He was responding to allegations being spread on social media.

The witness hearings are scheduled in Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court on February 8-10.

Chakthip also responded to the National Human Right Commission (NHRC)’s remark on Sunday that police should have investigated what went wrong in the case but senior officers had made threatening comments, which made people afraid to tell the truth.

Police were not willing to hear criticism from outsiders, the NHRC said.

Chakthip said police listened to criticism and urged the NHRC to be neutral, not just criticise police.

If the court rules that Jomsap is innocent, police had a plan of action, Chakthip said.

Deputy permanent secretary for the Justice Ministry Pol Colonel Dusadee Arayawuth declined to comment on the case, saying both the police and the minister were separately working on it and would meet soon for discussions.

Jomsap was sentenced to three years and two months in prison for reckless driving causing the death of elderly cyclist Lua Phorbumrung on the night of March 11, 2005, in Nakhon Phanom’s Renu Nakhon district.

She was granted a royal pardon in April 2015 after serving 18 months behind bars.

Jomsap, 54, is seeking a retrial in a bid to be exonerated, after claiming she is innocent.

The provincial court, in line with the order of Appeals Court Region 4, will hold witness hearings to determine if new evidence comprises grounds for a retrial, which the Supreme Court will decide.