March 27, 2024
BANGKOK – The court ruled that Police Lance Corporal Norawich Buadok was solely responsible for the death of Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, as it dismissed the lawsuit against the Royal Thai Police (RTP) as an entity. The late doctor’s parents filed a lawsuit against the RTP and the cop for 72 million baht compensation on February 17, 2022.
About a month earlier, on January 21, Norawich had been riding a red Ducati big bike when he slammed into ophthalmologist Waraluck as she was crossing the road in front of Bhumirajanagarindra Kidney Institute Hospital on Phya Thai Road.
Waralak’s parents, Dr Anirut Supawatjariyakul and Ratchanee Supawatjariyakul, named RTP as the first defendant and Norawich as the second defendant in the civil lawsuit.
The lawsuit demanded that the RTP and Norawich jointly pay 537,505 baht for funeral expenses and 72.27 million baht for the parents’ caring costs.
The lawsuit said that RTP should share responsibility for the tragedy as it was the commanding agency of Norawich and should have taught him not to breach traffic laws, speed through a zebra crossing or use a motorcycle that violates the law on various counts.
The lawsuit also said it was RTP’s duty to manage traffic and ensure the safety of pedestrians.
The court, however, disagreed, saying that Norawich was the sole person responsible for the doctor’s death. Also, it said, Norawich’s direct commanders were responsible for his behaviour, and they had taken all the steps necessary to ensure he observed traffic laws.
The court also said it was the local administration’s duty to oversee traffic management, not the duty of RTP.
The court awarded 331,230 baht as funeral costs and a compensation of 13.5 million baht to each parent.
It the compensation was calculated based on the parents’ potential lifespan and the money the doctor would have earned if she were still alive. The parents are now both 64 years old and the court believes they will live for at least another 15 years.
The court has also ordered Norawich to pay a 5% per annum interest on all three amounts from January 21, 2022, until the entire compensation has been paid off.
In January this year, the Appeals Court also took a tough stance against the accused. Norawich had initially been sentenced to just one year and 15 days, but on Wednesday, the Appeals Court increased his sentence to 10 years and two months in response to an appeal filed by Waraluck’s family.
The RTP announced that if the Supreme Court retains a guilty verdict, he will be fired from police service.