Bangkok Porsche, motorbike crashes that killed two renew calls for Thai police reform
Two fatal crashes involving Thai policemen and their family members driving high speed in luxury vehicles in Bangkok have enraged the Thai public and fired up debate on the nature of accountability and power in the kingdom.
On March 12, a 40-year-old Pakistani national died on a bridge after his motorbike was hit by a Porsche which suddenly changed lanes.
The car was driven by Pornmet Songmetta, the son of former Deputy National Police Chief Wirachai Songmetta, who is one of the kingdom's richest men. His fortune was estimated by Forbes in 2021 to be worth around US$940 million.
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Pornmet is expected to face charges after his blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit, police said, adding that the dead man's family had already accepted a compensation payment from the driver.
"We want to assure the public that justice will be served based on facts and evidence regardless who the offender is," said Police Major General Manop Sukhonthapat, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 8.
The case came just two weeks after a young doctor, Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, died days before her 34th birthday when she was hit by a high performance motorcycle driven by an off-duty policeman as she used a pedestrian crossing in front of her hospital.
The driver, Norrawit Buadok, faces nine charges, including reckless driving causing death, speeding and failure to give pedestrians right-of-way at a pedestrian crossing.
Days after Norrawit hit the doctor he was ordained as a monk together with his father, who is also a police officer. But a public outcry led the National Office of Buddhism to order them to leave the monkhood. The accused is out on bail and faces a verdict on April 25.
The death of Waraluck - who was nicknamed Kratai, or Rabbit - has spurred demands for better road safety in a country where last week alone 38 people were said to have died.
But it also resurfaced questions over the role of the police in protecting the public and delivering justice - especially when the alleged offender comes from within their own ranks.
"This is a case study for all of us in Thai society of a pedestrian abiding by the law and law enforcement indisputably violating the law," said Marin Satawiriya, a doctor who has known Waraluck since medical school.
"I never thought how much impact this patronage system would have on my life until I lost my dear friend."
A Facebook page with more than 10,000 followers, called "Rabbit Crossing", has aired long-held angst at the police, while a Change.org petition signed by more than 55,000 people has urged the government to toughen road safety laws.
"We can't entrust our lives to those who are supposed to protect us," one commenter said.
High-ranking police in Thailand frequently declare assets in the millions of dollars, and often hold positions of political influence. Several former prime ministers, including the billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, have emerged from police ranks, while serving and former officers sit on the boards of some of the country's biggest companies.
Critics say their power blurs the lines and lends itself to abuse and corruption - with family members and friends often claiming police networks to speed up business dealings or claim special treatment when they run into trouble.
"Police culture has hardly changed in Thailand," Paul Chambers, lecturer at Naresuan University. "The more powerful people in society are always safeguarded from investigative scrutiny."
The Thai public is well versed in examples of the imbalance of power. In 2012 the heir to the Red Bull fortune mowed down a police officer while speeding in his car in Bangkok, yet escaped custody thanks to a police cover-up.
Last year, Thitisan Utthanaphon, a connected senior provincial police officer - nicknamed "Joe Ferrari" for his extensive car collection - is accused of choking a drug suspect to death with plastic bags.
Both cases horrified the public but left little hope for justice to be served. Joe Ferrari will hear a verdict in June. He denies murder. Charges against the Red Bull heir, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, are one by one reaching their statute of limitations.
The problem with the police is structural, experts say.
"It's not policing by consent but policing by politicians. So those who pay the price are the people," said Krisanaphong Poothakul, a leading criminologist and ex-police officer.
"Power and interests: two important words why Thai police culture is hard to change. Whoever comes into power, instead of using it to reform the organisation, they use it to maintain their power and interests."
But more people have been using social media to demand accountability from police.
The CCTV footage of Dr Waraluck's last moments spread across social media, drawing anger and outrage, turning scrutiny on a police force used to getting its own way.
A friend called Marin said: "Are we really going to allow those who have more power and status than us to enjoy their privilege without any accountability?"
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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