No good deed; polite thief strikes; body on roof saga

Fight over BMW repair bill

Prawet Jarubon (middle) inspects the smashed-up BMW.

The owner of a BMW who pawned his vehicle in Nonthaburi has gone to police after the garage which helped arrange the financing refused to pay a repair bill when it was later involved in an accident.

Prawet Jarubon, 55, who has gained notoriety in the media as the son of the last executioner at Bang Kwang prison, took the owner of the BMW 320i, a friend of his who was not identified, and who offered the car to him as surety for a loan, to see Bang Bua Thong police.

Mr Prawet said he and his mate took the car to be pawned for 40,000 baht in an arrangement stitched together by Chang Pol Service garage in August.

The garage head helped arrange the loan for the car’s owner after a mutual friend asked him to help. He called another mate, “B”, who introduced them to a man who provided the cash, and later picked up the vehicle.

The trouble started the following month when a staff member of B’s stole the car keys and took the car out for an unauthorised spin, hitting a pickup, news reports said.

The impact was so bad that both airbags deployed, news reports said. The accident, which occurred in the Bang Sri Muang area, left the front windscreen was smashed, the front of the car crushed, and one side badly dented.

The complainant said when he took the damage to be appraised, the insurer told him the repairs would cost almost 570,000 baht. However, the owner has insurance cover worth just 200,000 baht, which leaves a potential outstanding bill of 370,000 baht.

“I have been asking for the money since September, but the garage keeps saying I have to chase down the guy who crashed the car,” Mr Prawet said.

He claimed the garage did not tell him about the damage until he found out from someone else. He felt sorry for his friend, the BMW owner, who had tried to help him with the loan, but whose car had now been smashed up.

News images showed the vehicle laid up at another garage where it sits idle, as the two sides cannot reach an agreement.

The staff member was jailed three weeks ago on a drugs offence. He offered to pay what he can by instalment, but the owner, who wants a lump sum, rejected the offer, reports said.

Mr Prawet said he asked police to investigate the garage, which he claims charged 10 per cent a month for the loan. He said if the garage is still unwilling to accept responsibility, he would ask his lawyer to start a damages claim.

The tangled saga offers a salutary lesson in how Thais trying to help each other out of financial difficulty can themselves end up in grief.

Reporters spoke to “Chang Pol” (no surname given), 40, owner of the garage on Bang Kruai-Sai Noi Road in Bang Bua Thong district which helped arrange the financing.

He said he was drinking with a mate, “Somsak” (no surname given), in August, who had often helped him out in the past.

Somsak, he said, told him he knew a friend who had over-committed himself and wanted to pawn the BMW to raise some cash.

“I said I had no money either, so I called a friend, B. He introduced us to a man who sells old stuff. He had the money transferred, and later sent someone to pick up the vehicle,” he said.

“They reached an agreement as friends. Neither I nor Somsak lent any money; I merely contacted a friend on Somsak’s behalf.”

Chang Pol no doubt feels he has been unfairly blamed for his part in the saga. “I have learnt my lesson. I will think twice about offering to help anyone again,” he said.

However, he has still tried to do what he can. He claims the BMW was actually worth 300,000 baht. “The insurer will pay 200,000 baht, but the owner wants 500,000 baht. I own a garage, so I know how much it is worth,” he grumbled.

Chang Pol said CCTV showed the complainant turning up and abusing his staff after the accident. He also had a forklift turn up to take away the vehicle.

“I offered to take responsibility by repairing the car, but the owner wouldn’t agree,” he said. “I have spoken to all sides, and was happy to hand over money from the guy who smashed the car, but the problem is he doesn’t have a lump sum big enough.”

He had warned the staff member against taking the car out for a spin, as had Mr Prawet himself, to no avail.

Mr Prawet said he and the owner took the car to be pawned with Somsak and Chang Pol on Aug 23. He claimed he charged 10 per cent a month on the loan, which the pair dispute.

On Sept 18, he heard from Somsak that the car had been involved in an accident. “I had seen the car parked without its registration plates in Pak Kret, which was odd. The garage told me a staff member was driving it and had parked it there. However, they had warned him against taking it out,” he said.

Police were planning to call in those involved to see if the loan was in fact offered at extortionate rates.

At least he asked first

 The teen steals a bird cage.

Another case of a “polite thief” has emerged when a man in Nonthaburi asked permission to steal two bird cages.

