Foreign police 'welcome' to question blackmail suspect'
THAl POLICE are amenable to their foreign counterparts interviewing a former PetroSaudi International executive held for allegedly attempting to blackmail his former employer
Pol Colonel Akaradej Pimonsri, acting commander of the Crime Suppression Police, said yesterday that Britain had dispatched its officers to Bangkok to question Xavier Andre Justo at Bangkok Remand Prison, as the suspect was accused of committing a crime intheir country
"We welcome requests from other countries if they want to talk to the suspect," Akaradej said. Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector-general of Malaysia's national police, said a request has been submitted to the Thai police interrogate Justo. Police will record Justo's statement before deciding on the next step, he said "We are working closely with Thai authorities on the matter. We have to wait for them to conclude their investigations on the subject, Justo," he said. A Thai assistant police chief will visit Malaysia on Thursday to discuss the matter, he said. Justo, 49, a Swiss national, was arrestedon Koh Samui last week for seeking 2.5 million Swiss francs (Bt90.5 mil lion) from PetroSaudi in exchange for not disclosing confidential information, according to Thai police. He has denied the charges.