A high-ranking police officer wanted in the murder of a senior provincial official in Khon Kaen surrendered on Friday.
Pol Lt Col Somjit Kaemprom, deputy superintendent of Nong Rua police station, turned himself in at the Khon Kaen police station. He denied all charges and will only testify in court, said Pol Lt Gen Kawee Supanan, chief of provincial police region 4.
Pol Lt Gen Kawee said the suspect refused to acknowledge the evidence hat officers showed him relating to the death of Suchart Kothum, the chief administrator of the Khon Kaen Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO).
The suspect will be detained at the police station after he is interrogated. Police denied bail and are requesting the court to detain him for further legal proceedings.
Pol Lt Col Somjit had been hiding in Bangkok but surrendered after contacting the superintendent of the Nong Rua police station, said Pol Lt Gen Kawee.
The two remaining suspects who had contacted the police to turn themselves in along with Pol Lt Col Somjit did not show up. Officers in Bangkok are trying to track them down.
He said there were enough witnesses and evidence to charge the deputy superintendent with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, illegal possession of weapons, and carrying a firearm in public.
Suchart, 53, was shot dead outside his home in Muang district on May 3 while he was heading out to work. Witnesses saw three men approach him before his death.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Veerasak Chamnanpol, an officer at the Nong Rua station, was arrested on May 7 for his involvement. He confessed that he coordinated the attack with three other men. He said Pol Lt Col Somjit was the team leader and the one who pulled the trigger.
The deputy superintendent disappeared on the same day that Pol Snr Sgt Maj Veerasak was caught.