CCTV images taken show the man eyeing two wooden bird cages at a store in Bang Bua Thong late on Nov 25 before taking them. “P, I will ask for this (if u don’t mind),” he calls out for the benefit of the CCTV camera before lifting the goods.

He turned up with a friend on a motorcycle to rob the store, where the cages were hanging out front as decorative items. When the two women who own the shop opened for business the next day, they noticed the items missing.

They took a look at their CCTV vision from the night before, which showed the young thief looking about furtively. He picked up and rejected an iron cage before settling on the two wooden equivalents.

His friend on the motorcycle is heard telling him to get a move on, which hastened his depature, but not before he asked for permission to steal.

The owners acknowledged the thief seemed a polite type, but alerted police anyway, as next time he could steal something bigger. “He also did it in flagrant disregard for the law, as he knew the shop has CCTV,” one owner said. Police were looking for the offender.

Another tale of a well-mannered thief emerged in Samut Sakhon last month. A gold shop thief took off his shoes before entering the store because a sign told him to do so.

Somlak Chanthongthae, 32, snatched two necklaces worth four baht in gold weight, or 171,600 baht from a shop in Muang district, near Wat Ketmadi Sriwararam.

Mr Somlak, described in news reports as a “well-mannered thief” for taking off his shoes, left his footwear behind in his haste to leave, police say. They caught him later the same day on an inter-provincial bus bound for Phichit.

As police took Mr Somlak back to the store for a crime reconstruction, he gave staff a wai by way of apology. “I took my shoes off at the door because ther sign told me to,” he said matter-of-factly.

Earlier, in May, a gold shop robber in Sakhon Nakhon distinguished himself with his good manners by giving staff a wai first, but nonetheless brought two guns.

Nopparat “Mo” Rompho, 22, robbed the Hang Thong Yaowarat Krungthep goldstore at Big C Mahachai 2 in Muang district. He took off on a motorcycle with five gold necklaces worth three baht weight in gold, but was caught three days later.

As he walked in, wearing a crash helmet over his head and the green livery of a delivery man to help disguise his identity, the young man gave staff a wai and said, “Please give me permission to rob you.”

That was an unusually polite opening for a robbery, and must have taken staff by surprise. It was to be followed by: “Please grab your necklaces worth three and five baht, and put them in the bag if you don’t want to get shot.” Mr Nopparat lifted up his shift to reveal two guns on his waist to show he meant business. “And please do it quickly, too,” he added.

Funnily enough, the gold thieves in both cases say they did the deed to raise money for their girlfriend’s hand in marriage.

Unusual car roof feature

The body on the car after police stopped the driver

A driver in Surin travelled for 30km with the body of a man on the roof of his sedan before being flagged over by police.

Tha Thum police stopped driver Teerapat Leeran, 46, after a good samaritan contacted Chom Phra station to say they had witnessed a vehicle travelling along the road with a body stuck on its roof.

The car was travelling on the Chom Phra-Tha Thum Road when police and rescue workers stopped it, 30km from where the driver hit a man crossing the road.

Mr Teerapat said he was driving in poor visibility but was aware he had hit someone. The victim was identified as Weerapong (no surname given), 46, in news reports.

Mr Teerapat, who evidently saw fit not to stop, said he was on his way to see relatives at hospital. He claimed he did not know Weerapong’s body landed on his roof, despite blood spatter trailing after his vehicle. Police took him in. No word was to hand on what charges he will face.

Grim reaper at the wheel; ex-wife’s revenge; hand in a basket

Old geezer out for a spin

Chanchai Thaimuangthong

An old man in Phetchabun denied being involved in a fatal hit-and-run when police tracked him down, despite compelling evidence including his blood-spattered car.

In a later confession before reporters, Chanchai Thaimuangthong, 74, denied he tried to disguise a crime, and confessed he had hit people on the road before.

Mr Chanchai was driving his Honda Civic in a local soi in Chon Daen district at 10.30pm on Nov 16 when he hit a man on a bicycle at such speed the victim’s body stuck to his windshield. His bicycle was found 500m away, reports said.

The victim, Sawat Chomjib, 68, a forgetful type, was heading home on his bicycle and may have lost his way, relatives said from his funeral. Among injuries suffered by the victim were a broken left ankle, broken right shoulder, and crumpled head.

