Why is Kanpithak Patchimsawat still allowed to drive?

You might not remember the name Kanpithak Patchimsawat. You might not know his other title "Mu Ham" either. But if you have been following Thai news in the last year you will remember the story of a crazy kid who had a fight with a bus driver, hit him in the face with a brick, and then got back into his Mercedes and drove it into the people who had just got out of the bus he was involved in an accident with.

He killed one and injured several other people in that incident. He deliberately drove his car into a group of people and killed one of them!

Well, this 20-year-old has managed to have another accident, with another bus but this time avoided going crazy to the point of causing any further deaths.

But he does seem to think that knowing high ranking police makes driving offences go away. And maybe it does.

Why does he still have a drivers licence? Please take this guy off the road. He is a murder, who should be in prison. He used his car as a weapon to harm innocent people and it resulted in a death. Why is he free, and driving?

Here is the report from the Bangkok Post:

"Kanpithak Patchimsawat, who gained notoriety for lethally driving his car into a bus passenger queue, was involved in another altercation with a bus yesterday.

Mr Kanpithak, also known as Mu Ham, grazed a public bus with his sedan in Wang Thonglang district, a repeat road offence that could see his driver's licence revoked for life.

The incident happened on Lat Phrao road in front of Chokechai Si market near Soi Lat Phrao 55/2. No one was hurt.

The 20-year-old son of former Miss Thailand Sawinee Pakaranang was driving a Honda Accord when he scraped the side of a No 545 bus, which travels between Samrong and Nonthaburi.

He told traffic police who responded that he knew high-ranking police officers.

The man is a nephew of retired assistant police chief Pol Lt-Gen Ukrit Patchimsawat.

Later, his father, Mr Kan-anek, arrived and agreed to pay the bus driver 2,000 baht for repairs.

Mr Kanpithak is free on bail of a million baht after driving his Mercedes into a crowd at a bus stop in July last year, killing one and injuring several others.

He had argued with the driver of bus No 513, accusing him of damaging his car, while in the Asok area. He hit the man in the face with a brick and then gunned his car into the passengers who had descended from the bus.

Just last Thursday , he pleaded guilty in court to assault and denied two other charges, murder and attempted murder. The court scheduled the trial for Monday.

Pol Col Jirapat Phumijit, Thong Lor police chief, who handled the case, said Mr Kanpithak's driver's licence is still valid. Because of the three serious charges, police did not bring ''weaker'' charges, which would immediately have suspended his licence.

''This new incident is deemed as a repeat offence. It is now up to the court to rule whether to revoke his driving licence or to ban him from driving for good,'' Pol Col Jirapat said."

Update : In January 2009, Kanpithak Patchimsawat was sentenced to 10 years 2 months jail time and ordered to pay 2 million baht to the family of the woman he killed, and 800,000 baht to each of two of the people he seriously injured.

Related :19-year-old Thai man breaks 17-year-old woman in half with Porsche Cayman and then drives 10 km with her torso in the front seat.