Riyadh concerned as prosecutors delay case

But Chargé d'Affaires Nabil H Ashri said he needed to first study if the delay had to do with a legal process or if there were some interference behind it.

"Of course, I was disappointed, especially after things have moved up to this point," he told The Nation yesterday.

Last Friday, he told The Nation that he was hopeful the case could go forward as that would go a long way towards improving the long-strained ties between the two countries.

Provincial Police Region 5 chief Lt General Somkid Boonthanom - along with four others allegedly involved in the 1990 missing Saudi businessman case - yesterday lodged an appeal with Special Case Attorney Thanapit Mulpruek.

The group, claiming they had not been treated fairly during the Department of Special Investigation probe into the case, went with their lawyers to the Office of the Attorney-General yesterday morning and submitted an eight-point appeal to Thanapit.

Thanapit said that the attorney would take two weeks to consider the suspects' letter appealing for justice. On January 12, they are due to hear the decision on whether they will be prosecuted or not.

Thanapit declined to give details of the eight appeal points, saying he would report to Attorney-General Julasing Wasansing.

Somkid and four former and serving police officers were accused of involvement in the 1990 disappearance of Saudi businessman Mohammad al-Ruwaili, who was believed to have information about the diamond scandal that has soured Thailand-Saudi Arabia relations for decades.

The Saudi Arabian chargé d'affaires said last Friday that although his country placed equal importance on the three outstanding cases between the two countries - the al-Ruwaili case, the jewellery case, and the killings of Saudi diplomats in 1990 - a breakthrough in the al-Ruwaili case will immediately draw a very positive response from Riyadh.

"The two countries have been missing each other. What happens on December 29 hopefully can be a big step forward [in efforts to normalise relations]," he said.

The cases led to a virtual halt in Thai labour export to Saudi Arabia, sharp decline in the number of Saudi tourists visiting Thailand and a big drop in trade cooperation. Although trade ties have somewhat improved, the relations have been far from normal.