Police station without police explained

07 กุมภาพันธ์ 2560

A superintendent of a police station has explained why no officers were available to handle complaints for 90 minutes on Sunday night.

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Senior officer defends 'police-free station' complaint

Treenai Chansrichol and Online Reporters

CHON BURI – A superintendent of Nongprua police station has explained why members of the public wanting to file complaints at the station on Sunday between 9.30-11pm did not meet any officer but were greeted by two young civilians instead.

Pol Col Jirawut Tanwtasri on Monday said there were two officers handling public complaints on Sunday night – one in charge of investigation tasks and the other a police blotter – and that the absence of the officers was coincidental.

The first officer left the office at 9.30pm to investigate a car break-in along with a team of investigators and the car’s owner. All of them returned at 11pm with a witness.

The investigators then questioned the car owner and a witness in an inquiry room in the back of the station building while the first duty officer went to search for documents in a second-floor room.

During that period, Pol Col Jirawut said the second duty officer had sudden high blood pressure symptoms and had to see a doctor. He then asked a woman, who was a former student trainee at the station, to stay at his desk temporarily until he returned.

On late Sunday night, residents in Bang Lamung district including a foreigner were left scratching their heads trying to figure out why they could not see a single police officer at the three-storey Nongprua station.

Local media reported that they met a woman and a man in their early 20s sitting behind two computers at complaint desks. Footage of a television channel showed the former student trainee told a reporter and residents that "the duty officer went out for a meal".

She also said she could handle complaints about petty offences such as theft while the officer was away.

Returning home disappointed were a man who wanted to report a car break-in, a group of people wanting to bail their relatives arrested earlier in the evening for illegal betting and a foreign man who arrived on a motorbike taxi but his business with the Thai police was not known.

The group left the station after they felt they had waited too long.

The incident has drawn public attention after it was reported on midnight news of some TV channels on Sunday, as well as in social media.

Pol Col Jirawut said he had talked to all station officers to prevent a repeat of the incident. He appealed to the public for understanding, citing a lack of manpower and that most of his station officers were old.

Pol Lt Gen Jitti Rodbanyang, the Provincial Police Region 2 commander, on Monday said he had stressed to the Nongprua police chief to ensure public services were available at all times.

“At Nongprua, [the problem occurred] because a duty officer went to a crime scene and another went out for a meal,” Pol Lt Gen Jitti said, contradicting Pol Col Jirawut's account.