The wife of the former police general Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn reported to police on Thursday to answer charges of breaking into a condominium room and stealing valuables worth 5.7 million baht.
Sirinadda Hakparn arrived at the Phra Khanong police station in Bangkok at 2.40pm after the Phra Khanong Criminal Court approved a warrant for her arrest.
After a four-hour interrogation, Ms Sirinadda was released on bail of 105,000 baht. Her lawyer said she denied all charges.
Thanattha Yodyiam, 50, a special lecturer at the Royal Police Cadet Academy in Nakhon Pathom, filed a complaint with police on Oct 20, accusing Ms Sirinadda of theft from her room in the Green Condo on Sukhumvit Soi 101 in Phra Khanong district of Bangkok.
She said she lived with her husband on the seventh floor of the building before they moved to a condo in Salaya district of Nakhon Pathom, which was near their workplace.
The alleged theft occurred at about 2pm on Aug 18 this year, according to the complaint. On that day, Ms Thanattha asked her nephew to get some items from her room at the Green Condo. Upon exiting the elevator, he saw Ms Sirinadda using a keycard to open the door.
The nephew phoned his aunt, who rushed back from Nakhon Pathom to check her condo. She found that gold ornaments weighing 120 baht (1.8 kilogrammes) and 600,000 baht in cash had disappeared. The losses totalled 5.7 million baht.
She said she had tried to contact Ms Sirinadda via phone and Line. She then wrote a letter asking for the return of the items and tried to hand-deliver it to Ms Sirinadda’s home on Sept 17.
However, no assets were returned, and she finally filed the police complaint.
Pol Gen Surachate, a former deputy national police chief who was seen as a front-runner for the chief’s position, was dismissed from the force in August.
The dismissal followed allegations that he was involved in an online gambling network, into which investigations are continuing.
