Former Bangkok police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang returned home Tuesday after being detained 23 days in Japan for trying to carry a gun on board a Thailand-bound plane last month.
Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport around 3.30pm with both an army of reporters and a police investigation into how he snuck his gun out of Thailand waiting for him. He declined to talk with journalists.
The ex-police chief was arrested June 22 before boarding a Thai Airways International flight at Narita airport after a small pistol and bullets were discovered in his baggage. After detention and interrogation, Japanese prosecutors decided on Monday not to indict the former officer.
Royal Thai Police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri said Tuesday that Japanese prosecutors found that Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit had not intended to carry the gun on board, so he was released and sent home.
He also said Thai police did not arrest him upon arrival Tuesday because no charges have been filed against him here. However, police chief Somyot Poompunmuang ordered investigators to determine how Bangkok's former top cop got his gun on the outbound flight.
Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said Tuesday a ministry committee would investigate the matter as well and question why he didn't obtain prior approval to carry the gun.
Assigned to carry out the police investigation, Pol Lt Gen Ammuay Nimmano, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, said he would question Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit, especially over the acquisition of the unregistered handgun. He said he also would seek information on the case from Japan.
The ex-Bangkok police chief, 60, had visited Japan with a delegation of local administrators from Pathum Thani province to inspect a waste-to-energy plant.