Lawyer asks justice ministry to investigate attack on Siapo Po-arnon
PUBLISHED : 31 Jul 2024 at 20:08
A lawyer has called on the Ministry of Justice to investigate an “assassination attempt” against celebrity gambler Siapo Po-arnon, formerly known as Apirak Chat-anont, in Bang Kwang Prison.
In 2022, the Criminal Court sentenced Siapo — a popular internet figure who was advising a House panel on gambling at the time — to 54 years in jail for luring people to gamble online. It commuted the sentence to 20 years, the maximum allowed by the Criminal Code.
He also faced a 13-year sentence handed down by the Thon Buri Criminal Court in 2023 for a murder attempt at a Thai massage parlour in the Phasi Charoen area.
He is being detained in a specially controlled zone in Bang Kwang Prison.
Lawyer Witoon Keng-ngarn said on Tuesday that Siapo’s family told him he had faced more than one attempt on his life earlier this year. The family fears he might end up dead in prison.
The lawyer said his submission to the ministry was based on an inmate’s fundamental right to security. The prison must segregate inmates where necessary, and if that is not possible, transferring an inmate to another prison would be the best option, he said.
The lawyer speculated that the attempts to kill Siapo might have been orchestrated by an influential figure.
In one instance in February, he said, Siapo was attacked from behind by someone using scissors. Luckily, the attack missed the target.
The scissors were stored in a locked equipment room, raising questions about how the attacker obtained them. As well, the attacker was housed in a different area of the prison from Siapo.
The inmate in question reportedly has been prosecuted and transferred to another prison. The motive, as claimed, was to gain recognition in the prison because Siapo is a well-known figure.
Somboon Muangklam, an adviser to the justice minister, suggested inmates awaiting trial should be separated from convicted prisoners, although space in prisons is limited due to chronic overcrowding.
Whether Siapo will be transferred to another prison is up to the discretion of the director-general of the Department of Corrections, he said.
Yutthana Nakreungsri, the head of Bang Kwang Central Prison, insisted the prison has strict measures to monitor all convicted inmates. An inspection last week turned up no dangerous items except for excess clothes, he added.