Alumni in Focus

Major General Top Samphy

ILEA Bangkok Alumnus of Law Enforcement Leadership Development Course: Session 4 (September 12 to October 21, 2016)

Major General Top Samphy, Chief of Legislation and Legal Assistance Section (prerogative and rank equivalent to Head of Department). ILEA Bangkok Alumnus of Law Enforcement Leadership Development Course: Session 4, conducted from September 12 to October 21, 2016.

"After completing the training, I have been assigned to work at National Committee Against Torture where I have overseen prisons, national correction, rehabilitation, and relief treatment centers for drug addicts, and other temporary detention centers at various judicial-police stations across the country. In my line of duties, I have conducted surveillance, and investigations into many cases, two of which are as follows. 1) An allegation against a police officer who allegedly tortured to death a son of an opposition party activist. My investigation of the case has discovered that prior to the arrest, the victim was a drunkard and at the time of the arrest, he had not consumed any alcohol, which made him agitated, and then slipped on the floor and had a forehead injury. After that, he was transferred to a provincial prison where he later slipped on the floor again in front of the toilet at a healthcare center and then died. 2) An allegation of a suspect’s wife against a prison officer who tortured her husband to death. The result of my investigation into the case has revealed that it was an act of physical violence committed by a member of the provincial royal gendarmerie, which resulted in the suspect’s severe injuries and death. My various investigations, research, and studies help me to gain more experience and succeed in this career. However, I have some limitations regarding skills in the interview of witnesses and suspects, the forensic examination of exhibits, and autopsy work."