Enterprising killer
Sai Han arrested for shooting to death his wife’s employer in Phetkasem
Police nabbed Sai Han, 23, a Shan state man, for killing Yuttharoj Suwansumet, 70, a fitness centre owner and his wife’s boss, who had earlier offered him a job.
Sai Han shot the victim at his home on May 12 following a struggle when Yuttharoj tried to stop him from seeing his wife.
After the shooting, which Sai Han claims was accidental, the suspect took the victim’s gun, phone and vehicle and fled.
Police caught up with him in soi On Nut 65 the next night, by which time he had found a place to stay and a new job.
Sai Han, who has been working as a painter in Samut Prakan, told police via an interpreter that he went to visit his wife initially on May 8 at her boss’ house.
She had been working there since late last month, and he went there to ask his wife for 1,000 baht. He saw her boss, Yuttharoj, carrying a bag that contained a remote for the house door, car keys and a handgun.
Later, Yuttharoj invited Sai Han to work with him, so the suspect went back to Samut Prakan and quit his job.
However, his wife spoke to Yuttharoj, telling him her husband liked to drink and often abused her, which led to Yuttharoj deciding not to hire him after all.
This annoyed Sai Han, who on the day of the incident hired a taxi from Samut Prakan to return to the house.
He intended to “clear things up” with his wife but not to harm her, the suspect told police.
Arriving there, Sai Han borrowed the driver’s phone to call his wife to open the gate. No one came out, so he climbed over the gate.
When he reached the Thai-style house, he found Yuttharoj holding a gun, barring his way.
Sai Han insisted he would go in to see his wife, and the victim fired two warning shots into the ground.
Sai Han thought he had nothing to lose, so he jumped on the victim to protect himself, he said, resulting in a struggle over the weapon. It accidentally discharged, shooting Yuttharoj dead.
Sai Han’s wife came out to find out what happened, and Sai Han slapped her before grabbing the victim’s gun and bag.
He drove away evidently without knowing where to go, colliding with a motorcycle at a nearby intersection and grazing several houses as he sped away.
A group of locals surrounded the car and tried to open it, but he managed to escape.
Later, he drove to the area near the police Patrol and Special Operation Division on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, where the car stalled.
The enterprising Sai Han got out and called a taxi to Rangsit Market before checking into a hotel for one night.
The next day, he took a bus to look for work in Soi On Nut 65 and found a job at a food shop.
He also took the victim’s phone to a phone shop to have it unlocked, paying 500 baht.
He planned to redeem it once he earned enough money.
However, he was arrested later that night at a rented room in Prawet district.
Police found Sai Han in possession of a .38 calibre revolver, along with one mobile phone, an ID card, and credit cards belonging to Yuttharoj.
He was taken for questioning at Phra Khanong station, where he denied planning the shooting, but declined to apologise to the victim’s family.
He denied having a grudge against the victim. He was arrested for premeditated murder, theft and burglary.
Kneecapping ‘accidental’
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| Chanaphol Liempet, nabbed after shooting a debtor in the knee |
A Songkhla teen who employed brutal methods to collect outstanding debts has been nabbed after shooting a debtor in the knee.
Hat Yai police caught Chanaphol Liempet, 19, after calling borrower Sudarat Paenloi, 39, to his home and shooting her over a 3,000 baht unpaid debt.
Earlier, as she arrived outside his place, one of his henchmen is seen in CCTV images pulling her by the hair and striking her over the head with a gun.
He drags her inside, where Mr Chanaphol shoots her.
He told police he “merely” meant to shoot her in the foot but when she raised her leg to block the bullet, the bullet entered her knee instead.
The suspect fled the scene to a resort in the municipality, where police caught him later that night.
They seized evidence including a .357 calibre handgun, and bullets from a .38 calibre handgun, along with the white Isuzu D-Max pickup in which he fled.
Mr Chanapol admitted the offence and was charged with attempted murder and firearms offences. Police opposed bail due to his hot-headed nature, fearing he might threaten the injured party and witnesses.
Officers were also looking for his henchmen, including the man who grabbed the victim by the hair.
The incident as it unfolds on CCTV starts when Ms Sudarat turns up at the house on her motorcycle. A young man in a black shirt comes outside and pulls her by the hair, causing her to fall.
He then draws a gun from his waist and beats her about the head with it once.
Later he drags her into the house before returning to lift the fallen motorcycle and take Ms Sudarat’s bag into the house.
Shortly after, 4–5 people from inside came out and get into the pickup, while the man in the black shirt also drives away, leaving Ms Sudarat with Mr Chanapol.
About 30 minutes later, the pickup returns and parks in front of the house. Mr Chanapol opens the door, steps out, and fires a shot into the air in a moment of teen exuberance before both he and the black shirted man drive away.
Around 4.40pm, a woman from the house opens the door and drags Ms Sudarat, who has been shot, out to the front to send her to hospital.
Police say Mr Chanapol shot the victim in the left knee with a .357 calibre gun. They were calling in his accomplices.
Smooth passage to the afterlife
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| Pornchai’s body was found in a rice field with 500 baht stuffed in his pocket |
Phen district police found the body of Pornchai, also known as Big (no surname given), 27, shot in the forehead, right temple and left chest.
Police found no signs of a struggle, though did turn up a modified lighter, a sign that he took drugs, they said.
His mother, Pensri, 57, was crying over her son’s body and refused to allow officials from a rescue foundation to take Big to hospital, insisting on conducting religious rites at home.
Police explained that in the case of a homicide, the body must be taken for an autopsy.
She relented, though later paid a visit to the hospital and spirited the body from the morgue, news reports said.
This forced senior police and rescue staff to pay a second visit to her place to retrieve it. Eventually she relented.
Samai (no surname given), 51, who discovered the body, said he was a relative of Big’s.
He had gone out to check on fishing traps at the local stream that morning and found Big dead by the water. Big had few friends, was rarely involved in fights and spent his days alone in the rice field, he said.
Pensri, the mother, said she saw her son the night before, playing on his phone at home.
After that, they went to bed, and she did not know when he left for the rice field. She heard dogs barking around 2am.
Big’s motorcycle was still parked at home because it had run out of petrol.
Pol Lt Col Seksan Rueweth, deputy chief investigator, said Big was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and firearms in 2015, when he was 16.
Before the incident, he had asked his mother for 200 baht before leaving the house, and he was later found shot dead.
Police were focusing on the possibility of a drug deal gone wrong.
Big, he said, may have bought drugs from a dealer from another village to use and sell.
When the dealer came to demand payment, and they failed to reach an agreement, he shot Big several times to make sure he was dead.
With that done, he stuffed a 500 baht note into Big’s pants pocket to help the family defray funeral costs and as a form of sending him off to the afterlife, according to local beliefs.
Police are investigating.
