- Published: 22/09/2012 at 12:00 AM
- Writer: Chaiwat Satyaem
The worker, a Myanmar national identified only as Kala, said yesterday his boss, Pol Col Supat Laohawattana, a doctor with the Police General Hospital, ordered him to bury the two corpses found in the orchard on Thursday and yesterday.
Kala was questioned yesterday by Tha Mai Ruak police while waiting for the surrender of Pol Col Supat, who did not show up.
In his statement, Kala said he had worked for the doctor for more than 18 years.
He said he was forced to work hard without pay and was given little to eat.
The man was living in a eucalyptus plantation in Ban Wang Khao San of Tha Yang district. His right arm has been amputated and his legs are crippled.
He told Pol Lt Col Preecha Rodkhongthee, a deputy chief of the Tha Mai Ruak police station, that he lost his arm because Pol Col Supat had forced him to insert it into a corn grinding machine after complaining he was working too slowly.
Kala also said he was crippled because his boss ordered him to climb coconut trees and one time he fell down and severely injured his legs.
He told police that Pol Col Supat often turned violent when he was dissatisfied with his workers.
The doctor punished them in a variety of ways, ranging from hitting them with a wooden stick to cutting their ears off, according to Mr Kala's statement.
About two years ago, Kala said, Pol Col Supat was so upset with the performance of two of his workers that he killed one of them by forcing them to swallow pesticide.
Around the same time, he saw his boss shoot dead another of the workers, Kala said, adding that he wanted to run away but dared not out of fear that he might be caught by the boss and end up murdered like the others.
The bodies police found buried in the doctor's orchard were those of one his fellow workers, Kala said.
He claims Pol Col Supat once told him to put two corpses into empty fertiliser bags, dump them into a pond in the pineapple orchard, and then cover the pond with soil using a tractor.
Police dug up the human remains after a tip-off that the bodies of husband and wife Samart Noomjui and Orasa Kerdsap could be buried in the doctor's orchard.
Yesterday, police raided the doctor's orchard again and continued digging with a backhoe.
They found the remains of another body.
Samart's father Sawang Noomjui, who was at the scene, said the remains could be those of his son.
Before Thursday's search, Mr Sawang, 55, had lodged a complaint with Nonthaburi police after Samart and Orasa's pickup truck was found in a deserted house in Nonthaburi.
The house was later identified as belonging to a relative of Pol Col Supat.
Share your thoughts
- Discussion 1 : 22/09/2012 at 06:49 PM
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I guess I am lucky that I am not rich and that I don’t own an orchard. Otherwise I would think about selling it ASAP because most of the commenters and Likes in this forum are sure that if a body is found on someone property and one guy tells the police the owner is guilty than that’s it – guilty! Should he be hanged right away if someone encounters him?
Once again, I don’t say the doctor is innocent, but I find it scary how fast many people declare someone guilty.
- Discussion 2 : 22/09/2012 at 03:28 PM
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The police has strong connection with the current government and local police station.
Case dropped or suspended, they-police will charge the immigrant of white lies.
- Discussion 3 : 22/09/2012 at 03:19 PM
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D6: The fact that several bodies were found on his property plus his disappearance, are probably more incriminating than the statements from his employee.
If found guilty, I'm sure the RTP will send a strong message by moving the good doctor to an inactive post.
Should there be enough evidence and witnesses left by the time he deigns to show up, to make criminal charges unavoidable, he will live out the rest of his days comfortably while out on bail.
Isn't that the way justice works here, for the wealthy and connected?
- Discussion 4 : 22/09/2012 at 02:21 PM
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The Thai Dr Mengele if the accusations are true.
- Discussion 5 : 22/09/2012 at 01:25 PM
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'And he didn't show up'. Don't suppose many would if they were wanted for a possible 4 murders and maybe more. Its so hard for us foreigners to understand police asking murder suspects to come in for questioning. So polite and so ineffective.
- Discussion 6 : 22/09/2012 at 12:52 PM
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Typically Thai abuse and illtreat foriegn immigrants as the Royal Thai Navey did then scream blue murder when it happens to them in the middle east.
- Discussion 7 : 22/09/2012 at 11:49 AM
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"Kala was questioned yesterday by Tha Mai Ruak police while waiting for the surrender of Pol Col Supat, who did not show up".
Our police force normally waits for accused murderers to give them selves up rather than going to get them for questioning or is this only if they are police officers?
- Discussion 8 : 22/09/2012 at 11:44 AM
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Bkk-farang, I would imagine that if bodies are found in your orchard it would be reasonable to assume that you were a party to their deaths?
- Discussion 9 : 22/09/2012 at 11:33 AM
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Police don't go to jail in Thailand for killing migrant workers. Sick.
- Discussion 10 : 22/09/2012 at 11:15 AM
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I think people jumping too fast to conclusions here that the doctor is guilty. Maybe he is, but when I read this article it seems like one worker accused him of murder and other crimes but till now there is no evidence that the doctor was the bad guy.
Now it seems that if a poor person in Thailand accuses a richer person that lots of people are sure the “rich” person is at fault. Is that fair? I know that lots of rich an influential people in this country get away with anything but that does not proof that any rich person is bad and any poor person is right, correct?
- Discussion 11 : 22/09/2012 at 11:05 AM
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This guy is truly Dr. Evil.
- Discussion 12 : 22/09/2012 at 09:48 AM
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Another suspended sentence?
- Discussion 13 : 22/09/2012 at 09:45 AM
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doctor have escaped thailand.
- Discussion 14 : 22/09/2012 at 09:19 AM
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Why wasn't this doctor investigated earlier? How can a person do such evil things to so many people for so long, and keep getting away with it? There must be compliance by others. A thorough investigation must be done. Anyone who was complicit in that man's crimes must also be brought to justice. That includes anyone who knew the crimes were happening, and not reported it.
- Discussion 15 : 22/09/2012 at 09:17 AM
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Wow, what a horrible man, if the stories are true. The doc should be prosecuted to the full extent, and if found guilty, given the absolute max penalty. It's the polar opposite of how I interact with my hill tribe and Burmese workers. I pay them more than they ask, and try to make like as comfortable and enjoyable as reasonably possible.
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