PM’s Office Minister Omsin Chivapruek who oversees the National Office of Buddhism, made the invitation during a visit to the abbot at his temple. The event was described as being simple.

Omsin said the invitation was implemented according to the royal tradition. The appointment ceremony for Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong to become the Supreme Patriarch, presided over His Majesty the King, would take place at the Emerald Buddha Temple tomorrow.

The new Supreme Patriarch will perform Sangha activities at Rachbhopit Temple’s Ubosot between 9am and 10.30am and |2pm to 4pm on February 13 and 15. |People would be given an audience during that period.

Omsin said Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong asked him to thank Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for the arrangement.

“The new Supreme Patriarch is very healthy although he is now 90 years old, partly because he has good heart and does not want objects,” he said.

Meanwhile to honour the new chief of Thailand’s Buddhism, an investiture ceremony will take place at the Emerald Buddha Temple tomorrow night.

The ceremony will start at about 6pm.

At the start of the ceremony, the King will present saffron robes to senior monks from the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC). He will then light candles and incense sticks to worship the Tripitaka, after which senior monks in the Racha Khana rank will chant and grant religious precepts to the king.

The Bureau of Royal Scribes and Royal Decorations will then announce the royal command appointing the new Supreme Patriarch.

Prayers by Racha Khana-ranking monks, and then prayers by SSC members will follow.

The new Supreme Patriarch and SSC members will then take seats among a group of monastic chiefs from across the country. The King will then present the golden plate bearing the name of the Supreme Patriarch, and items associated with this important rank to the Supreme Patriarch.

Monks at the Emerald Buddha Temple will then chant blessings. The royal astrologers will sound gongs of victory and Brahmin priests will blow conch shells, with traditional music following.

At other temples in Thailand, monks will ring their bells to mark the appointment of the new Supreme Patriarch.

After the King gives alms to other monks present, he will pour ceremonial water.

The Supreme Patriarch will then sit on a main monastic throne inside the temple hall. There, he will receive offerings from senior monks, the King, Privy Council president General Prem Tinsulanonda, Prime Minister Prayut, National Legislative Assembly President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai and Supreme Court President Veerapol Tungsuwan.

The Supreme Patriarch will later proceed out of the temple hall and then accept offerings from monks of Vietnamese and Chinese sects.

Pol Maj-General Somprasong Yentuam said initial examination of CCTV footage near the scene last Saturday showed a number of offences being committed, including double parking, speeding and reckless driving.

“All the offenders will be charged, in accordance with the witnesses statements and evidence we have. Anyone involved in the shooting incident will also face legal action,” he said, referring to possible accomplices.

So far, only the alleged shooter, 50-year-old Bangkok engineer Suthep Poshsomboon, has been charged with murder.

Somprasong said investigations into the shooting were almost complete, adding that he had instructed officers to wrap up the case within the next month.

The shooting took place in Chon Buri after an argument about parking at a local market, which was followed by a road-rage incident and a fistfight.

Camera footage showed a group of teenagers leaving their van to surround |and threaten the engineer and his family in another vehicle.

The teenagers claim Suthep chased them and they stopped their van to “negotiate” with him, but he pulled out a gun and killed the Bangkok student. Suthep claims the single gunshot was in self-defence because the teenagers were chasing him and surrounded his car, with his wife, mother and young |relative inside.

On social media, many people yesterday called on police to also take legal action against the driver of the van carrying the youths who they said should also be held responsible for what happened.

They said the shooting would not have happened if the van driver had not cut in front of the accused man’s car and stopped to allow the youngsters out following an earlier road rage incident.

Meeting the Justice official cancelled

Meanwhile, Suthep yesterday cancelled a scheduled meeting with Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dusadee Arayawuth, citing health problems.

Suthep had reportedly wanted to seek legal advice and apply for witness protection after his family had allegedly been threatened.

Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said yesterday that the police would ensure justice for all sides involved.

He said investigators would submit their report to public prosecutors within an 84-day framework.

In a related development, the cremation of the slain student was held yesterday afternoon at Bangkok’s Noi Noppakhun Temple.

His mother, Maneeporn Puangpai, said she had not been contacted by any officials regarding the case. As she could not do anything about the tragedy, she would wait for result of the police investigation, she added.

However, an investigation is continuing to confirm the |cause.

Following the fire inspection, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakparn, commander of the special police task force, said police were told the Vihara had been under renovation for some time and the cause of the fire was |initially believed to be an accident.

Surachet has assigned officers to check on the temple occasionally as an added security measure.

Temple abbot Somdet Phra Maha Muneewong was appointed the 20th Supreme Patriarch and the investiture ceremony will be held at the Emerald Buddha Temple tomorrow.

The website and the application, available in both iOS and Android, were introduced by DWF chief Lertpanya Buranabundit during an briefing on Thursday for 100 Thai women and transvestites who were about to travel to other countries.

The event included 100 officials and women rights advocates at the Learning and Training Centre for Older People in Chon Buri.

Sama-ae, who was also former kamnan of the tambon, was driving his pick-up to work when attackers in another truck opened fire at him at an intersection in Ban Pato at 9am. He died at the scene.

The assailants, who covered their faces with cloths and hats, sprayed bullets at Sama-ae’s truck. Police collected almost 100 spent AK-17 and M16 bullets from the scene.

Police suspected the motive could be a personal conflict or ongoing unrest in the region.

POLICE plan to arrest nine people who they claim fabricated evidence in the fatal hit-and-run case involving Jomsap Saenmuangkhot, if the former teacher’s bid to clear her name is upheld.

