PUBLISHED : 17 Dec 2023 at 19:06
The father of a physics PhD student who fell to her death from her balcony on the sixth floor of an apartment building in the Chokchai Si area in Bangkok is seeking justice for his daughter.
The father, whose identity has been withheld, on Sunday sought help from Ekkaphob Luangprasert, an adviser to the Interior Minister, after the incident took place on Wednesday.
The father said she was frightened by a drunk man who banged on the door of her room at 4am, prompting her to climb out of a window to escape before falling to her death.
Mr Ekkaphob said the daughter was pursuing a doctorate degree in physics and had a few months left before graduation.
He said the drunk man banged on the door because he believed that the student had parked her motorcycle in the parking space he frequently used. Actually the student did not have a motorcycle there.
Mr Ekkaphob said the student sent messages online to seek help from a friend who was staying on the third floor, but the friend did not dare to come and help. Instead, the friend went downstairs to ask a security guard for help, but the student fell before help arrived.
Police were alerted to the incident and rushed to the scene, Mr Ekkaphob said, adding the initial examination found the man was drunk but police did not test him for drugs.
Police charged the man with attempted trespassing and frightening and intimidating people, but they did not charge him with carelessness causing death, Mr Ekkaphob said.
“I think police must review the case and call more witnesses for further questioning,” he said.
“The death of the student was caused by carelessness. The charges brought against the man were not [enough],” he said, adding he has asked Pol Maj Gen Manop Sukhonthanapat, deputy commander of the Metropolitan Bureau, to look into the case.