In shocking scenes, CCTV images show Mr Chanchai calmly getting out of his vehicle and pushing the body off his shattered windshield before driving on. He did not seek help or report the accident. He left the body in front of a house, whose owner said he heard the Honda travelling at great speed before the collision occurred.

Chanchai's battered car

On Nov 16, police tracked down Mr Chanchai to his home, after viewing CCTV vision in the area. However, he denied being the culprit. Police inspected his Honda Civic, parked outside the house with a drop cloth covering the vehicle.

Pulling off the cloth, they found the bonnet badly crumpled, windscreen smashed, and the left side of the vehicle damaged. Human hair belonging to the victim was found embedded in the windshield, and blood on the left hand side.

Stretching credibility, Mr Chanchai insisted he had been home that night and the vehicle was damaged in an accident a long time ago. He just hadn’t taken it in for repairs.

Police left him there but said they would return on Nov 19.

When reporters from Channel 8 turned up at his house, he confessed to the hit-and-run but insisted he didn’t mean to do it. “I was meaning to tell the police today but you turned up first,” he told them, sounding irritated.

TV presenters, while admitting the “doddery uncle” may have reacted in shock, were flabbergasted nonetheless. “Uncle! You have hit someone and taken a life. How can you just stand there and say such things? Were you asleep? Why didn’t you alert anyone?” one asked.

Recounting the events of that night, Mr Chanchai said he had just gone past a petrol station which was cloaked in darkness, and lowered his lights. “I hit the man on the bike almost straight away. I thought, damn, I’ve hit a motorcycle again,” Mr Chanchai told reporters.

“At first I thought the body was thrown into the air, but no. When I drove into the light I could see the body was stuck to the windshield, so I got out [and removed it],” he said.

“Why didn’t he have his tail light on?” he complained.

The victim’s sister told reporters Mr Chanchai had been involved in several fatal hit-and-run accidents before.

Asked why he initially denied hitting the cyclist, Mr Chanchai said he had heard that suspects in legal cases, even big ones, are supposed to deny first and confess later. Asked why he did not visit the funeral to beg the victim’s forgiveness, he said he had heard that Sawat’s relatives were still angry.

The victim’s family had demanded he pay 500,000 baht in compensation including funeral costs.

Mr Chanchai said if his compulsory vehicle insurance stretches that far, he’d pay. However, if it falls short he would rather go to jail, as he does not have that kind of money. No word was to hand on what charges he will face, or whether he will finally lose his driver’s licence.

‘Karma’ pays a visit

The house where the attack took place.

A fiery mother in Maha Sarakham stabbed her ex-husband’s new girlfriend and fled with their young son after vowing on social media to get even with him.

Rojana (no surname given), 24, burst into her ex-husband’s home in Muang district on Nov 18 and stabbed his new girlfriend, Pattama (no surname given), 31, in the arm with a box cutter, severing an artery.

“She demanded to know what she was doing with her husband, and declared she was there to take him back,” news reports said.

Her husband, Surasak Riangchantha, was not present, though he said Rojana had warned him earlier on social media. “Prepare to pay for the things you have done to me,” she said cryptically.

Surasak

The attack took place at Mr Surasak’s home in front of his mother, Yuanjai, 56, who has looked after the couple’s young son since shortly after his birth.

After stabbing Pattama, Rojana grabbed her son and fled on a motorcycle driven by a man who accompanied her to the house.

Mr Surasak said his ex-wife’s behaviour was shocking as the couple had agreed previously that she pick up her son on Nov 19. She evidently did not want another woman looking after the boy, he said.

When he and Rojana split up a few months ago, ending their 11-year relationship, he kept the son with his side of the family.

Rojana’s family comes from Nong Bua Lamphu. A relieved Ms Yuanjai said Rojana’s relatives had called the day after the attack to say the little boy had turned up safely.

However, when reporters visited Rojana’s family home, relatives said they had not seen her, and she seldom visits.

Ms Yuanjai suspects Rojana really fled with the child to Chon Buri, where her parents had moved for work.

Rojana and Mr Surasak had also worked there together for a while. However, Mr Surasak said she was unhappy in Chon Buri and wanted to return to her home province. The pair ultimately parted ways.

Both Rojana and he had since found new partners but she appeared to be jealous of Pattama, and also wanted her son back.

Pattama, who was to undergo an operation to repair her severed artery, said she wanted police to pursue legal action against Rojana as far as it could go. Police were looking for her.

Keep those ice bags handy

Athit, or Tao, who cut off Satit's hand.

A man in Buri Ram whose hand was cut off in a knife attack calmly put the severed limb in the basket in front of his motorcycle and drove to hospital for help.

Satit (no surname given), 37, lost his hand when his daughter’s boyfriend, who had been staying with them for two months, attacked him.

Athit, or Tao (no surname given), 18, came at him with a large knife when he was lying on a hammock playing with his phone.

He had just returned from working on the farm at his home in Lam Plai Mat district, said the victim’s mother, Pranee, 62.

“Tao, without saying a word, approached and stabbed him. My son held up hand to protect himself when it was cut off,” she said.

Satit calmly put the severed hand in a bag of ice and dropped it in front of his motorcycle before heading to a community hospital for help.

They referred him to a base hospital, where doctors, commending Satit for keeping his head (if not his hand) amid the drama, were able to stitch it back on again.

Tao and his girlfriend, “B”, Satit’s daughter, fled the house. Police later caught up with Tao in Kaeng Sanam Nang district of Nakhon Ratchasima, where he was arrested for causing serious bodily harm.

Tao, who performed a crime reconstruction for police, refused to apologise to Satit, saying he nagged him daily for failing to pull his weight.

Tao has no job and could not even bring himself to boil the rice or wash the dishes, Satit grumbled.

His mother Pranee backed him up, admitting she and her son would often air their frustrations with Tao and Athit’s daughter.

Tao insisted he washed his own plate, but didn’t clean the victim’s. “I was there for just two months but it felt like two years because he abused me every day. He also asked B and me for money,” he said.

Pairat Suksaeng, 61, a neighbour of Tao’s in his home province, said his parents broke up when he was young.

“He’s a quiet type, but hot tempered. He came at my son with a knife once, but he was able to get away in time,” he said.

The victim’s wife, Amnuay Teepchan, 40, said doctors were able to re-attach the limb.

She and Satit would often tell Tao to leave if he wasn’t prepared to do more to help, she said.

“A neighbour heard Tao tell B that he would leave for sure, but wanted to draw blood first,” Ms Amnuay said.

B, meanwhile, apologised for fleeing with Tao and failing to help her Dad.

“It all happened so fast, and Tao grabbed my hand, dragging me to his bike,” she said.

Manners first; arrest gripe; hole in the heart; price shock

Best foot forward

 Somlak took his shoes off before robbing the shop.

A well-mannered gold thief in Samut Sakhon took his shoes off outside the shop because a sign told him to do so.

Somlak Chanthongtae, 32, snatched two necklaces worth four baht in gold weight, or 171,600 baht from a shop in Muang district, near Wat Ketmadi Sriwararam, about 200m from Rama II Road.

Mr Somlak, described in news reports as a “well-mannered thief” for taking off his shoes before entry, left his shoes behind in his haste to leave, police say.

He fled on foot to his motorcycle, which he took to a community nearby. He ditched the bike for a taxi, which he took to a gold shop in Mahachai, where he sold the necklaces for 162,000 baht.

He then took the taxi to Mor Chit bus terminal, where he hopped on an inter-provincial bus for Phrae. Police caught up with Mr Somlak late the same night en route in Phichit as he was going to see his girlfriend, to whom he hoped to get engaged.

He hoped to put the proceeds of his gold theft towards his engagement, but never made it that far. When police nabbed him the money was still intact.

As provincial police took Mr Somlak back to the store for a crime reconstruction, he gave staff a wai by way of apology. “I took my shoes off at the door because the sign told me to,” he said matter-of-factly.

News reports said the gesture showed he was well-mannered and cared for cleanliness, if not for the owner’s gold.

Mr Somlak was visiting his mother in Bang Thorat district. He knew he needed to raise money for his engagement, the reports said, so on Nov 12 decided to rob the store.

He appears to have snatched the gold when staff were distracted. There was no mention of a weapon. He was wearing a top with a hood when he entered but disguised his face with a mere face mask.

Police charged him with theft.

Beating suspect chafes at charge

Supattra is arrested for attempting kill her ex-boyfriend.

A woman in Chon Buri was shocked to be charged with attempting to kill after she and her boyfriend attacked her old flame for sending a video of her having sex to her young son.

Nong Prue police nabbed Supattra Nimsanguan, 28, for jointly attacking her former boyfriend, identified in news reports as “A”, 32, in early July.

She hit A about the head with a spanner while her new boyfriend, named as Nott (no surname provided) in news reports, kicked him. The pair fled after the attack.

Ms Supattra said she was upset to discover A was married when he was seeing her. When she tried to break up with him, he refused, and in anger sent her 11-year-old son a video he had secretly taken of him and Ms Supattra having sex.

The clip upset her son, who started to cry, she said.

Nott, who she started seeing after breaking up with A, was also angry with A after he chased Nott on his motorbike.

The two decided to get even and attacked A, who was badly injured.

He laid a complaint, and police last week tracked her down. Officers say she admitted the offence only half-heartedly, as she was taken aback by its gravity: a joint charge of premeditated murder. “I thought it would be assault at best,” said Ms Supattra, now five months’ pregnant.

As far as Nott is concerned, since the attack he has been jailed in Pattaya for a drugs offence. No word was to hand on when he would be charged.

Too drunk to hide the body

The hole in the ground intended for Sinuan’s body.

Police in Nakhon Ratchasima are looking for the husband of a woman found stabbed and strangled to death on the bed of their home.

Pak Chong police say a neighbour on Nov 11 discovered the body of Sinuan (no surname given), 50, after noticing her absence.

The bedroom was locked, but the neighbour noticed a bad smell so alerted others.

Police forced their way into the bedroom where they found Sinuan’s body covered in a blanket.

She had been stabbed twice in the throat and a fruit knife was lying nearby. Bruises around her neck suggest she was also throttled.

Attempts to find the husband, Bancha, or Deow (no surname given) were unsuccessful, though a relative of the victim’s said Bancha had asked him for a lift earlier that day.

He said he was heading back to his home province of Nakhon Sawan to harvest rice.

The pair, who had been together just six months, were last seen drinking together in front of the house on Nov 9, two days before the body was found.

Police suspect the husband lay with the body overnight before fleeing. Officers found signs the suspect had started digging a hole by the house, possibly to conceal the body, but he had given up on the task.

The soil was hard or he may have been too drunk to finish the job, they said. He pulled a tree over to disguise the hole instead.

The search continues.

Rice price woes upset thief

Chinnakorn with the bag of rice on his motorbike.

A thief in Buri Ram is upset the local mill beat him down in price as he sold them sacks of paddy stolen from a local farmer.

Satuek police nabbed Chinnakorn, 26, for the theft of five bags of rice which fetched 1,800 baht.

He and a friend climbed a wall and helped themselves to paddy stored at a farmer’s home. He hefted the sack up the wall and his mate caught it on the other side. They made off on a motorbike.

Chinnakorn, who pleaded an impoverished childhood as his motive for turning to crime, says he would sell the rice to a local mill and buy ya ba with the proceeds, which he would take with friends.

When the money ran out, he and his mate, who is still on the run, would steal some more.

The young thief complained that when he sold five bags of rice to the mill recently, they paid him just 1,800 baht, 200 baht less than last time.

The Thai Rice Mills Association reported in late September that the average price of paddy rice has fallen by 1,000 baht per tonne. If the economics of rice farming are hurting farmers, paddy thieves are feeling the pain too, in lower prices at the mill.

Police charged him with theft and drugs offences.

Caught in the act; mystery slaying; fling on the outer

Hubby cheats on pregnant wife

Ton was caught in bed with another woman.

A heavily pregnant Rayong woman has vowed to sue a woman who has been playing around with her husband, after catching the pair at it a second time.

Waraporn, or Pookie (no surname given), who is expecting the couple’s first child this month, was shocked to discover her husband Ton (assumed name) in bed with a woman from work.

The pair were caught in a naked frolic by Pookie’s younger sister, who filmed the encounter as proof of Ton’s infidelity. Ton tried to wrestle the phone from her to prevent the evidence reaching his wife, to no avail.

Pookie said her husband persuaded her to return to home province of Si Sa Ket two weeks ago to give birth, saying hospital fees were cheaper over there and her mother could help with postnatal care. However, now she suspects Ton really wanted the house clear so he could invite over his fling.

Pookie and Ton, who have been seeing each other for four years, were legally married in March. However, signs of trouble emerged as early as May when Pookie caught an inkling her husband had been seeing his friend, “A”.

While no details of Ton’s earlier encounter with A have come to light, Pookie said she was appalled that A, who knew she was pregnant, carried on with the relationship anyway.

“After my husband’s first indiscretion, we set up a Line group chat with me, Ton, A, and her husband, in which A’s husband apologised and swore it wouldn’t happen again,” she said ruefully after Ton’s latest duplicity came to light.

“I was so upset that I was admitted to hospital with stress. However, Ton apologised and I decided to give him another chance, as the proof was less than solid. However, this time around the extent of his treachery is blatant,” she added.

Ton’s careful plans started to unravel late last month when he dropped out of contact with his wife for hours, arousing her concerns. “He normally calls me constantly, including videcalls from work. On Oct 31 he said he felt unwell, and would take a pill and sleep it off,” Pookie said.

“However, I didn’t hear from him for the whole of the next day, so I asked my younger sister Sujitra, who lives nearby, to go around and check on him.”

As she pulled up at the house Sujitra said she noticed a strange car outside. She called Pookie, who suggested she try the windows.

“I was worried he was stlill ill or fallen over in the bathroom,” she said. “However, when Sujitra pushed open a bedroom window she saw them lying naked in bed.”

Shocked, Sujitra charged in the front door, raising a hue and cry on behalf of her sister. In the clip, Ton is seen hurriedly pulling on a towel as he leaves the bedroom.

Sujira said he tried to wrest the phone from her, without success. “I told him to release me and put some clothes on,” she said.

“When I left the house I saw his fling sitting in her car. I opened the door and started having a go at her. She fled the vehicle and took cover back inside the house.

“I was angry on Pookie’s behalf, as I knew about his earlier liaison. The first time, I contacted his fling on FB, and she had her husband speak on her behalf. Her husband initially said I was imagining it.”

The husband eventually admitted A had been unfaithful and apologised.

He and A had now gone to ground. Efforts to contact them since Ton’s latest escapade have been unsuccessful.

Ton sent a message to Pookie apologising for his conduct, but insisted he had simply “bought” a woman for sex (taken home a prostitute).

“I don’t believe it, as this is the same woman he saw last time,” Pookie said. “When I have given birth I tend to sue her for damages,” she said.

Sujira said she felt sorry for her sister, as no one knows if Ton will be willing to care for her child after she gives birth. She said Ton and A left the house together, and attempts to contact him since Ton offered his tepid apology have failed.

Ex-con claims second victim

Chanthip, or Kwang

Mystery surrounds the brutal slaying of a Phang Nga woman after an ex-con she knows stabbed her repeatedly when she refused to “clear the air”.

Chanthip, or Kwang (no surname given), 28, was stabbed to death in Takua Pa district after being pulled off her bike on Nov 3 by a man identified as her former partner, Ekkarat ‘Ekk’ Priappan, 38. He fled the scene.

While the suspect’s mother said Chanthip had slept over at their place previously, the victim’s mother, Sunantha, denies they were in a relationship.

Ekkarat ‘Ekk’ Priappan

She said the suspect and his victim knew each other during their school years despite the 10-year age gap. Beyond that, however, she knows of no emotional entanglement.

Sunantha is at a loss to know why Ekkarat, convicted in his teen years for killing a relative, wanted to kill her daughter. Talad Yai police in Takua Pa and regional police have obtained a warrant for his arrest, and a team of commandos has been searching for him.

Chanthip, who works as a clerk for a company in Nakhon Si Thammarat, was visiting family for a kathin merit-making ceremony and to visit her child, who is being raised in the district by grandparents.

That evening she was returning from the market riding pillion on a motorcycle with her younger sister when Ekkarat pulled alongside and demanded they stop.

CCTV images show him pulling out a gun to threaten the pair before cutting in front of them on his motorcycle. “Don’t threaten us like that with your gun,” Chanthip shouted.

Her sister, unnamed in news reports, said Ekkarat demanded Chanthip stop and clear the air. “Talk to me now or it’s all over,” he said.

They started to argue and Ekkarat yanked her off the bike by her hair. He pulled out a knife and stabbed her repeatedly in the chest and abdomen, inflicting 17 wounds.

After Ekkarat fled, the younger sister raised the alarm, but it was too late to save Chanthip, who died from her injuries later in hospital.

Ekkarat’s mother, who lives in Khura Buri district with her son, said Ekkarat and the victim were seeing each other once, though she doesn’t know what happened to them.

“He brought her home, and each time she stayed two or three days. They joked and carried on like lovers,” said the mother, unnamed in news reports.

Commandos turned up to search her house, but he wasn’t there. She said she had not seen her son.

News reports say Ekkarat shot a female relative to death when he was a teen. When freed from custody 10 years ago or so, he married and started a family.

The relationship soured. Later he met Chanthip, but that too was ill-fated. She quit seeing him, married and started a family of her own, but he could not accept it, the reports said.

Talad Yai police, who are helping with the probe, say they have never seen such a brutal slaying in the area.

The warrant seeks his arrest on charges of premeditated murder and weapons offences. The search continues.

‘Kik’ upsets drunken lover

The car park where Jeh Porn mowed down Anurak.

A woman in Chon Buri who despaired of her partner’s drinking, though has been known to knock back a few herself, drove her pickup into him in anger following an argument.

Anurak (no surname given), 42, sat in the dust nursing his injuries in news images, after his partner, identified only as Jeh Porn, 57, drove her truck into him on Nov 4.

He was walking across the carpark of Wat Samakee Pracharam in Nong Prue district when the truck hit him, in scenes captured on CCTV camera.

The pair had just argued after Anurak spent the previous four days drinking with mates and refused to come home. Jeh Porn confronted him and a friend in the carpark.

They argued and, in a rage, she hopped in her vehicle, turned it around and deliberately drove into him. He was thrown several metres by the impact, injuring his head and one finger on his right hand.

Locals had to keep them apart when Jeh Porn, still angry, declared she wanted to kill him. When police arrived and her temper started to cool, she softened that to say she merely wanted to teach her partner (or “kik”, as news reports put it) a lesson.

Jeh Porn

News reports said Anurak was her mere fling, and they had been seeing each other for four years. Her “real” partner, the reports said, was a farang, presumably away at the time.

Anurak, who nursed his injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital, said Jeh Porn assaults him whenever they argue.

Police inspecting her pickup found a pile of empty booze bottles inside and asked to test her blood alcohol levels.

She agreed to accompany them to the station, where they were also pondering legal action.

Disability no barrier, ruthless teens, mystery slaying

Heartless caper

Chutiphat, or Air

Police are looking for a couple who befriended a deaf, non-verbal woman and mercilessly robbed her before dumping her on a beach in Pattaya.

Chutiphat, or Air (no surname given), 33, sought help from passersby after a horrendous few days in which a tomboy who showed interest in her romantically turned out to have a money-hungry husband.

When the pair were unmasked as frauds, they assaulted Air and robbed her of everything she owned.

Unhappily for the suspects, their violent, coercive behaviour was caught on camera, with the clip shared widely when her plight came to light.

The clip, taken at an unidentified home on Oct 26, shows the husband throwing a phone at Air as she sits cowering on the stairs.

She looks terrified as her supposed partner, identified as Nam (no surname given) and the man who emerged as her husband, no name given, shout at her and hit her.

Air, speaking through an interpreter at Muang Pattaya police station after she was found on the beach, said the couple demanded money and forced her to sell her Honda Wave motorcycle, raising 30,500 baht.

They also took her disability card, and 10,000 baht cash payout for vulnerable groups, before dumping her on the beach.

News reports say police battled for several hours to understand what happened, as Air, who reports said also has developmental problems, communicates with difficulty.

Police were finally able to contact her worried friends and relatives via a messenger app. They travelled from Samut Prakan when they heard what happened, arriving in Pattaya about 3.30am on Oct 28.

Her mother, Krajan Mueanchang, 56, among those who turned up to collect her, said Air started seeing Nam three months ago. News reports said she was deaf and non-verbal like Air herself.

“She came to our home in Kanchanaburi to introduce herself. However, about a week ago Air discovered that Nam in fact had a husband, and we didn’t hear from her for a few days,” Mrs Krajan said.

“We assumed at first she was sulking but later heard from friends that Nam and her husband had assaulted her.” A friend sent them the clip of Air being attacked.

Reports say Air threatened to take her own life. “We sent her money to keep her spirits up, but I wonder now if she was coerced into making the claims,” she said.

“We started looking for Air before hearing from police that she had been found in Pattaya.”

Air, she noticed, was covered in bruises to her face, head, body and both legs, evidence of the attacks she suffered at the hands of Nam and her husband, who news reports identified as a rescue worker from Nonthaburi.

Mrs Krajan said the pair took everything of Air’s which they could get their hands on, with total damages worth about 20,000 baht.

When Nam and her husband heard Air had gone to police, they turned up at the station accompanied by three heavies to pick her up.

However, Air looked so scared that police, still having trouble piecing together what happened, told her not to go. When police started questioning the group, they fled.

Pattaya police are looking for the suspects.

Bored teens lash out

The teens attack Kriangsak

Police in Nakhon Ratchasima are looking for the ringleader behind a gang of idle teens who beat up a vagrant because they “had nothing else to do”.

The brutal attacks, caught on CCTV, so appalled locals that they threatened to harm two of the teens involved, who were evidently well-known in the neighbourhood and had been caught previously for theft.

The attacks, close to an old cinema in Pak Chong district, left the victim, Kriangsak (no surname given), 60, with serious injuries and needing hospital care.

The teens turned up to attack him twice, on Oct 25 and again the next night.

On the first night, CCTV images show three teens turning up on a motorcycle. They grab a broom and a metal rod from nearby and start striking Kriangsak with them, alternating those blows with kicks to his head and body.

Kriangsak

On the second night, two turned up. One teen acted as a lookout while the other attacked the beggar, who was still lying there despite the unmotivated attack from the night before.

Locals saw him lying injured on Oct 26 following the second attack and contacted police, who sent Kriangsak to hospital.

He needed four stitches in his head, had a broken rib, and bruising all over his body. Doctors say he also has bleeding in his left lung but is now out of danger.

A local shopkeeper who spoke to reporters said Kriangsak is a beggar who sleeps in the area but poses no threat to anyone.

“He asks for a bit of money in the early evening, buys a drink and sleeps it off,” she told reporters. “My elder sister heard the attack. They were really hitting him hard,” she said.

Locals feel sorry for him so give him spare change. However, when he has money, the teens demand it.

“If he gives it to them, no problem, but if he has none, they attack,” she added.

Two of the teens, aged 13 and 14, handed themselves in to police after publicity following the incident.

They said locals, appalled at the senseless attack they witnessed in the CCTV clip, had threatened to harm them by way of reprisal.

News presenters marvelled at the irony of teens who thought nothing of assaulting a harmless beggar but ran to police seeking help when confronted with the prospect they could be harmed themselves.

The teens who came forward said a third lad had picked them up and taken them to the spot. “He said he had nothing better to do, so ordered us to start attacking the beggar,” they said.

Locals who noticed Kriangsak lying in a bloody heap after the second attack said the beggar told them the boys asked for 60 baht. When he told them he had nothing to spare, they started hitting him.

Pak Chong police said they had broken up a fight among teens shortly before they heard word of the attacks on Kriangsak.

When they saw the CCTV images they recognised one of the teens as part of the group whose fight they had broken up earlier.

A check on their history shows they had also been caught previously for theft.

The boys admitted they did not know Kriangsak and the attack was random and unprovoked.

Police called the ringleader on a number supplied by the boys, but there was no answer. They would seek a warrant for his arrest, one report said.

Another said further action would have to await the intervention of a multi-disciplinary team, as all three of the boys are underage.

Birthday tragedy

The road where Siwakorn was killed.

Police in Phatthalung are looking for three suspects behind the mystery shooting of a 19-year-old man slain on a road close to his home.

Siwakorn Khieokaew, 19, was shot with a .38 calibre handgun in the chest, back, left arm, and nape of the neck in Pa Phayom district early on Oct 28.

Police found no bullet shells but did find four ya ba pills in his pocket.

His body was found on a road about 150m from his home.

His mother said three young men turned up on two motorcycles in the hours before he was shot, claiming they had run out of petrol and asking him to help.

More darkly, some reports suggest they may have turned up to “clear the air” over a dispute, or lure him to his death. He left home with them and 20 min later, his mother heard the shots ring out.

“I knew it was gunfire, but didn’t suspect it was him,” she told reporters. Locals reported the shooting to the village head, who alerted police.

CCTV cameras captured the sound of the guns going off, and two motorcycles leaving the area, but did not witness the shooting itself.

Siwakorn, a general labourer, had no history of meddling with drugs, his mother, unnamed in news reports, said. He had been out earlier that evening to see a friend to help celebrate Siwakorn’s birthday.

He came back home shortly after 7pm before the trio turned up at the house about 2am.

Pa Phayom police called in his family and relatives for questioning, including one of the three men who turned up to see him, and a young woman friend.

While drugs were one avenue of inquiry, they thought it more likely that he died in a dispute over a woman.

News reports late last week said police had obtained warrants for the arrest of the three on the motorbikes. The case continues.