Wily old mum blames son
The house where the killing took place.
Khian Sa police last week arrested Prasit Songsom for allegedly killing his father, Pong, 88, at their family home on May 26. In a particularly heartless murder, the killer strangled him with the cord from an electric fan and electrocuted him with a device intended for stunning fish.
Pong was alone with his wife Klueab, 87, at their single-storey home in the middle of the family’s palm oil plantation when the killer, wearing a balaclava and loin cloth around his face to disguise his identity, burst in the door.
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| Prasit |
Ms Klueab was asleep in another room but heard the commotion and hid for two hours under a rattan bed from where she said she was able to witness the attack. She claims she was able to identify the attacker as Prasit, despite the disguise, from his gait and the outline of his face.
Mr Prasit, the fourth of the couple’s seven children, was a rebellious, angry type from childhood and both she and her husband were wary of him, she said.
She said the killer switched off the power supply to disable the CCTV cameras which the family had put up since another tragedy struck in September last year, when Mr Prasit’s sister, Sa-an, or Mui, 57, was murdered at the house. The killer beat her about the head and body with a hard object and stole 10,000 baht and her gold ring.
While the police say they were able to find the attacker’s DNA at the scene, they came up with no witnesses, as Sa-an was at home alone. No arrests had been made at the time of the fatal attack on Pong, though police, who charged Prasit with premeditated murder, say they believe he was also responsible for his sister’s death.
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| Klueab |
Speaking to reporters as he was being taken to the Wiang Sa holding cells, Mr Prasit denied the charges and said he had been set up. He did not say who he thought was behind the killing, but claims he was at home with his wife Chim (assumed name) all night on May 26.
Police found a loin cloth at his house and two balaclava masks, one of which belonged to his wife. They seized them as evidence, along with a device used for applying electric shocks to stun fish.
Ms Klueab said she was sorry to lose her husband at the hand of her own son, but felt relieved he had been caught. “I thought it was him from the outset — 100 per cent,” she told reporters, adding she has keen eyesight despite her age. When the attacker burst in the door she was shocked, she said, but kept her cool as she is a tough old sort.
“On the morning of the attack, Prasit turned up on his motorcycle to say he’d been tapping rubber and picking cotton fruit, but I didn’t believe it. I reckon he was taking the lie of the land as he had a wild look in his eyes,” she added.
Early theories as to motive centred on inheritance issues. While the parents had divided up their farmland equally, 10 rai for each child, their house was still sitting on a 30 rai section which had yet to be allocated to anyone. Ms Klueab suspects her son was eyeing that for himself, as he had ran into financial trouble.
The killer, she said, may have come looking for her too, as she saw him training his torch about outside the house. However, when he moved away, she fled from under the rattan bed and into the plantation, from where she was able to seek help at her grandson’s house nearby.
Mr Prasit, however, said his mother is getting confused with age and was mistaken to claim it was him. He dismissed reports he had a gambling problem or was eyeing the family land. He was backed up by his wife Chim, who said she had never heard her husband discuss inheritance matters, or argue with his Dad.
Chim, who was at home alone with her husband on the night of the killing, said she went to bed at 8pm but was dimly aware of background noise from the main room where she could hear the TV.
Neighbours, however, who have emerged as key witnesses in the case, say they saw Mr Prasit’s Toyota vehicle leave the house about 8pm and return an hour later. He went out again about 11pm to drive to his father’s place with his wife after hearing that Pong had been slain. The house is about 26km away.
The neighbour, identified by the assumed name of Noom in news reports, said he suspected Chim lied to police when she claimed her husband was with her all night. “This is Chim’s fifth husband and she can see no wrong with him,” he said. Noom also claims Mr Prasit told her on the night of the killing what he had done, and she told a relative before word finally reached a police officer. The case continues.
Mass slaughter averted
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| Chaiyut |
Min Buri police nabbed Chaiwat (no surname provided), 43, for slaying his younger brother, Chaiyut, 41 at their family home on soi Ramkhamhaeng 190/2 with a .38 calibre handgun.
Chaiwat, who was jailed years ago for assaulting his former wife and had only recently been released, had yet to find a job, which annoyed his younger brother, with whom he was often at odds.
On the day of the killing Chaiyut, who delivered NGV gas for a living, turned up with some durian for the family and again nagged his brother about finding work.
They started to argue, and Chaiwat, fed up, went upstairs to fetch his gun.
He told police later he had prepared the weapon three days before with the intent of killing everyone.
When he came back downstairs he shot Chaiyut in the nape of the neck, twice in the chest, and once in the back. He kept firing until the bullets ran out, with reports saying police gathered at least eight shells at the scene.
“He shot his younger brother first, then aimed at his mother, stepfather, and autistic brother but found the gun had run out of bullets,” one report put it. The killer wasn’t willing to apologise for what he did.
A neighbour, Naree, 67, said she was at home about 5pm when she heard shots ring out. The victim’s father ran out to say Chaiwat had killed his brother and asked for help.
Chaiwat fled on foot but police caught him later. They charged Chaiwat with premeditated murder, attempting to kill, and firearms offences.
Missing property appeal
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| The drugs found on a bypass road in Khu Muang district. |
A Buri Ram policeman with a sense of humour has appealed to the owners of a drug package he found by the side of the road to come forward and claim their missing property if they are game.
Pol Lt Col Chanarong Chaisakorn, or Inspector Nui of Hin Lek Fai station, as he is popularly known in the Thai media, posted the message on Facebook after coming across three packs of 6,000 ya ba pills on a bypass road in Khu Muang district.
Addressing the owners as he would any member of the public, but without spelling out the package was, in fact, illegal drugs, he wrote: “If you forgot a package by the side of the road, you can collect it at Hin Lek Fai station. Best wishes from the police.”
Pol Lt Col Chanarong said he was going into town to buy some supplies when he came across three dogs with packages between their teeth.
“I worked in drugs and thought I recognised the packages. I put them in the car and went on to buy my goods. When I got home I inspected the packs and found they were indeed drugs, so I took them to the station.
“I posted on FB to confirm they had been taken as evidence. I did it in a humorous vein as I know no one will come forward to collect them,” he said, adding he suspects drug traders had left them on the roadside for customers to collect, but the dogs had found them first.
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| Chanarong tends his farm animals. |
Pol Lt Col Chanarong hit the news in February when reports emerged that he raises cows and pigs in his spare time. After the animals have been butchered, he sells sliced pork, spicy pork sausage and sun-dried beef from their meat to help make ends meet.
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