Fatal affair, van dispute sours, gold thief drugs boss

Unfaithful wife left with nothing

Natthapol “George” Yaeso

A Chiang Rai man who stabbed to death a hill tribe man who had been messing around with his wife claims he just wanted to extract an apology.

Natthapol “George” Yaeso, 25, from Ban Huay Chompoo, in Muang district, was nabbed for fatally stabbing Ah-hue Bekaku, 30, an Akha hill tribe man. Both men had turned up with friends for a clash outside a karaoke shop in Muang district early on March 24 after Mr Natthapol learned his wife had been seeing Ah-hue, whom he knew as the friend of a friend.

Mr Natthapol claims Ah-hue’s wife, Boomee Mayeh, 35, called him about midnight to ask if he knew her husband had been seeing his own wife, Angkana.

He said he didn’t know, and asked his wife, who confirmed it. She and Ah-hue had been seeing each other for 1-2 months, she said. Mr Natthapol and his wife have been married six years and have a child aged 5.

“I was furious and didn’t ask for the details. Ah-hue, who must have heard what was happening, also called. I asked him about it but he wouldn’t say. He wouldn’t apologise either, and asked me to meet him at the karaoke shop,” Mr Natthapol told Amarin TV from the police station after his arrest.

Ah-hue Bekaku

Mr Natthapol, identified in some reports as a security guard for the karaoke shop where the attack took place, said he knew the matter was likely to escalate, so took a kitchen knife for protection. He turned up at 3am as arranged with two friends. Ah-hue, for his part, arrived with four or five friends.

They argued, and when Ah-hue looked as if he was going to thump him, Mr Natthapol stabbed him once. “I wasn’t aiming for the throat as it was dark,” he said.

Ah-hue was sent to hospital but died later from his injuries. Mr Natthapol initially returned home to hold his son one more time, as knew it would be a while before he saw him again. Later that day he handed himself in to the police. “I was defending myself, and all I really wanted was an apology,” he said.

Angkana, his wife, also turned up at the station, but would not answer reporters’ questions. Amarin TV also visited the home of the victim where they met Ah-hue’s wife, Ms Boonmee. She denied calling Mr Natthapol to tell him about her husband cheating. “I knew nothing about it and found out after he was dead,” she said, adding her husband was the family’s provider.

The couple have two children and she would have to find a way to support them. Police charged Mr Natthapol with premeditated murder.

Just reclaiming what’s owed

Sureewan Kitchalao

An insurance company’s bid to repossess a vehicle hit a snag when its occupants refused to let an agent take off with it, resulting in a shooting which left one man dead.

A friend accompanying a woman from an insurance company opened fire on two workers delivering ice and water for a Lop Buri company. One of the workers, Theerapan “Te” Thatthanonnan, 35, was shot in the back and later died. The other, Rapheephat “Tong” Kamphuwiang, 23, was shot in the leg and was in a critical condition.

The attack took place in tambon Taleh Chubsorn, Muang district, on March 26. The fight started after the insurance worker and her male friend cut in front of a Mitsubishi van and demanded the occupants hand it over.

The van they wanted

The workers called their boss, who said he was unaware the vehicle was ensnared in a payments dispute with its previous owner.

Narakorn Chattrakeht, 50, the present owner, said the pair claimed they were from an insurance company but did not show their company ID or papers giving them the authority to seize it.

They were identified as Sanya Seunoi, 51, and Sureewan Kitchalao, 41. Police found later that only one, Ms Sureewan, was from the insurance company; Mr Sanya, who shot the delivery guys, was just a friend who accompanied her.

“My delivery guys were not willing to surrender the van as they knew nothing about the matter,’’ said Mr Narakorn. “They contacted me, and I asked if they could proceed with the delivery first, as I was worried the ice would melt and we’d lose a customer.”

The pair refused. Mr Sanya tried to seize the keys and Ms Sureewan climbed into the driver’s seat. The delivery guys tried to pull her out, angering Mr Sanya. He went to his Toyota Fortuner, pulled out a gun and started firing at them. CCTV footage shows them fleeing to a nearby car repair shop.

Mr Narakorn said he bought the vehicle on the internet three years ago for 170,000 baht, but the seller failed to transfer the ownership papers. He was not able to contact the person again. His firm carried on using it until the finance company turned up that day and tried to take it back.

The pair left the Mitsubishi van and took off in their Toyota Fortuner. They handed themselves in to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police that evening. Ms Sureewan, according to the Manager Online, said she wanted to lay charges. She claimed the vehicle’s occupants started making trouble first and she had a clip taken on her phone as proof. The case continues.

Pandan drink with a sting

Sirada Jennuwat

A young woman joined the staff of a Yaowarat gold shop only to drug her bosses and make off with gold and cash.

Sirada Jennuwat, 25, went to elaborate lengths to plan the robbery, but was free just a matter of days before police caught up with her, Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Samran Nualma said.

The robbery took place at the Grand Yaowarat gold shop in Samae Dam, Bang Khun Thian on March 23 when Ms Sirada added Zoletil 100, a sedative which vets use on animals, to drinks she prepared for the owners, a mother and her brother (identified in some reports as her son).

Once they fell asleep, she made off with 5 baht worth of gold necklaces and a bracelet, worth about 150,000 baht, and 50,000 baht in cash.

The drug she used

The owners were admitted to hospital where they spent two days in ICU. Police caught her three days later at a gold shop in Bang Khun Si, Bangkok Noi, where she was selling some of the looted gold. She admitted the theft, claiming she did it to provide for her and her unborn child.

Ms Sirada said she was pregnant but her partner had left her. Police are treating her tale with scepticism, saying they found many pictures of Thais’ ID cards in her phone, which she copied from the internet. She admitted using the IDs to apply for work and perform various transactions under someone else’s name.

The thief went to some trouble to carry out her plot, buying a SIM card to buy goods online and creating a Facebook account in the name of Alisa Alisa to buy the services of a guarantor, which she needed for the gold shop job. She also used the account to buy Zoletil 100, a controlled drug similar to ketamine but available on the internet, from a vet in Ruayai, Muang, Suphan Buri.

She contacted another gold shop in the area, Yaowarat Bang Khuntien, owned by the same family, on March 8, asking about work. On March 11, she hired the guarantor online for 4,000 baht and travelled to the shop to apply for the job. She applied under the name of Alisa Malimoh, showing that person’s ID card, and on March 12 ordered the Zoletil 100.

During March 13-22, after starting work, she quietly removed her employee file and put someone else’s in its place. On March 23 she was transferred to the family’s other shop, the Grand Yaowarat, where the crime took place.

She asked owners if they drank bai tuey (pandan water). They told her they did and on the afternoon of the crime she added the drug in liquid form to a glass of pandan water for the mother and a soft drink for her brother. A relative found them in a drugged state and sent them to hospital.

Ms Sirada was selling some of the looted gold when police found her at the gold shop in Bangkok Noi. She identified herself to staff as Alisa Malimoh, the same name with which she applied for the job. She claimed her ID card was missing but showed staff a picture of the woman’s ID on her phone.

On March 25, she also took some of the loot to sell at a different shop, in soi Charan Sanitwong 37, also in Bangkok Noi. Here, she used the name Laksika Chamchampa, and disguised herself as a Muslim, wearing a hijab to cover her face. The shop paid her 86,000 baht for the items.

Ms Sirada was staying at a rental place nearby, at the back of Wat Phleng in soi Charan Sanitwong 37. Police charged her initially with theft causing a danger to others, and stealing from her employer.

They want to hear from anyone else who may have fallen victim to her crimes.