Fugitive cop in Saudi case will not be prosecuted: DSI

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has invoked the witness-protection law to bring fugitive Pol Lt-Colonel Suwichai Kaewpaleuk to a witness stand overseas, but has no plans to bring him back to face justice in Thailand.

DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said yesterday that relevant authorities had to step forward and take action themselves if they wanted to arrest Suwichai. "We won't object to that," he said.

Suwichai is wanted on a murder charge but is now considered a crucial witness in the 1989 disappearance of Saudi businessman Mohammad al-Ruwaili.

He is also the first-ever witness to get such special protection from Thailand and will testify in a United Arab Emirates court.

"For the DSI case, he is a witness, not a suspect," Tarit explained, while insisting that the DSI had moved carefully in invoking the witness-protection law. "I cannot disclose more."