Porntip Rojanasunan
This article is missing information about the subject's investigatory role in the death of Hangthong Thammawatthana, and ethical and professional criticisms.(February 2010) |
Pornthip Rojanasunand | |
---|---|
Member of the Senate of Thailand | |
Assumed office 11 May 2019 | |
Director-General of Central Institute of Forensic Science | |
In office 22 December 2013 – 17 June 2014 | |
Preceded by | Anek Yomjinda |
Succeeded by | Supoj Nak-ngernthong |
In office 2 May 2008 – 29 May 2013 | |
Preceded by | Chumsak Pruksapong |
Succeeded by | Anek Yomjinda |
Personal details | |
Born | Pornthip Sonsiwichai 21 December 1954 Bangkok, Thailand |
Spouse | Wichai Rojanasunand |
Children | Yarawi Rojanasunand |
Alma mater | Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University |
Occupation | Forensic pathologist |
High-profile cases Pornthip was involved in include the
For her work, Pornthip was awarded the
Early life
As a child she had interests in forensics because both of her parents worked in the field.[citation needed] She was sent to an American boarding school, and after finishing boarding school she wanted to be an interior designer.[citation needed] However her father wanted her to become a doctor.[citation needed] Her forensic career started with an internship by studying forensic medicine, and performing autopsies. Pornthip is very proud of her work and that it "ensures her a place in heaven."[2][full citation needed]
Government service
Graduating from the Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University, in 1979, Pornthip became a medical officer in the Ministry of Public Health. She held several positions in the Ministry, all dealing with pathology. In 2001, Pornthip was transferred to the Ministry of Justice to hold concurrently the positions of Director of the Medical Division at the Central Youth Detention Centre and Ministerial Spokesman.[3]
She next served as Deputy Director (9th Class Administrative Officer) of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, since 2003, and was promoted to Director (10th Class Administrative Officer) by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej in 2008.[4]
Pornthip's four-year term as CIFS Director expired in April 2012, and her term was extended for one more year. However,
Her removal was effective immediately and without any advance notice, while Pornthip was carrying out her official functions in the People's Republic of China.[9] Pornthip felt her removal was motivated by politics, since some politicians might have been upset with her work.[10] A number of experts agreed with her, citing Pornthip's conflicts with the Royal Thai Police, which had caused her and her team to be barred from working in central Thailand and being sent to work in the south instead.[10]
Following the June 2013 murder of Akeyuth Anchanbutr, an outspoken critic of Yingluck's government, Pornthip was asked by the public to examine the case. However, she said she no longer had any authority to deal with such cases. Asked about her duties as Inspector General, she said they consisted of "only reviewing official papers".[11]
Career
Pornthip first attracted widespread media attention when she investigated the
After the
In June 2009, she was one of the pathologists investigating the death of actor David Carradine.[17]
In October 2009, she concluded that
In April 2010, she was appointed to the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation or CRES (previously known as the Centre for the Administration of Public Order), a military organization charged with maintaining peace and order within Bangkok and the surrounding provinces during the massive anti-government protests in 2010. Dozens of protestors were killed and thousands injured in the CRES-ordered crackdown.[citation needed]
Pornthip's autobiography, which details her life and most prominent cases, has been translated into English and available through Amazon.[19] In the book, Pornthip reiterates problems with state authorities in obtaining justice for those subject to injustice, a theme carried throughout the book. Frank G Anderson translated the core material for the autobiography.
Jenjira Ploy-angunsri murder investigation
After returning from her internship in Bangkok she come back to mystery involving a medical student who was missing for two weeks. The person police suspected to have had committed the crime was another medical student. After being interrogated by police the medical student confessed to the murder and claimed that he had done the crime in a hotel room. After that the Thai police closed the investigation but Rojanasunand had doubts about the story the medical student gave. She then re-interrogated the medical student and he changed his story from the one that he gave to the investigators. Then after her interrogation the government thought that she had made them look bad because of their decision to close the murder case after the first interrogation.[2][20]
GT200 "bomb detectors"
Pornthip was a vocal and sustained supporter of the GT200, a "remote substance detector" that Pornthip and the UK manufacturer claimed could detect from a distance various substances including explosives and dead bodies. Several nations have found the devices to be fraudulent.
