Thailand’s attorney general (AG) has ordered an investigation into an allegation, made by escaped convict Chaovalit Thongduang, that he had not been treated fairly by a public prosecutor handling his case, resulting in his conviction.
Prayut Petchkun, spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General, said today that two prosecutors were responsible for handling the case against Chaovalit and one of them had already clarified his position, while an explanation from the other is awaited.
He said the AG has instructed the director-general of the Region 9 Prosecutors’ Office to submit Chaovalit’s case file to the technical office for consideration.
Chaovalit posted his second 5-minute VDO clip on social media yesterday, explaining why he had escaped from a hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat, claiming that he had been unfairly treated by a prosecutor, whom he referred to as “Mr. Bor”, regarding the escape of a suspect in 2019. He claimed that he was the only suspect who was denied bail and eventually convicted.
He also claimed that he was not responsible for sending a death threat to the Songkhla prosecutors’ office.
Chaovalit said that he will not surrender until legal action is taken against the prosecutor, whom he accused of being biased against him.
The escaped convict was the subject of massive manhunt for about two weeks, after he reportedly took refuge in the Banthad mountain range, which straddles several southern provinces. The search operation has, however, recently been suspended because police failed to locate Chaovalit.
Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the national police chief, has ordered an investigation to determine whether the person shown in the VDO clip is actually Chaovalit and where the clip came from.
