Two public servants are being sought by police on suspicion of helping a convicted criminal escape. The Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial court has issued arrest warrants for the unnamed officials, as the hunt for 37 year old escapee Chaowalit Thongduang continues.
Chaowalit was serving a prison sentence for attempted murder, robbery and possession of firearms, when he escaped from a hospital in the southern province. He’d been receiving dental treatment. Police have been hunting for Chaowalit since he fled the facility on October 22.
Earlier this week, officers arrested 28 year old Suthiwat ‘Norn’ Khunnarong in the central province of Ratchaburi, who is accused of driving the car that took Chaowalit away from the hospital. Suthiwat initially denied the accusations against him, but under questioning at the police station in Nakhon Si Thammarat, it’s understood he admitted to the charges.
According to Suthiwat, he picked up Chaowalit at the hospital and drove him away, changing to a pick-up truck at one point in the journey, before dropping the escaped prisoner somewhere in the Banthat mountain range in the southern province of Phatthalung.
The hunt for the fugitive has now expanded to include the search for two unnamed officials suspected of being involved in his escape. Meanwhile, the commander of Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Prison and three prison officers have been transferred to the Department of Corrections as part of the ongoing investigation into how the prisoner was able to escape.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
