All five friends of the late TV actress Nida Patcharaveerapong, aka “Tangmo”, who were aboard the speedboat on the night she fell into the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi province and drowned, have been charged with various offences by police.
Deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1 Pol Maj-Gen Udon Yomcharoen, who also acts as the police spokesman in this high-profile case, said today (Monday) that police will seek an arrest warrant, from the Nonthaburi provincial court, for the arrest of a man who is suspected to have coached the five suspects on how they should deal with the police after the fatal incident on the night of February 24th.
He also said that, if the court rejects the police request for a warrant, the police handing the case will summon him to appear for questioning.
The boat’s owner, Thanupat Lerttaweewit, and the helmsman, Paibul Trikanchananan, have been charged with negligence leading to the death of another person, giving false statements to the police and violation of the Act on Navigation in Thai Waters. Wisapat Manomairat, who reported herself to the police yesterday, has also been charged with negligence leading to the death of another person.
The fourth and fifth suspects, Nitas Kiratisoothisathorn and Idsarin Juthasuksawat, Nida’s personal manager, reported to the police separately today. The former is facing charges of violating the maritime law and destroying evidence, while the latter is facing charges of giving a false statement to the police, according to Pol Maj-Gen Udon.
Idsarin allegedly confessed to giving false statements to the police, after she had acknowledged the charge against her. She told the media she had never altered her statements to the police, but she did admit that she was wrong for stating something to the police which she did not personally witness and it has come back to harm her.
She also said that she is devastated by the loss of her friend, her first such experience.
Regarding the report that Nida was at the back of the boat relieving herself when she fell into the river, Idsarin said that she didn’t mention this to the police because she did not see that with her own eyes.
She insisted that she loved Nida and had been with her for about 20 years.
Former Palang Pracharath MP Sira Jenjaka, who is a legal advisor to Idsarin, defended her saying that she had been misadvised by a lawyer, whom he identified only as “M”.
He hopes that her confession today may persuade the court to have mercy on her, if or when the case goes to trial.
