.

Sira Jenjakha, president of the civilian commission overseeing and following-up on police administration in Thung Song Hong precinct in Bangkok, revealed that Pol Captain Thawee Meunrak shot himself dead due to work-related stress. He had allegedly come under pressure from his superintendent.

The superintendent, Pol Colonel Termphao Siriphubal, has affirmed that he did everything by the law and was ready to explain himself to the civilian commission.

Meanwhile, deputy police spokesman Maj-General Songpol Wattanachai said a fact-finding committee, chaired by Metropolitan Police Area 2 chief, was set up to probe what caused Thawee’s suicide and whether it was linked to the seizure of 204 cars late last year found at a Lak Si mall parking lot. Songpol urged Sira to submit any information and evidence to this committee. It wants to complete the probe in two days.

Sira, in a press conference yesterday, claimed that a policeman had recorded an audio clip of the superintendent allegedly scolding four investigators, including Thawee, over the car seizure case. While Sira was talking to reporters, the police officer who reportedly has the clip phoned in and said he would not submit it because of fears for his safety. He would wait until the superintendent was transferred.

Accompanying Sira was a civilian friend of Thawee, who asked not to be named. The friend claimed that Thawee had complained about stress over the case in which the vehicles were seized – and the superintendent allegedly pressuring him to return the vehicles to a car finance operator. He said Thawee wanted to resign from work or he would commit suicide.

Sira called for Pol Col Termphao to be transferred for lack of transparency in his work, saying the commission had previously resolved to demand an explanation from the superintendent over alleged corruption in police administration but the date kept being postponed – and is now set for February 17. If the officer failed to show up to give an explanation, he would seek a meeting with the national police chief to file a complaint and call for Termphao to be transferred. Sira said there was already a petition campaign signed by 200 people – Thung Song Hong police and residents – calling for Termphao’s transfer.

Senior lawyer Suwet Jitmahawong, a former member of the Metropolitan Police Region 2’s civilian commission, said the 204 impounded cars were from two shops, one of which he had a few shares in. He said a court had ordered police to return cars that were deemed legal back to the owners for repair, and Thawee reportedly agreed, but the superintendent allegedly pressured him to return them to the car finance firm.

According to Termphao, both the owners and car finance businessperson were entitled to retrieve the cars, so if disputes erupted they would have to wait for court orders.

“Am I taking the car finance’s side? Why would I do that? The deceased investigator and I were being sued at the civil court too,” he said, affirming that he had done everything by the law and wished to continue working without fighting others.

Termphao said Thawee’s suicide was not spurred largely by the car case. He denied trying to speed up the matter or pressuring Thawee. He said Thawee was about to get another fraud case to probe and had gone over the details until 2am, but Thawee reportedly had a fight with his wife on the same day. He said he provided Bt20,000 from his own pocket to help with funeral costs. “How can you say I don’t love my subordinate?”