Corrupt Thai MP's Son on Trial for Murder by Phairath Khampha 31 July 2002 The son of a well-known corrupt and arrogant Thai politician appeared in court on July 1, 2002 to face a charge of murder over the fatal shooting of a police officer at a nightclub in Bangkok in 2001. It was the first time that Duangchalerm Yoobamrung, the son of MP Chalerm Yoobamrung, was in court over the killing since he surrendered to authorities in May after six months in hiding. Duangchalerm, who was shackled and wearing prison clothing, was accompanied by his older brother Wanchalerm, who was charged with impeding the arrest of Duangchalerm and illegally possessing firearms. The saga of the killing held the nation in thrall, and the scandal caused Duangchalerm's father, a veteran politician, to lose his job. But given who Chalaerm is and the power he wields, few expected true justice to prevail. The shooting occurred in the favourite haunt of the MP's three playboy sons and their friends, after one man trod on another's foot and a brawl ensued, as if these were little boys. That is how mature important Thai people are not. Other defendants Three other men also appeared in court along with Duangchalerm and Wanchalerm - two were charged in connection with the murder, and the third, a former police major, with obstructing justice. The first witness to be called was the widow of the murdered police officer, who said that she had been told the day after the shooting that her husband was killed by the sons of a politician. Between 40 and 50 other witnesses were expected be called by the prosecution. Notorious family Chalerm Yoobamrung's sons had been previously linked to 12 incidents of brawling and physical assault in the previous three years but had never been punished because of the corrupt connections of the influential family. The general Thai populace had become extremely fed up with the family's childish and tiresome, if not dangerous, antics. This most recent scandal resulted in Chalerm losing his job as the deputy leader of the New Aspiration Party, which is a member of the ruling coalition. But Chalerm leapt to his son's defence, as he had on each of the previous occasions when his boys became involved in fights, shootings or other incidents at bars and discotheques. He even launched a magazine, to counter what he claimed was as biased media coverage. Show us tape Duangchalerm Yoobamrung's lawyer on July 1 demanded to see what was deemed a crucial piece of evidence in his murder trial, a closed-circuit TV recording of the Twenty Pub shooting. Sources in the defence camp said the demand reflected its confidence that the prosecution did not have such damning evidence against Duangchalerm, the son of maverick politician and former justice minister Chalerm Yoobamrung. Other legal sources, however, said the defence might simply be trying to probe how concrete this evidence was so as to adjust its strategy accordingly. The much-anticipated trial began that day at the Criminal Court with the first witness taking the stand being the widow of slain crime-buster Suwichai Rodwimud, Supatra. But the real significance on the trial's first day was the defence's demand, which the court accepted for consideration. Suwichai was shot in the head at point-blank range by Duangchalerm following a brawl at Twenty Pub on October 29, 2001. Duangchalerm went into hiding after the incident before turning himself in at the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on May 2. The suspect and two accomplices, Krissapat Jatulanont and Supoj Saeng-anan, understandably denied murder charges. The defence told the court that after the Twenty Pub shooting police chief Sant Sarutanont had said in several press interviews that investigators had taken possession of a closed-circuit TV tape showing the incident. "If the tape can be played before this court, it will do this trial a great service," said defence lawyer Wipas Charupong. The prosecution received closed-circuit TV recordings from the police investigators. But what was on the tapes remained a big mystery. Whether or not it will be shown in the courtroom would depend on the presiding judge, Sunop Kiratiyuti, and how much in bribes his father had paid to variou sjudges, prosecutors and senior police officers. Chalerm had been challenging the police to show the tapes. He also noted that the police had said the shooting had taken place after lights had been turned on inside the pub. The defence brought along a video-player and a TV set, but the judge banned the items from the courtroom. Chalerm, his wife Lamnao and their eldest son Art-harn sat close to Duangchalerm at the trial. They and the slain officer's wife never looked at each other. The courtroom was packed with more than 100 people, and the area was guarded by dozens of commandos. Supatra told the court that her husband had never been in a brawl nor lost consciousness while drinking. "I talked to him earlier in the day, and he promised to return home as early as he could to take our son to buy school materials," she said. "But he called at 1pm and again at 4pm saying that he had not yet finished work. The boy called him again at 10pm, and he was still working." Another witness, Lt-Colonel Suthin Sappuang of the crime-suppression police, confirmed to the court that Suwichai and colleagues had visited the pub on a mission to track down suspected Chinese kidnapping racketeers. Prosecutors do not have tape Police and prosecutors on July 2 denied the existence of a closed-circuit TV recording of the Twenty Pub shooting, and described the demand by murder suspect Duangchalerm Yoobamrung's lawyer to view it as an attempt to "distort" the case. "We have never received any closed-circuit videotape from the police," said Wiwat Duangchan, director-general of the Attorney General's Office (criminal cases division). "But I would like to make it clear here that we prosecuted the defendants because we have other pieces of strong evidence, including testimonies by witnesses