KWANHATHAI MALAKAN,
PATINYA IAMTAN
THE NATION
BANGKOK: -- The youngest son of Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, Pol Lieutenant Duang Yoobamrung, reported to his new job yesterday as a shooting instructor at the Metropolitan Police Bureau's training centre. It was also revealed yesterday that late Pol Senior Sgt-Major Suwichai Rodwimud's son had entered civil service as an officer at the Police General Hospital in May.
Duang was accused of shooting dead on-duty Pol Senior Sgt-Major Suwichai at a Bangkok nightclub in 2001 and then fleeing, which resulted in him being discharged from the Army the following year.
After Duang surrendered in 2003, he was acquitted on grounds of insufficient evidence and conflicting witness accounts. Later, in 2008, then-prime minister Samak Sundaravej approved Duang's application to return to the military.
Yesterday morning, Duang - dressed in a police uniform - reported to city police chief Khamronwit Thoopkrajang, who welcomed him, urged him to do his best and follow discipline. Khamronwit said he would put Duang in charge of introducing a new training method and urged the recruit to greet other senior police officers.
Duang, however, declined to speak to reporters.
Pol Colonel Supat Peungpoung, who oversees the training centre, said that transferring Duang to the city police training centre was a good move because he was very skilled in using pistols and hence could put such knowledge to good use by teaching it to other officers. Since the centre usually invited experts to lead training sessions, Duang would be the centre's first in-house shooting expert and instructor, he added.
Meanwhile, police spokesman Piya Uthayo said National Police chief General Priewpan Damapong and his deputy Adul Saenbgsingkaew were focusing on tackling unrest in the South and that police continued to search for evidence and work closely with the Army following Tuesday night's bomb attacks in Pattani.
He said the police would be strict in searching vehicles and hunt for suspects wanted in relation to previous attacks. As for the attack on July 25 in which five cops were killed and one wounded in Yala's Raman district, the Royal Thai Police would donate Bt1.68 million as additional aide to the families of those killed, apart from the Bt105,000 already paid to the injured officer, he added.
Piya said the Royal Thai Police had also approved, in principle, the appointment of the 101 children of policemen who died on duty. So far, 46 have already been appointed and 11 others are currently undergoing the appointment process.
The new appointees include Suwichai's son Kittisak, who obtained a Bachelor's of Science in Ophthalmology and has been serving as an officer at the Police General Hospital since May 4, he added.
-- The Nation 2012-08-02
