A Thai woman sought legal assistance, alleging that police steal her valuables seized during a raid at her condominium in Bangkok and later threatened her after she filed complaints.
The 27 year old woman, Chaniporn “Manao” Charoenphum, met lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphet to request help, claiming she had not received justice following a police operation at her residence and subsequent efforts to recover her property.
According to Manao, officers from Khlong Tan Police Station raided her condominium in Soi Phatthanakan 20 on June 25 last year and arrested her husband, 42 year old Wattanapong “Auan” Boonprakob, over alleged links to drug-related offences.
She said her husband was later sentenced to four years and six months in prison in connection with the drug case. However, she noted that the appeal process remains ongoing.
Manao said officers also searched the condo for evidence and illegal items. She stated that no illegal items were discovered during the search.
Manao claimed that police seized several assets during the operation, including a gold necklace valued at more than 340,000 baht that Auan was wearing, a gold bracelet worth more than 200,000 baht that belonged to her, more than 10 watches, including a Tag Heuer watch, 60,000 baht in cash and other personal belongings.
Manao said officers informed them that the items could have been connected to proceeds from alleged criminal activity and would be held for further investigation.
She explained that after Auan was granted bail during court proceedings, police contacted him to retrieve some of the confiscated watches. However, the luxury watch was missing.
Manao further alleged that police later contacted her to collect her bracelet and a tablet. When she examined the bracelet, she was confident that it was not the same item that had originally been seized. The returned bracelet differed in both design and weight, and she suspected it was not genuine gold.
She said she subsequently requested access to the official inventory of seized property and discovered differences between the listed items and those taken during the raid.
According to her account, the inventory recorded the gold necklace, a gold bracelet, a tablet, several watches and 10,000 baht in cash. She claimed the document did not reflect the full 60,000 baht and did not include the Tag Heuer watch.
The dispute prompted Manao to submit complaints to several government agencies in an effort to recover the missing valuables.
Despite her husband’s conviction, Manao maintained that the seized valuables were unrelated to any alleged criminal proceeds.
She also alleged that repeated complaints to government departments resulted in intimidation from officers at Khlong Tan Police Station. Manao said she received phone calls warning her to stop pursuing the matter for her own safety.
Ronnarong assisted her in raising the complaint with the Metropolitan Police Bureau. According to the report on ThaiRath, officers from Metropolitan Police Division 5 planned to interview Manao in detail today, June 5.
At the time of publication, no public response from Khlong Tan Police Station regarding the allegations had been reported.
The story Bangkok police officers accused of stealing from drug suspect and his wife as seen on Thaiger News.