present at the scene. It looks like an attempt [by the defence team] to distort the main points of this case. But it remains that with or without such a tape, the prosecution's stand will not in the least bit be affected." Lt-General Noppodol Somboonsap, assistant national police chief, confirmed that the investigators' report to prosecutors did not include a videotape as evidence. "I have no idea how this has become an issue," he said. Suspect seen lowering right hand as victim fell, court told A prosecution witness on July 14 testified he saw murder suspect Duangchalerm Yubamrung lower his right hand when a policeman fell down in the Club Twenty shooting in October 2001. Pol Lt-Col Subin Sappuang, of the Crime Suppression Division, told the Criminal Court after he heard a gunshot he turned his head and saw Mr Duangchalerm. The star witness told the court he saw the suspect in shooting position and the victim falling down after a single shot rang. "The victim was standing but his head fell down. Then he fell to the floor and I saw Mr Duangchalerm lower his right hand, which had been raised to shoulder level, to his side," the witness told the court. Pol Lt-Col Subin also told the court that there was enough light in the pub where he, shooting victim Pol Sgt-Maj Suvichai Rodwimut, Pol Capt Wiwat Boonchaisri and another police officer were looking for a suspect in a ransom case. Before the shooting, Pol Capt Wiwat had a row with Mr Wanchalerm, the murder suspect's older brother, who threatened the officer with a pistol. The witness said he intervened and told Mr Wanchalerm not to shoot and shortly after that Pol Sgt-Maj Suvichai was shot and killed at the pub. "When we were walking around looking for our targets, we saw Duangchalerm's group," said Suthin. "I told Suwichai, 'Look who're here', and he replied, 'All right, chief, we came here to work'. "Soon I and Suwichai heard people shouting. We turned and saw Wiwat trying to get up from the floor and Duangchalerm pulling a gun out of his pocket. I intervened and told the man: 'Don't you ever shoot a cop.' Members of Duangchalerm's group also tried to restrain him and he finally put the gun back in his pocket." The shooting of Suwichai took place seconds later, the witness said. He insisted that there was enough light in the pub to see it clearly. "I heard people in Duangchalerm's group say: 'Let's go', and they ran out the front entrance. A black van and a Mercedes were waiting. When I tried to stop them, Duangchalerm pointed his gun at me and said: 'Who the hell are you? I'm leaving.' He was with a few others including his elder brother Artharn," Suthin said. The witness said a man, identified later as Pol Major Sarawut Sakulmeerit, appeared at the scene, shoved him and told him to back off as it did not concern him, as Duangchalerm was dragged into the getaway vehicle. Meanwhile, Chalerm Yubamrung, the suspect's father, questioned the witness's testimony and said the officer could not have seen who shot Pol Sgt-Maj Suvichai. "He just saw a man lowering his arm. So, where's the gun?" said the veteran politician. Mr Chalerm also accused the witness of changing his testimony, saying the officer had said in a television interview that he never saw Mr Duangchalerm fire the gun.  Mr Chalerm said he had seen the interview on UBC Channel 8 and would ask for the tape and hand it over to the court for consideration. Before the testimony, Pol Col Veeravit Chanchamroen, superintendent of Sutthisan police station, told the court the closed-circuit TV recording was not included as evidence. The defence lawyers demanded that the alleged recording of the shooting be played in the courtroom. Pol Col Veeravit told the court that the recording at the Club Twenty from October 12-31, 2001 was not relevant to the case. The court said it would rule on the motion after Pol Lt-Col Subin completed his testimony. Police captain vivdly tells of Suvichai's death A police captain on July 29 gave a vivid account of the events in Club Twenty surrounding the killing of Suvichai. Pol Capt Wiwat Boonchaisri, of the CSD's subdivision 2, again told the Criminal Court that he believed Duangchalerm Yubamrung shot dead Pol Sgt-Maj Suvichai Rodwimut. The witness said he and three other police officers, including Pol Sgt-Maj Suwichai, had entered the club to gather information about a Chinese kidnap gang that night and encountered Mr Duangchalerm, his brothers Mr Wanchalerm and Mr Art-harn and friends. Mr Wanchalerm stepped on his left foot and asked him: "Do you have any problem with my stepping on your foot?" He replied: "No problem. Just came here for fun." Mr Wanchalerm then punched him in the face. His colleague Pol Lt-Col Suthin Sappuang and Pol Sgt-Maj Suwichai came to help him but they were surrounded by Mr Wanchalerm's friends. While he was fighting one of Mr Wanchalerm's friends, he heard a gunshot and saw Mr Duangchalerm lower his right arm from pointing at Pol Sgt-Maj Suwichai, who fell down. He heard someone shouting: "Go home." He grabbed at Mr Duangchalerm's shirt collar, but someone pushed him away. The group fled from the nightclub. He and Pol Lt-Col Suthin briefly examined Pol Sgt-Maj Suwichai, who had a gunshot to his head, and then followed Mr Duanchalerm's group outside the club premises. He saw Pol Lt-Col Suthin raise his arms up and tell the group to calm down. Mr Duangchalerm stepped out. Pol Lt-Col Suthin caught the defendant by his shirt and said: "I am a cop. Why did you shoot my man?" Mr Duangchalerm punched him in his face once before being stopped by others in his group and hurried into into a car, which quickly took off. Pol Capt Wiwat said there was enough lighting at the nightclub's car park for him to clearly see Mr Duangchalerm and his group. He confirmed that he identified Mr Wanchalerm and his brothers and friends as suspects in the shooting from file photos on November 11, 2001, and twice in a line-up on Nov 12. The court adjourned until August 2, when the prosecution case would continue.