THE JUSTICE Ministry was confident that forensic evidence and witnesses who will testify at a Nakhon Phanom Court hearing starting today and continuing until Friday would prove that a former teacher jailed for a fatal hit-and-run accident was innocent, a top official said yesterday.

The ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Pol Colonel Dusadee Arayawuth, said the 10 witnesses include a Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officer who would testify first, followed by 54-year-old Jomsap Saenmuangkhot – the former teacher.

The other witnesses will include experts from the Land Transport Department, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi and Toyota Motor Co Ltd, Dusadee said, adding that new evidence would also be introduced.

Jomsap’s defence will present evidence including the pickup with the licence plate “Bor Khor 56 Sakhon Nakhon” – which she was accused of driving in the March 11, 2005 crash that killed cyclist Lua Phorbumrung in Nakhon Phanom’s Renu Nakhon district – to convince the court that the vehicle was not involved in the accident.

Dusadee said an exchange of information between police and Justice Ministry officials on Monday showed some differences in their findings, so it would be good for the court to consider the case from various angles.

He added that a retrial did not intend to assign blame but was meant to simply present evidence for the benefit of the public.

Asked if the original case investigator would be punished, Dusadee said the decision was up to the investigator’s supervisors and their assessment whether he had done his duty, because there was not forensic evidence collected in the initial investigation.

“I don’t see any flaws by the case investigator,” Dusadee said, adding that evidence gathered to help Jomsap prove her innocence was done by state officials because the judicial process would rely on official evidence.

Meanwhile, an eyebrow tattoo artist based in Sakhon Nakhon municipality, Patthawan Boonchauy, who Jomsap claimed gave her a tattoo on the day of accident, has said she will not testify as a witness for Jomsap.

While she said she tattooed Jomsap’s eyebrows, based on recognising her tattooing style, she added that was unsure about the exact time and date because it had been done more than 10 years ago.

In related news, Dusadee said the ministry had received 200 other requests from people seeking help to find new evidence so they could apply for retrials.

In regard to a request for help filed by four female teachers based in Nong Khai, who spent 22 months in jail for concealing evidence after the fatal shooting of a colleague in 2009, Dusadee said DSI investigators were working with police to gather forensic evidence but no request for a retrial had been filed in court.

On Monday, Pol Inspector-General Panya Mamen said Jomsap’s case showed that investigators needed to lift their evidence-gathering methods to “another level” to meet the expectations of society. He said the case served as a cautionary tale for police to be more thorough when investigating and could pave the way for police reform.

He also admitted the case had affected public confidence in the force.

Schneider, one of New South Wales’ 10 most-wanted fugitives in 2006, was abducted by masked men from his home in the seaside city in 2015.

His naked body was found days later in a jungle grave.

Bagnato, a kickboxer and Schneider’s former business partner, was the first defendant.

“The first defendant is found guilty of all charges and according to the criminal code, the penalty is execution for the murder and deprivation of liberty, plus a year in prison for hiding the body,” Judge Sirichai Polkarn was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as saying.

Tyler Gerard, 22, from the United States, was convicted of deprivation of liberty and sentenced to three years in jail, but his term was reduced to two years for cooperating with authorities.

Bagnato was arrested in Phnom Penh soon after Schneider’s body was found. Gerard was detained as he tried to cross from Thailand to Cambodia.

Two witnesses told the court last year that Bagnato was present at the time of the abduction. The judge said GPS from a car also connected him to the killing.

The Pattaya Mail has reported that the GPS information showed the vehicle was at the Big Buddha Hill burial site two hours after the kidnapping.

The dispute may have been related to drug dealing, police have said.

Ratthaphum Pimjaisai, 34, was found in a delirious state on December 20, then had a seizure and passed out on a traffic island on Borommaratchachonnani Road. He was later taken to a hospital. Earlier on the same day, he called his manager for help, saying he was in a soi in Bangkok’s Thawee Wattana district before he went missing.

He then went into a coma and died in the hospital 10 days later. But the man had no identification papers on him, so his body was kept at the morgue – until his identity was confirmed yesterday.

Forensic expert Dr Papanu Sitthiprasit said an autospy on the man’s body revealed no signs of assault and Rattaphum had died from liver and kidney failure, possibly from methamphetamine found in his blood.

Strands of the man’s hair have been collected to determine the amount of narcotics he consumed and how long he had been taking it. Papanu said the man’s state of deliriousness may have been caused by the drug.

Rattaphum’s father La-eard Pimjaisai, 65, has said he has no doubt about his son’s death and does not want another autopsy to be conducted on the body.

After a meeting with fellow officers yesterday, Taling Chan superintendent Pol Colonel Thanawan Taraka quoted witnesses as saying that Ratthaphum was found on the traffic island with drug overdose symptoms. Police later retrieved the man’s cellphone, Bt20,000 in cash, three gold amulets and two grams of crystal meth in the area.

Thanawan said police would continue investigating the case and see if anybody could provide clarity for the circumstances of his death for the family.

