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6 Cops Busted, Expelled For Kidnapping Laotians


Flashermac
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NONG KHAI — Six police officers in northeastern Thailand have been arrested and expelled from the police force for allegedly kidnapping a Laotian businesswoman and her son.

 

With the help of two volunteer police officers, the six men kidnapped the victims and threatened their families to pay 2 million baht in ransom money, said Pol.Maj.Gen. Churat Pan-ngao, commander of Nong Khai Police.

 

According to Pol.Maj.Gen. Churat, the eight men approached the 55-year-old businesswoman, named Buachan Tantakaew, and her 14-year-old son while they were shopping at a mall in Nong Khai on 25 April. The officers then forced a bag into Buachan’s hand and said she and her son were under arrest for possessing narcotics, Pol.Maj.Gen. Churat said.

 

The group then reportedly brought Buachan and her son to a hotel and took photos of them with the bag of amphetamines. The officers told the victims their family had to pay 2 million baht in ransom money or else they would be prosecuted for the narcotics possession, Pol.Maj.Gen. Churat told reporters yesterday.

 

Instead, Buachan's husband alerted police in Nong Khai province. Pol.Maj.Gen. Churat said police tricked the men into arranging a venue for the ransom exchange, and arrested all of the suspects at the site.

 

The suspects are identified as Police Captain Surapat Pensri, Police Lieutenant Peerapong Tripong, Police Sub-Lieutenant Somdej Sukrom, Police Senior Sergeant Major Chainarong Orndee, Police Senior Sergeant Major Wirat Tanuchon, Police Senior Sergeant Major Pakorn Sukprasert, Thawat Thipsupha, and Tee Artsuwan.

 

Police also confiscated seven handguns, one shotgun, 108 amphetamine tablets, and one packet of crystal methamphetamine from the officers.

 

The leader of the group, Pol.Capt. Surapat, has denied the allegations and told police his team was expanding an investigation into a drug arrest.

 

All of the arrested police officers are from Udon Thani police force, said Pol.Maj.Gen. Boonlert Chaipradit, commander of Fourth Region Police. He added that a special committee has been set up to handle the investigation and ensure impartiality.

 

"I have already informed the commander of the Royal Thai Police about this. He has instructed me to proceed with the case strictly in accordance with the laws," Pol.Maj.Gen. Boonlert said.

 

"Previously, there were reports that this group of Udon Thani police officers have been behaving badly. Now, this incident happened. They are police, yet they end up breaking the laws."

 

Pol.Maj.Gen. Boonlert said the six officers have been fired.

 

All of the eight suspects have been charged with collecting bribes, illegal detention, kidnapping individuals under 14 for ransom, possessing firearm and ammunition without permit, carrying firearms into residential areas without due cause, possessing Category 1 narcotics with an intention to sell, and possessing Category 1 narcotics.

 

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1430198980

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All of the arrested police officers are from Udon Thani police force, said Pol.Maj.Gen. Boonlert Chaipradit, commander of Fourth Region Police. He added that a special committee has been set up to handle the investigation and ensure impartiality.

 

"I have already informed the commander of the Royal Thai Police about this. He has instructed me to proceed with the case strictly in accordance with the laws," Pol.Maj.Gen. Boonlert said.

 

http://www.khaosoden...wsid=1430198980

 

Seems that "Strictly in accordance with the laws" isn't the auto default position you'd think it would be - but this one is going to be different, strictly in accordance with the laws!

 

Did anyone checked the actual law on this before writing up the charges? "Kidnapping for Ransom, Under 14" is a pretty specific crime - criminal code must be massive if it goes into all these variations on each crime - but most pressing: Since when is kidnapping Laotians illegal, anyway?! I understood that this is how parts of Isaan were settled - forced population transfer of Laotians, though I may be wrong. Hell, a couple hundred years ago you'd get a prize for rounding up some Laotians to generate income, now it's apparently frowned upon...

YimSiam

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"Kidnapping for Ransom, Under 14" NZ police do this too, but it's so you (the police officer) can name the crime according to the circumstances.

 

So if kidnapping is illegal and has a provision for punishment if a victim is underage, also a punishment if a victim is livestock, then if 4 people and a young goat were kidnapped, you could charge them for - "Kidnapping for Ransom, 4 pax and a baby goat".

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<< I understood that this is how parts of Isaan were settled - forced population transfer of Laotians, though I may be wrong. Hell, a couple hundred years ago you'd get a prize for rounding up some Laotians to generate income, now it's apparently frowned upon... >>

 

Populations were quite small back then. It was standard practice when you conquered an area to uproot the villages and move them lock, stock, and barrel to your soil. The Burmese did it to the Thais, as the Khmer also did occasionally. And the Thais did it to the Laos. Villages weren't much of anything, so it didn't involve a lot of packing and rebuilding. I googled the Thai population out of curiosity. In 1900 it was 6,320,000 - and Siam was bigger then too. When Chao Anu of Vientiane rebelled against Rama III in 1827, one of the first things he did was round up the population of Issan to take them to Laos with him. It didn't work out so well, when the inhabitants of Khorat got hold of some knives and attacked their Lao guards.

 

Still, it always has been a government "enterprise". No one can just go off and "relocate" people on their own.

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Not to forget Thailand managed to take over the southern borders of Laos, which makes the top half of Isaan change from Laos to Thai.

 

Interesting the treaties of the time. Thailand couldn't build a town or city close to the river, Udon is a new city, relatively speaking, I think just 100 years old

 

Nong Han, right beside Ban Chiang was the oldest trading town/city for many centuries. Very old city, now now not so big.

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The French claimed the opposite bank of the Mekong as their border. If a Thai went swimming, he was in French territory. Also, if I remember right, Thai police and military could not approach within 50 km of the border. Plus we know what the Frenchies did with their border survey.The agreement with Siam was that the border would follow the "natural watershed" in the mountains (whichever way the rain water flowed). Then they violated that whenever they found something good (e.g. Preah Vihar temple, which is within the Thai watershed). The Thais didn't realise it until years later when they ran their own survey in the 1930s, and that "fudging" still causes border disputes today. (Basically, the ICJ majority in the Preah Vihar decision told the Thais "tough tittie, you should have complained sooner". Australian justice Sir Percy Spender wrote a minority opinion about how asinine the decision was. The French cheated, and the ICJ said it was okay.)

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