Thai police allegedly tortured a man accused of drug-related offenses to death after stuffing his head into a plastic bag.
According to the Daily Mail, the severe action was taken to force the victim to double the bail payment to 44,000 pounds (RM254,082).
The victim, identified as Jirapong Thanapat, 24, was arrested along with his girlfriend after they were accused of selling methamphetamine in Nakhon Sawan in northeastern Thailand on Aug 5.
CCTV footage showing him being tortured by several policemen at a police station went viral on social media.
The footage is believed to have been released by a junior police officer.
The policemen in the video had initially received a payment of 22,000 pounds (RM127,021) to free the couple.
However, the police chief at the station known as Thitisan Utthanaphon (see picture below) demanded a double payment for the victim's release.
Thitisan allegedly used five plastic bags to suffocate Jirapong, in addition to handcuffing his hands.
The act caused Jirapong to collapse and several policemen tried to wake him up but failed before he was taken to hospital and died the next day.
Thitisan then recorded the death as ‘excessive drug use’ and released the victim’s girlfriend based on the condition that she won’t reveal the incident.
So far, four policemen involved have been arrested, including Thitisan.
Here’s the video of the tragic incident:
