Illicit longing no barrier
An air force volunteer upset to have the under-age object of his desires thwart his advances shot her and killed himself, police say.
Tong
He shot Kohya in the head at her grandmother’s place in Soi Kusolsilp, Sanphawut Road, Bang Na, on July 4. The bullet exited at the nape of her neck. Thainakarin Hospital, where she was admitted, said she is fighting to survive.
Earlier, Tong had asked his mother to take him to see Kohya at her granny’s home. Tong and Kohya’s extended family had known each other for almost 20 years and lived opposite. Kohya’s family had even hired Tong’s mother to look after Kohya when she was two or three.
Kohya’s grandmother, Boonruang Chanchang 64, said the girl turned up at her place for a chat. She was followed an hour later by Tong and his mother, Prayoon Bandalun, 62, who asked to “clear the air” after the teen repeatedly spurned Tong’s advances, causing friction between the families.
Kohya’s mother, Chookwan (assumed name) said she was at work when Ms Boonruang called to say Tong and his Mum had turned up. Aware that Tong had been causing trouble for her daughter, she raced home and was turning into the mouth of the soi when she heard the shots ring out.
Moments later Ms Boonruang burst out the door to tell a neighbour, “He’s shot my granddaughter”. Kohya’s elder brother picked up the girl’s prone body and put her in Ms Chookwan’s car for the trip to hospital.
The neighbour, Manop Kaewchamratsuksanti, 58, said he had seen Tong outside his place earlier looking pensive. Tong gave him a wai but displayed no outward signs of what he was contemplating. However, Kohya’s family believe he planned the shootings and suspect he borrowed the handgun from a friend.
Tong’s Mum, Mrs Prayoon, said when he asked her to accompany him to see Kohya and her granny she agreed, as she has known Kohya since she was little. They lived on the same street and she wanted to make sure both families could still speak to each other, despite Tong’s fixation with the young girl.
“Tong asked me to take him as he had something he wanted to give Kohya,” she said. Tong, she said, was wearing a baggy T-shirt which disguised the .38 revolver he had tucked into the waistband of his shorts.
Ms Boonruang said she told Tong that Kohya was still in Matthayom 2, studying at nearby Attawit School. “I said he should wait until she has finished and has a job. Then we can talk about it again.”
She retired to the couch as Tong, his mother standing beside him, appealed to Kohya. The teen was more abrupt, telling Tong to stop pursuing her. Tong was also harassing her on Facebook, she complained.
Ms Prayoon said she took a break and walked to the front of the house. Tong asked her to stand up and promptly shot the girl before turning the gun on himself. She tried to stop him raising the gun to his temple but found she was no match for his strength. Tong brushed her off and pulled the trigger. He died on the spot.
Mrs Boonruang said Tong had been pursuing Kohya since she was 11. Before that, he took a romantic interest in her elder twin sister, but she wasn’t interested either. After she rejected his advances, he turned his attention to Kohya.
Mr Manop, the neighbour, said he recalled an incident a month or so ago, when Tong took out a knife and threatened a migrant labourer whom he accused of having designs on Kohya. Recalling the incident, her mother, Ms Chookwan, said Tong claimed that he was Kohya’s boyfriend, which wasn’t true, as the girl had never shown any interest in him.
While Tong’s family have offered Kohya’s kin compensation for the loss, both sides admit they are finding it hard to talk, with Kohya’s family saying they are angry with Tong for having pursued his obsession to the point of taking the girl’s life.
Old man with gun on the loose
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| The shooter |
Mon Ladkrathok, 68, from Khon Buri district, argued with Athorn Huekrathok, 38, outside his home in Khok Krachai sub-district on July 4, as the two had done many times previously. However, this time Mr Mon took exception to Athorn calling him an idiot.
After leaving Athorn at his home, he returned to his own place nearby, grabbed a shotgun and went back on his motorcycle. Athorn, who after the argument with Mr Mon ended, had apparently called the police, was sitting outside his place.
Mr Mon shot at him but missed his target. Startled, Athorn, his wife and young son fled into a neighbour’s place. Mr Mon, still enraged, followed them.
While his wife and son were able to hide, Athorn wasn’t so lucky. He managed to get inside the front door when Mr Mon again pulled the trigger. The first shot missed; the second hit him in the face. He died instantly as his horrified family looked on.
Mr Mon promptly left the scene, taking shelter in a hut nearby while he regained his composure. Hours later, he gave himself up to police, who had obtained a warrant from the Nakhon Ratchasima court for his arrest.
Mr Mon, who admitted killing Athorn, admits he is hot-tempered and yields to no one. Police have charged him with premeditated killing.
Phatthaporn Seumkrathok, 45, Athorn’s wife, said Mon did fancy her, but because she was married she was not interested in him. She said Mon and her husband argued often but would break up and go their separate ways.
She was still in a state of shock after watching her husband being killed. “It took place in front of me and our young son. Everyone was forced to flee. If Mon had found me at that moment, I reckon he would have shot me too,” she said.
“I feel really sad. I was with Athorn constantly; we battled through thick and thin as a couple. I don’t understand how Mon could kill in such a remorseless fashion.”
Keng, 14 (assumed name), their son, said he saw the argument between his dad and Mr Mon. “My mum tried to stop it and when they broke up my father walked to the back of the house to call the police. But Mr Mon came back with his gun,” he said.
Nopparat, 40, the neighbour who gave the trio shelter, said she heard the argument next door but thought little of it as the pair had a long-standing problem. She threw open her door when the family came seeking help.
“It is dismaying. We are neighbours and saw each other regularly, and he shot Athorn in my house,” she said.
A bad shopping day
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| Wan |
CSD police caught Nuchrawee “Wan” Dumdum in Pak Phraek, Kanchanaburi on July 3. News images showed officers presenting her with the warrant in the middle of the store.
The charge stems from a 17-million-baht fraud she allegedly put together in 2014. Ms Wan did the accounts for a firm whose boss she duped into investing in a scheme to import brand-name bags, police said. She said she knew pilots and airline attendants from many airlines who could help her bring in the bags cheaply.
Ms Wan, who has a history of dishonesty offences, asked a co-conspirator posing as an investor to call her boss. He was also able to meet “co-investors” about the scheme.
However, after stumping up the 17 million baht, Ms Wan’s boss started to have doubts. When he asked for his money back and Ms Wan dodged and weaved, he lodged a complaint with police. She was arrested and a court granted her bail but Ms Wan failed to turn up for the hearing.
Police, acting on a warrant issued on Nov 16 last year, tracked her down to the store. She denied the scam, but police say she has been nabbed in 10 similar cases previously.
She is also sought in relation to another five cases in various provinces. They took Ms Wan to the Rayong court for further action.
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