Thawatchai did not appear at all normal on the VCD distributed by police, who were trying to squeeze every bit of information he knew out of him. Thawatchai was apparently completely in the control of the spirit when he confessed to the crime he had not committed, or would never have committed, depending on which conspiracy theory you believe. If Thai police had not intercepted him, however, Thawatchai would have bombed the prime minister's motorcade sky high.

Manager did not provide further evidence to support its claim of the existence of the jail ghost (phi krong khang) that took possession of Thawatchai and forced him to speak its mind, rather than his own. But don't worry about that evidence. Thailand has become a land of ghosts. The jail ghost, which has yet to pass on to the next cycle of birth, must exist, otherwise Thawatchai would not be acting with such a muddled head. You may say that he was experiencing a hallucination.

Here is the transcript of another VCD that the police have not made public detailing a conversation between Thawatchai and the jail ghost some time after midnight. Outside, the moon was casting a dark glow over of the Kingdom. Only an owl and a handful of bats hovered above the jail.

Ghost: Why were you driving around in a Daewoo car with those bombs?

Thawatchai: I don't recall what I did. I only wanted to go sightseeing in the Bang Plad area. Then the prime minister's security guards stopped me. All of a sudden, I found that my Daewoo was carrying tonnes of bombs.

Ghost: Were the bombs wired? Were they ready to explode at any time?

Thawatchai: I am a clerk at Internal Security Operation Command responsible for intelligence gathering. I know virtually nothing about bomb devices. My niece likes to make fun of me because whenever I see blood I faint.

Ghost: Why did you want to kill the prime minister?

Thawatchai: I am also curious about this myself. I was in a nostalgic mood when I arrived in the Bang Plad area near the prime minister's residence. My "Sunthorn Phu" blood was running through my body. I recall reciting some of his verse - Thung Bang Plad, plad prak jak khon rak. Jai tranak thung lang tae pang kon (when I arrived at Bang Plad, I felt sad because I was separated from my lover. I came to think of my plight passed on from the previous life.) Well, you see I'm not sure if I was in the mood to kill someone then, let alone the prime minister.

Ghost: But you were caught red-handed with the bombs.

Thawatchai: Yes, there were bombs in the car, but that is not very important. I am a Thaksin fan. I have a Thai Rak Thai T-shirt and cap in my house and I put them on quite often. I am one of the 16 million people who voted Thai Rak Thai. I also like to quarrel with my friends whenever they say the People's Alliance of Democracy is good for the country.

Ghost: Tell me, who are the other conspirators?

Thawatchai: I really don't know. My boss just called me and asked me to go pick up the Daewoo. I am a soldier. I obey commands. I never thought that picking up a car would get me in trouble.

Ghost: But this car was spotted circling around the prime minister's house for the past few days. Were you behind the wheel all along?

Thawatchai: I don't know whether it is the same Daewoo or not, but I don't think you believe that it would be fun to drive around in a car loaded with bombs for three days.

Ghost: When did you intend to set off the bomb?

Thawatchai: Although I am a soldier, I have a thin heart. I prefer typing to bomb-making.

Ghost: Do you know that you are the most dangerous person in the whole country right now?

Thawatchai: I feel puzzled. Next time, I'd rather pick up a Honda.

Ghost: Do you also know that if the bomb were to explode, it would have destroyed the entire area within a one-kilometre radius?

Thawatchai: The prime minister's security guards took pictures of me at the scene. They did not seem to worry about the bomb at all. We chatted like normal. If the bomb were to have blown up, I think that at the most it would have brought down a mango tree.

Ghost: Do you have anything else you would like to confess to?

Thawatchai: I just want to get out of this hell as quickly as possible. I hate the mosquitoes. I will vote Thai Rak Thai again when the election comes.

After this interview with the ghost, Thawatchai talked to the police about the car bomb. The police taped the investigation and released it to the public. It was clear that Thawatchai, after an interview with the ghost, was sleepy while he was making a confession on camera. He was not sure who was really his friend - the jail ghost or the police. But he had not sold his soul to the ghost yet.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation