The Office of the Judiciary denied a request by the Department of Corrections to have Pol Lt Col Banyin testify by video conference from Bang Kwang Central Prison where he has been in solitary confinement since Thursday after the revelation of his jailbreak scheme emerged, reports the Bangkok Post.
The Department of Corrections had expressed concern an escape attempt might occur during the journey from Bang Kwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi province to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Nakhon Chaisi Road in Bangkok’s Dusit district.
Sarawut Benjakul, secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary, said Pol Lt Col Banyin and his lawyer legally need to show up in court to be presented with certain documents and evidence.
Today, Pol Lt Col Banyin will be interrogated in court on charges of kidnapping and killing the brother of a Bangkok South Criminal Court judge in February.
That kidnapping was aimed at pressuring the judge into dismissing a B300-million stock fraud case against him.
The CSD discovered the latest escape plot when a team arrested a 42-year-old man, Suthon “Joe” Thongsiri, in Bang Kapi district shortly after he was released on bail from Bangkok Remand Prison.
And if the prison break attempt failed, the former deputy minister reportedly told Joe to kidnap the wife of the Bang Kwang Central Prison chief to bargain for his release.
According to a source, Pol Lt Col Banyin had a lawyer apply for Suthon’s release and told Suthon to contact an MP in Nakhon Sawan for help. The MP refused to get involved.