The groups who were at risk of dying from the disease were children under two; elderly people over 65; those with chronic illnesses, especially lung or heart diseases; heavily pregnant women; and people with low immunity or who were taking immuno-suppressants, he said.

Thailand’s frequent influenza outbreaks have mostly been caused by the H3N2 strain that can be prevented by vaccines, although not at 100-per-cent efficiency. Outbreaks typically occur from February to March and June to July so vaccinations should take place before these periods or in May before school opens, he said.

He said people who were sick should keep warm, wash their hands often and wear disposable facemasks, while urging people to take advantage of free flu shots that are available for at-risk people during April and October.

Disease Control Department deputy chief Dr Thanarak Palitpat said the suspension of classes in schools was an effective method to curb an outbreak, adding that if 10 to 20 per cent of pupils had the flu and were absent, the whole class should be suspended. He said less than 10 schools had suspended classes due to the flu so far.

The department has predicted that about 320,000 people will suffer from the flu this year – double the number of cases last year, when 156,943 people were infected and 43 people died.

Classes are due to resume today at Chulalongkorn University’s demonstration elementary school in Bangkok, after a two-day suspension caused by an outbreak of Influenza A. Pupils will be screened and those with a fever, cough or runny nose will be sent home immediately, said Principal Suporn Chaidejsuriya yesterday.

The screening will take place in the morning prior to classes beginning at 8am and 11am, he said, adding that the school would also turn off the air-conditioning system for five days in line with public health standards.

Only kindergarten and Prathom 1 classes will be closed for a further day today, he said, adding that the whole school had been cleaned and disinfected on Monday and yesterday.

“The asset transfer should be made before the end of March as scheduled,” said Suthon Anakul, deputy director of the BMA’s Traffic and Transportation Department.

The money, which will be paid to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), includes the land ownership, real estate survey, advisory services in accordance with PPP law, advice on design and selection, civil engineering work, and local taxes.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Council, which is holding its ordinary annual meeting of 2017 on Wednesday, will consider whether to allow BMA to spend its retained cash of Bt3.2 billion on urgent business given the shortfall in its annual budget for fiscal 2017, BMC chairman Pol Sub Lt Krengsak Lohachala, said.

The pills – a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine – were seized at a roadside checkpoint at 2.30am on Thursday. The driver of a pickup truck, Wiwatchai Chanchoom, was also arrested.

Wiwatchai, 40, allegedly confessed that he was paid Bt50,000 by a woman from northern Thailand to transport the drugs from a spot on the Asia Highway in Phuphin to Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Noppitham district.

Surat Thani police said that with authorities preoccupied helping flood victims, the gang took the opportunity to smuggle drugs.

A separate drug bust yesterday in the Klong Luang district of Pathum Thani saw police seize 10,000 yaba pills from five alleged members of a drug-trafficking gang led by an inmate in the Ratchaburi’s Khao Bin Prison.

The 4am operation, in which alleged drug distributor Yeunyong Larpchotepaisan, 25, was arrested, came after detained drug abusers in the province implicated Yeunyong as their supplier.

Yeunyong allegedly confessed that he took the drugs for distribution to young people in exchange for Bt5,000 per block of pills. The prisoner, identified only as Tong, reportedly gave instructions via phone to a female accomplice.

Two more celebrities, meanwhile, will be summoned for questioning in relation to the expanding investigation into Xaysana’s alleged drugs network in Thailand. Famous motorcycle racer Akarakit Worarojcharoendet, better known “Benz Racing”, was the first prominent figure to have his name linked to Xaysana.

National Police Commissioner Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda had ordered probes into reported links between three Thai police and Xaysana, Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said yesterday, in his role as deputy spokesman of the National Police Office.

The investigations will start based on pictures showing the policemen posing alongside Xaysana, who was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last month on drugs charges.

“The probes will determine what kinds of connections these police officers have had with the alleged drugs kingpin,” Krissana said.

Meanwhile, deputy chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) Pol Maj-General Pornchai Charoenwong said police would summon two more celebrities for questioning. “But I can’t disclose details yet,” he said.

Xaysana had portrayed himself as a rich and well-connected man from Laos, throwing many parties in Thailand and acquainting himself with well-known celebrities and other influential figures in recent years.

As the ongoing investigation into Xaysana’s alleged network has grown, police suspect that some celebrities in Thailand assisted him with money laundering and asset concealment.

Akarakit was the first Thai celebrity to be implicated in the scandal. His home and car-accessory shop were searched last week and he turned himself in to the NSB last Friday.

According to Akarakit, he does not know Xaysana personally but had borrowed Bt6 million from Nattapon Nakkam, who was recently arrested for allegedly facilitating drug deals for Xaysana.

“Nattapon and Akarakit have provided conflicting information about the purpose of the Bt6-million loan,” Pornchai said.

He also said Nattapon and Akarakit had transferred money back and forth for more than one year. “In this period, there were also some suspicious deposits in Akarakit’s bank accounts,” Pornchai added.

Asked about reports that Xaysana’s network may have also involved the children of former politicians, Pornchai said relevant authorities would look further into the details.