Police defend treatment of former MP as PM questions handling

No preferential treatment was given to former MP Chalong Riewraeng, who was detained yesterday after allegedly shooting dead a Nonthaburi mayor in connection with an 11-million-baht debt dispute, a senior police commander said today.

Pol Lt Gen Wattana Yeejeen said Chalong’s questioning over the alleged killing of Thongchai Yenprasert, the five-time president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation, was conducted in line with standard procedures, rejecting claims that the former MP had received preferential treatment.

Shortly after the shooting, Chalong called a veteran journalist who was livestreaming her news programme and told her that he had just shot someone. The journalist told him to calm down and put down his gun before police took him into custody.

At Nonthaburi police station, Chalong was seen smoking while surrounded by police officers and without handcuffs.

The images sparked criticism, including from Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who questioned why a murder suspect was being treated in such a manner.

Wattana said police had not afforded Chalong any special privileges, explaining that Chalong had asked for permission to use the area to speak to reporters and apologise to the victim’s family, while he had been allowed to smoke to help relieve his stress.

Anutin said he had instructed the Nonthaburi governor and provincial police chief to handle the case firmly and without providing any assistance or special treatment, regardless of Chalong’s status.

“His status is clear now. He is a suspect in a killing, a person who allegedly caused someone else’s death and someone who allegedly broke the law. There must be no preferential treatment or special convenience. I have made this clear,” Anutin said.

He said he had also instructed national police chief Pol Gen Kittiratt Phanphet to ensure that the case was handled swiftly and in accordance with the law.

The prime minister criticised the decision to allow Chalong to speak to the media shortly after the fatal shooting.

He said the incident was a serious and shocking crime that had affected public confidence, and that it was inappropriate for the suspect to remain unhandcuffed and speak to reporters as though nothing had happened.

“How could those images have been allowed to emerge? Just a few hours earlier, he had allegedly shot someone dead. Then he sat down and gave a press briefing as if nothing had happened. That is not acceptable,” Anutin said.

Wattana said investigators had listened to Chalong’s account of the incident, including his claim that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over money and that he had decided to open fire after the victim’s driver allegedly attempted to draw a gun.

“Police will take his claims into consideration, but we do not believe everything he has said,” Wattana said.

Wattana also addressed Chalong’s possession of a firearm, saying that carrying a gun without a valid carry permit was illegal.

Read:Former MP shoots Nonthaburi mayor dead over alleged Bt11m debt