Former Thai police chief convicted of torture-killing of drug suspect found dead in his cell

A former Thai police officer, nicknamed “Joe Ferrari” for his extravagant collection of cars, was found dead in his cell three years after he was sentenced to life for torturing and killing a drug suspect.

Thitisan Utthanaphon was found dead in his cell at Bangkok’s Klong Prem Central Prison on Friday night, prison authorities said.

A Department of Corrections statement confirmed that prison officials were notified of an inmate’s death at 8.50pm on Friday. The deceased was later identified as Thitisan, who had served three years and six months in prison.

“Prison officials have been informed that one inmate named Thitisan Utthanaphon has been found dead,” the statement said.

CCTV footage showed nobody had entered the cell, but an autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death, the statement said.

A Thai court in 2022 had jailed six police officers, apart from Thitisan, for life for torturing and killing a drug suspect during interrogation. A Bangkok court initially sentenced the six officers to death for coercion, malfeasance, abuse of authority and death by torture, but commuted that to life imprisonment for their cooperation and attempts to revive the suspect, court documents showed.

The then 40-year-old Thitisan, a police chief in Nakhon Sawan province, was arrested with six other officers in August, when an interrogation video went viral showing the victim with plastic bags over his head, suffocating while pinned down on the floor. One of the officers was jailed for eight years for malfeasance, commuted to just over five years.

The video captured huge attention in Thailand and sparked a debate about abuse and corruption by police and the extent to which powerful law enforcement figures are untouchable.

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The trial was seen as a test of Thailand's judicial system and its willingness to hold senior police accountable.

All of the officers planned to appeal their sentences, Chokchai Angkaew, a lawyer for Thitisan, had told Reuters in 2022.

Thitisan, a career policeman, was also being investigated about the extent and sources of his wealth after the discovery of a dozen luxury vehicles, including a Lamborghini and Ferrari, during a raid on his plush Bangkok home.

Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a Thai human rights activist who monitors and documents torture cases, said at that time the verdict was an important precedent for legal cases concerning abuse by state officials.

On Friday afternoon, his wife visited him in prison, with officers reporting no unusual behaviour at the time, the Malay Mail reported.

His family had reportedly raised concerns over previous allegations of mistreatment in prison. On 26 February, his mother formally lodged a complaint with the Department of Corrections, calling for an investigation into her son’s treatment in prison, the report said.

His lawyer, Weerasak Nakhin, had claimed that Thitisan instructed him to file a complaint with the Prachachuen police regarding an alleged assault in prison, the outlet reported.