Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will team up with ten state agencies to investigate the April 10 clashes, summoning for interrogation police and military officials involved in or who witnessed the clashes between security forces and the red-shirt protesters, director-general Tharit Pengdit said yesterday.
Tharit said he would meet Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Santhan Chayanont and his deputy Pol Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano today to discuss the investigation in order to prevent work overlapping. He believed the DSI should be responsible for tackling serious offences and police should be in charge of petty crimes.
The DSI would appoint seven sub-committees, five to investigate cases including terrorism, unlawful coercion of the government, assaults on the public and state officials that caused death and injuries, destruction of weapons and vehicles.
Another two sub-committees would be in charge of analysing data and the use of technology and mobile phones. All seven sub-committees would comprise officials from the 11 state agencies. No timeframe has been given on when the department must finish the investigation. The department will start meeting with intelligence officials of the Army and Special Branch police today.
Tharit said the security forces would not yet be officially interrogated because such questioning needed to be carried out together with attorneys.
Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit voiced opposition to the April 10 incident being handled by the SDI, saying since the case was a crime, police should be given responsibility to investigate what happened.
He feared the case might not be handled with neutrality since Tharit was one of directors of the Centre for the Resolutions of the Emergency Situation (CRES).
Prompong said the party would officially ask CRES why eight people were summoned since they had sought legal assistance from the party. They are Pol Lt-Gen Chat Kuldilok, Surasak Lueprapaikij, Chanu Chaiya, Pornchai Korwattanamongkol, Pongamporn Bandasak, Pansak Sabu, Methapan Photitheeraroj, and Peera Pringklang.
Meanwhile Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, ex-deputy director-general of the Thai Rak Thai Party reported himself to the CRES following the issuing of a summons. He said he had been abroad and returned on Saturday. He denied reports that he financed the red-shirt protests and any link or connection with them, saying he had ceased his role in the Pheu Thai Party long ago.
He said he did not have a lot of money for such purposes and denied that he received cash from ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra to finance the protest, saying he visited Thaksin only to play golf and bring him Thai food.
A source in the Pheu Thai Party said two summons had been sent to Pongsak's home when he was in Hong Kong. He was scheduled to leave Hong Kong for the United States on Monday, but he decided to cancel his trip after learning that the CRES wanted to negotiate with him to find a solution to the prolonged protests by the red shirts. The centre believed Pongsak had a direct contact with Thaksin and had been entrusted by him in financial matters.
