POLICE issued an apology for using images found through Google search to illustrate the key wound suffered by late actress Pataratida Patcharawirapong, or Tangmo Nida, who drowned during a speedboat trip in Chao Phraya river in Feb. during a press briefing two days ago, Thansettakij and Naewna newspapers said today (Apr. 28).
Netizens reviewed the images used in the video clip to show that the wound Tango Nida suffered on her inner thigh was comparable to the speedboat’s propeller.
They discovered that these images were in fact published by The Sun newspaper and were of a wound suffered by a 21-year-old woman who got injured while dancing at a party in September 2019. However Staffordshire police had said at the time that they did not know how she got wounded in this manner and were still investigating the incident.
This afternoon Pol. Lt. Gen. Chiraphat Phumchit, head of the Provincial Police Region 1, led a team of policemen in explaining at a press conference that the staff had been allowed to make a video clip on the autopsy results.
Pol. Col. Worachart Saenkham, head of investigation division of Provincial Police Region 1, said foreign images were used because legal problems prevented the use of images of real wounds, with the one in question being concave S-shaped.
He added that the public could Google search and see various propeller wounds and study their characteristics. They could also read foreign research and data and make comparisons.
“Police can’t misrepresent facts and police work is scrutinised by social media. We apologise for using images without referring to the source with this resulting in an incomplete presentation of information and ambiguity.
“This led to the media having doubts but the intention was to compare the wound with only images of S-shaped wounds being usable,” he said.
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Police issuing an apology at today’s press briefing. Photos: Naewna
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