Dead nurse’s mum claims probe bungled
Parents of an assistant nurse who died in Koh Samui five years ago have petitioned the attorney-general calling for the police investigator in charge of the case to face criminal prosecution for what they claim is dereliction of duty.
They also hope to see their deceased daughter’s former boyfriend charged with her murder and plan to take him to court, they said.
Chaiyo Melakul and Nittaya Saleh, both of Satun, said their daughter Natnaree Melakul died under mysterious circumstances but they believe she was murdered, and did not hang herself as police claimed.
They submitted a formal petition with Attorney-General Pongniwat Yuthapanboripan seeking his help in filing a criminal charge against Pol Sub-Lt Supanat Engyong, who is leading the investigation of the Bor Put police in Koh Samui, Surat Thani.
The petition was submitted with the aid of Panchote Boonyasiri, the special prosecutor in charge of the investigation.
The parents allege that Pol Sub-Lt Supanat committed dereliction of duty that breached Section 157 of the Criminal Code for failing to properly collect evidence in the case and not pressing charges against a murder suspect.
Ms Nittaya said the Public Sector AntiCorruption Commission has already ruled that Pol Sub-Lt Supanat violated Section 157. She attached a copy of the ruling with the petition.
The ruling was based on the commission’s findings which pointed to flaws in the police investigation summary.
The police, according to the commission, stated the assistant nurse hanged herself in the bathroom of a house in Koh Samui district on May 21, 2012.
However, the finding was inconsistent with the fact that her body was discovered in the kitchen.
The police also stated in the summary that the investigators had jointly conducted a preliminary autopsy with doctors at the crime scene. But the commission did not find any indication that doctors were present to carry out the autopsy there.
Afterward, doctors performed an autopsy and found cuts and bruises on Natnaree’s body. The woman also had a 3cm-wide cut on her neck.
Ms Nittaya said the doctors told her the alleged manner in which Natnaree died would not have produced such a wound, throwing the hanging claim into doubt.
She added that her daughter’s room was found in a state of disarray, suggesting a fight had taken place prior to her death.
Ms Nittaya said her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Manas Phetpong, was arrested and later indicted by a Koh Samui prosecutor for assaulting the young woman. He was sentenced to six months in jail last August but police did not charge him with murder.