2008 clashes between police and the
In the early months of the
Large protests against the Democrat-led government were held in Bangkok in 2009, prompting a violent crackdown. Rumours of widespread killings were denied by the government, which pointed to the lack of bodies. When shipping containers rumoured to be filled with skeletons were found sunken off several coastal areas, Pornthip was assigned to help with the forensics. She suggested that rather than opening up the containers, GT200 bomb detectors using dead body "sensor cards" should be used.[24]
When news of the fraudulent nature of the GT200 devices became public in 2010, Pornthip defended the use of the devices, even if they were proven ineffective. She noted, "I do not feel embarrassed if the bomb detector is proven ineffective. Personally, I have never handled the device myself. But my people have used it and it is accurate every time. Long long time ago, people believed that the Earth is flat and anyone who said otherwise faced execution. Things which are not visible does not necessarily mean they do not exist."[25]
Media personality
A
The Thai English-language newspaper The Nation chose Pornthip, along with Chote Wattanachet and brothel-tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit as persons of the year for 2003.[citation needed]
She was awarded the
Her wax statue has been displayed at Madame Tussauds in Bangkok since 2009, along with the statues of Kukrit Pramoj and Silpa Bhirasri.[29]
References
Citations
- ^ MrSwissland (27 October 2009), Crime Scene Bangkok (Pornthip Rojanasunand) Part 1/5, retrieved 31 March 2016
- ^ a b "Project Continua".
- ^ หมอพรทิพย์ โรจนสุนันท์ "คุณหญิง" หมื่นศพ [Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, the Lady over the Dead] (in Thai). Positioning Magazine. 16 March 2007.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - Government Gazette. 125 (Special D): 49. 6 June 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Porntip replaced as CIFS chief". Bangkok Post. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ ครม.เด้งหมอพรทิพย์ พ้นผอ.นิติวิทย์ ส่งเข้ากรุผู้ตรวจฯ ยุติธรรม [Cabinet removes Dr Pornthip from office of CIFS Director to office of MOJ Inspector General] (in Thai). MThai. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ เด้ง "หมอพรทิพย์" พ้น ผอ.นิติวิทยาศาสตร์ [Dr Pornthip immediately removed from CIFS] (in Thai). Manager. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ มติ ครม. เด้งหมอพรทิพย์ เป็นผู้ตรวจ ยธ. [Cabinet resolution: Dr Pornthip immediately removed to office of MOJ Inspector General] (in Thai). PostToday. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "เผยเบื้องลึกครม.เด้ง'หมอพรทิพย์'" [Background of Dr Pornthip's immediate dismissal]. Kom Chad Luek. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Porntip dismissed as CIFS director-general". Bangkok Post. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ หมอพรทิพย์ติงเก็บหลักฐานศพ "เอกยุทธ" รวบรัด [Dr Pornthip's objection: Collection of evidence in Akeyuth's murder case was carelessly done] (in Thai). Manager. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ Sarah Rooney, "Anatomy of a Murder", South China Morning Post Sunday Review, 25 February 2001.
- ^ O'Donnell, Lynne (5 January 2005). "Devoted Doctor Takes On Her Toughest Challenge: She's Trying To ID Thousands of Victims". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "VICTIM IDENTIFICATION: Compromise reached over forensic task". The Nation. 16 January 2005. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Unidentified Western bodies to be moved". The Nation. 25 January 2005. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ Crime Scene Bangkok Archived 11 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine (2004) at CableReady.net
- ^ "Carradine Death 'Erotic Asphyxiation'". Bangkok Post. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- MalaysiaKini. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
- ISBN 978-9814302739.
- ^ "Crime Scene Bangkok (Pornthip Rojanasunand) Part 1/5". YouTube.
- ^ Piyanuch, Thamnukasetchai (11 October 2008). "No explosive residue: Pornthip". The Nation. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010.
- ^ "Thai queen weighs in with anti-govt protesters". Reuters. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ Abdullahi, Najad (11 February 2009). "Myanmar's unwanted boat people". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "Porntip seeks quick move on container". The Nation. 17 May 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ "Dr. Porntip: Suspects on security offences are victims". ISRA Institute Thai Press Development Foundation. 4 February 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ Goodnough, Abby (16 January 2005). "Thai Doctor Fashions a Life Working Among the Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Mydans, Seth (13 April 2002). "On Death's Trail, a Detective Larger Than Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "Pornthip Rojanasunand". Who's Who in Thailand. 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ^ แพทย์หญิง คุณหญิงพรทิพย์ โรจนสุนันท์ [Khunying Doctor Pornthip Rojanasunand] (in Thai). Madame Tussauds Bangkok. n.d. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
Sources
- "Being a woman has helped me survive my job". AFP. 6 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- "Thailand's fearless 'Dr Death'". BBC. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2016.