More news about suspect arrested in alleged assassination attempt on Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

The common serio-comic joke about the Thai judicial system is as follows: "In Thailand, all suspects are presumed innocent until such time as a confession can be beaten out of them."

Wife told Thawatchai will simply 'die in prison' if he does not confess his crime

Lieutenant Thawatchai Klin-chana's wife was told by police to persuade her husband to confess to attempting to assassinate caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra or else her family would be in trouble, a relative disclosed yesterday.

Thawatchai was arrested on Thursday morning while getting into a car loaded with a huge amount of explosives that was parked near Thaksin's home.

Following the arrest, Thaksin claimed to have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. His security officers later provided the media with photographs of Thawatchai and the explosive materials found in the vehicle.

Thawatchai's elder sister Thavorn Klinchana, 54, yesterday described him as a "scapegoat" that could be silenced.

"We are afraid that he will be killed so the case can be closed. We are worried he will die despite doing nothing wrong because he's a victim at the hands of the powers that be," she said.

Thavorn said relatives were not being allowed to visit Thawatchai because police claimed the investigation was not yet complete.

"But police called my sister-in-law and asked her to push my brother into confessing things. Police said my brother would just die in jail if he refused to confess," Thavorn said, quoting what Thawatchai's wife, Sangworn Tadjampa, had told her.

Thavorn said she did not believe Thawatchai would ever attempt to assassinate Thaksin. She said the family would try to find good lawyers to defend him.

Thavorn said she had kept the news of Thawatchai's arrest from their paralysed father.

"I am afraid it might be too much for him to bear. But I don't know how long I can keep it a secret from him," Thavorn said.

She said she was also worried about Thawatchai's health because he needed regular medication for hyperthyroidism.

"From what I saw on TV, my brother seemed so exhausted," Thavorn said.

Sangworn said her two children cried over Thawatchai's arrest. "He has never criticised Thaksin. I don't believe my husband would ever try to kill the premier," she said.

After his arrest, Thawatchai said he was paid Bt200 by an unnamed friend to drive the car from the spot where he was arrested to nearby Soi Suan Oy.

Thawatchai was formerly a driver for Pallop Pinmanee, who was sacked from the post of deputy director of the Internal Security Operation Command immediately after the arrest on Thursday.

Pallop has denied being behind an assassination plot. "You know me. If I was behind it, I would not have missed," he told reporters after his sacking.