A corrupt Thai policeman who tortured a suspect to death by wrapping a plastic bag around his head has been jailed for life.

Disgraced former cop Thitisan Utthanaphon - nicknamed Joe Ferrari for his love of supercars - allegedly demanded drugs suspect Jirapong Thanapat, 24, double his one million baht (22,000 GBP) bribe to two million in order to be released.

CCTV cameras from the station in Nakhon Sawan, northern Thailand, appeared to show the cop wrapping several plastic bags around the head of Jirapong on August 5 in Nakhon Sawan, northern Thailand.

However, the suspect later collapsed and died the next day in the hospital. JoeFerrari recorded the death as a 'drugs overdose' and blackmailed the suspect's girlfriend - who was arrested with him - by letting her go free on the condition she did not speak.

A shocked junior office at the station leaked the video and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the country's national police chief to sack and arrest all of those allegedly involved.

Utthanaphon finally handed himself in to a station in Chonburi province on Thursday afternoon August 26.
The former cop had denied the charges claiming he was using the torture method to extratc information 'in the public interest' but he was found guilty by the court, which does not use juries.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for the wealthy playboy cop - who dated a number of local celebrities - but a judge ruled that Utthanaphon did not intend to kill the suspect and the sentence was commuted to life in pirson.

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct jailed Utthanaphon for life for killing the suspect by suffocating him.

The verdict and sentence were delivered via a video conference to the defendants at Klong Prem Central Prison.

Five other officers involved in the torture death were also jailed for life while a sixth was sentenced to five years and four months in prison. They were also convicted of malfeasance and professional misconduct.

The dead man's grieving parents welcomed the sentences. They are also due to receive compensation from the jailed ex-cops.

Corruption in Thailand's police force and other state departments is believed to be endemic.

Incumbent Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, who was elected last month, told local media that the 'most difficult problem to address in Bangkok is corruption'.

Chadchart said corruption in the country is 'deep-rooted and systemic'.