Two police officers revealed the intention yesterday during the third and final witness hearing session at Nakhon Phanom Provincial Court.

Police, testifying for the prosecution, told the court friends of Jomsap initially brought a man named Sert Roopsa-ard to surrender to police and confess that he was the real driver of the pick-up truck involved in the March 11, 2005 fatal crash.

Prosecution witnesses included Sert and a villager Ubon Chaiban who said he bought a pick-up truck kept ownership in the name of Mukdahan man Sap Wapi in December 2004.

Six of the 14 prosecution witness yesterday were police. They were:

Renu Nakhon police station deputy superintendent Pol Lt Colonel Kittisak Samritsakulchai, who was the case investigator at the time;

Renu Nakhon precinct’s deputy inspector Pol Captain Khaibancha Wangkhahad;

Nakhon Phanom investigation superintendent Pol Colonel Pramote Uthakij;

Na Don Police Station’s original case investigator Pol Lt Colonel Adisak Chomsriharaj;

Former Mukdahan senator, Pol Lt Col Jitt Sriyoha Mukdathanapong, who said friends and relatives of Jomsap sought his legal advice;

Nong Bua Lamphu deputy police chief Pol Colonel Pairoj Kujirapan, who led the Provincial Police Region 4’s investigation team to probe evidence for Jomsap’s retrial.

Kittisak testified that teacher Suriya Nuancharoen along with eyewitness Thassanee Hanpayak told him at Renu Nakhon police station on December 23, 2013 that they brought Sert, who they maintained was the real culprit, to surrender. He said he recorded the statement in his log, but Sert did not enter the precinct but waited in a parked car outside.

Pramote testified that on January 7, 2014, Suriya, Jomsap’s husband Niran Saenmuangkhot, Sert, Sap and Thaksin Saisida sought legal advice from him on Jomsap’s retrial bid.

Later police in Nakhon Phanom ordered the Na Don police station to check facts about Suriya’s claim that Sert was the culprit and investigator Adisak interviewed Suriya’s group before Pramote sent them to seek legal advice from volunteer lawyers at the provincial justice office.

Pramote said, after he learnt of Jomsap’s retrial bid, Provincial Police Region 4 sent a team of investigators, including Pramote, to recheck the case.

They confirmed that Sap’s truck had been sold in 2002 to other villager Lan Thonkaew, who had resold it to current owner Ubon Chaiban. Ubon claimed he kept the truck with him at all time and that it wasn’t involved in the crash.

From that information combined with other evidences, police said they were convinced that nine people had fabricated evidence to help Jomsap’s case. They were; Suriya; Niran; Sap; Thaksin; Thassanee; and four other teacher friends of Jomsap.

Police would wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling following the witness hearings to proceed, Pramote said.

Pairoj said police did not object to Jomsap’s attempt to seek a retrial and, if the court exonerated her, police would continue to investigate to find the real culprit. However, Pairoj said, the claim that Sap was the real culprit was a fabricated evidence that must face legal action and police would keep Sert, who was initially set to take the “fall”, as a witness.

Provincial Police Region 4 deputy chief Pol Maj General Thanasak Ritthidechpaiboon, who attended the hearing but was not a witness, told reporters that police would probe Sap’s confession, as it was suspected to be fabricated by a group led by Suriya. Police would first wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling, he said.

Meanwhile, police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said in Bangkok that police remained confident in witnesses and evidence that led to Jomsap being jailed.

He said, after this, the Supreme Court would consider and give its ruling based on information from witness hearings, while police would probe related points especially the alleged confession-for-hire network.

On Wednesday and Thursday morning, the plaintiff’s nine witnesses gave evidence with a focus on forensic evidence that Jomsap’s pick-up truck, which carried the licence plate “Bor Khor 56 Sakhon Nakhon”, had no trace of damage in the fatal crash and eyewitness testimony that the culprit was a 170cm-tall man.

Sert reportedly told the court on Thursday he was hired for Bt200,000 in late 2013 by another person but Suriya and Sap cancelled the deal the year after because Sert couldn’t drive.

Key players linked to fatal hit-and-run case 

Jomsap Saenmuangkhot, a former teacher based in Sakhon Nakhon, aged 54, who was sentenced to three years in jail following a fatal hit-and-run accident. Cyclist Lua Phorbumrung died in the March 11, 2005 incident in Renu Nakhon in Nakhon Phanom. Jomsap was freed in April 2015 after 18 months in jail.

Sap Wapi, who sold his pickup with a “Bor Khor 56 Mukdahan” plate to Lan Thonkaew in early 2003. Sap was taken to Renu Nakhon police in May 2014 and said he was the culprit. He paid compensation to Lua’s family in June 2014.

Ubon Chaiban, who bought Sap’s truck from Lan in December 2004, said people including his friend Prasian Thongmaha witnessed his purchase of the car.

Sert Roopsa-ard, who reportedly confessed to being hired to take the fall in the crime in January 2014.

Jomsap’s teacher friend Suriya Nuancharoen who brought Sert to Renu Nakhon police station in January 2014.

Jomsap’s husband Niran, who went to police in January 2014 with Sap, Sert, Suriya and another man, insisted that Sap sold his truck to Sert with no swap of ownership and that Sert drove the car in the fatal crash, then fled.

Former Mukdahan senator, Pol Lt Colonel Jitt Sriyoha Mukdathanapong, who Jomsap’s relatives, Suriya and Sap went to for legal advice to help Jomsap.

Deputy head of Renu Nakhon Police, Pol Lt Colonel Kittisak Samritsakulchai, who said Suriya had told him in late 2013, that Sert was the real culprit in the crash and sought advice about applying for a retrial.