5 policemen indicted over murder of Saudi

Public prosecutors finally announced their decision yesterday to indict Pol Lt Gen Somkid Boonthanom and four other policemen for allegedly murdering Saudi businessman Mohammad al-Ruwaili 20 years ago.

The indictment said that between February 12 and 15, 1990, Somkid and the four defendants shot dead the victim, after beating him up to make him confess to being involved in the earlier killings of three Saudi embassy officials.

The five allegedly kidnapped al-Ruwaili and detained him at a Bangkok love motel, before disposing of his body in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district.

The suspects were charged with premeditated murder, with additional intent to hide other crimes and to escape criminal punishment - jointly under Articles 288 and 289 - and abduction later resulting in the death of the abductee - jointly under Articles 309 and 310.

The suspects pleaded not guilty, and were released on a bail of Bt500,000 each.

The indictment also cited a reason it believed led to the deaths of the Saudi embassy officials: revenge killings resulting from the 1987 violence in Mecca in which a large number of Sunni Muslim pilgrims were killed. "The violence later led to attacks and killings of Saudi diplomats in many countries, including the shooting of a Saudi diplomat in Thailand on January 4, 1989," it said.

"The five defendants kidnapped al-Ruwaili because of their understanding he was behind the killings of Saudi officials in Thailand, following their conflict over employment contracts of Thai labourers working in Saudi Arabia," the indictment said.

The court set January 29 for the preliminary hearing to inspect new evidence: a ring belonging to the victim seen worn by one of the defendants, fresh evidence that resulted in an earlier postponement by the prosecutors on whether to indict the five policemen.

A date for the decision on the indictment was scheduled before the New Year break, but was postponed to Monday, when there was another last-minute postponement. The indictment was finally announced yesterday.

Somkid is now commander of Provincial Police Region 5. The four other policemen, two of whom are still active, are Pol Colonel Sorrarak Joosanit, chief of Sob Moei district police in Mae Hong Son province; Pol Colonel Praphas Piyamongkhol, chief of Nam Khun district police in Ubon Ratchathani; retired Pol Lt-Colonel Suradej Udomdee and retired Pol Sgt-Major Prasong Thorrang.

Al-Ruwaili was a shareholder in a job-placement firm in 1990. The victim was believed to hold vital information on the spree of killings of four Saudi diplomats in Bangkok. He has been presumed dead since he went missing in February 1990, but a court order endorsing his legal disappearance has not been made at the request of his relatives.

Speaking after the indictment, Somkid said he had witnessed "outside factors intimidating and pressuring" the public prosecutors. "All these factors have led to me being punished socially. I have been judged already by society through being a murder suspect," he said.

Retired Army General Somjate Boonthanom, a brother of Somkid, said it was not fair that bilateral relations between Thailand and Saudi were used "as a bargain" to "speed up" the process to indict his brother.

"Saudi Arabia has used the Thai labour issue to bargain over the indictment, although it denied that it had interfered with the Thai justice system, but its chargé d'affaires [Nabil H Ashri] was having frequent meetings with Thai officials before the indictment was announced.

"His statement was that the progress of the case would positively result in better bilateral relations. Isn't this kind of statement a use of influence? To me, it is. But it is good, because the entire matter will now go through the justice system," he said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the Royal Thai Police and Somkid's superiors would decide whether he would be temporarily suspended. He refused to comment on whether the indictment would result in a positive response for Thai-Saudi relations.