Won’t take no for an answer
Jiradet ‘Tom’ Thongyim
Laokwan police nabbed Jiradet “Tom” Thongyim, 36, for killing two people in a local forest. They were among a group of five sitting having a chat, including two teens who were spared his wrath.
He shot to death Sermsak “Tar” Khunklang, 38, stepfather of the young teen he fancied, known as Neuy, and a farm hand, Boonsong Srithaptim, 50, who happened to be passing and witnessed the shooting.
Neuy’s mother, Chompunuch “Mod” Kaewsuksai, 33, the fifth member of the group, like the teens survived the ordeal, though only because the killer said he still had use for her.
She said the killer entered the forest where the group were sitting. Ms Chompunuch and her partner, Sermsak, would gather old wood in the forest and burn it in a pit to create charcoal for sale.
The teens, who did not know the killer and were going steady, also visited the spot occasionally for some privacy.
“Jiradet had turned up at Neuy’s place the night before, revving his motorcycle engine and demanding access to the girl. However, Neuy was wary of his poor behaviour and wanted nothing to do with him,” Ms Chompunuch said.
The following morning he turned up in the forest and again demanded that he be allowed to see the girl.
When Sermsak, a chicken farmer who has been seeing Ms Chompunuch for the past few months, refused, Jiradet pulled out his 9mm calibre handgun and threatened him.
When Sermsak again refused to tell him where the girl was, he opened fire, shooting him three times in the face and body.
Ms Chompunuch said the other victim, Boonsong, who worked on a sugar farm plantation and collected items from the forest for sale, happened to be passing and saw the events unfold. Jiradet shot him three times without fanfare, no doubt to silence a potential witness.
“Jiradet told me he had thought of shooting me too but had decided to spare my life because I could still be of some use to him,” she told reporters.
The killer asked her to take him back to her place, after which he fled on his bike. Police caught him later at his home about 3km away.
He made her swear not to tell anyone, but she was too scared to stay at the house alone, so contacted her aunt, who alerted police.
Ms Chompunuch said Jiradet’s interest in her daughter, who lives with the aunt, started in September.
He disappeared for a couple of months and then returned, when he stepped up his advances. He would turn up at her aunt’s place several times a night, demanding to see her.
The aunt, known as Tim, 59, said Jiradet tried to force his way in to see the girl the night before the shooting. “Nong Neuy called her mother, asking her to come around and look after her,” she said.
Media reports say Jiradet was released from jail last year after serving just five years of a 25-year sentence for murdering an Isan woman known as Yai Saow.
“Yai Saow was raising goats for his family. He was hooked on drugs and asked her for money. She refused so he hit her and stuffed her wounded body in a charcoal pit and threw a bunch of tyres on top,” one news report said.
“He lit the fire and burnt her alive. Her screams could be heard nearby. His father saw it, and called the police,” the report said.
“Yai Saow’s family left the area following her killing, as Jiradet’s family has influence in those parts and everyone was scared of him,” one relative added.
It is unclear how Jiradet met Neuy, but he quickly offered a generous dowry if her mother would consent to their marriage.
He referred to Ms Chompunuch as “Mum”, as in mother-in-law, and to Sermsak, his victim, as his foster father.
Police said Jiradet believed Sermsak was standing in the way of his relationship with Neuy so killed him. They charged him with two counts of premeditated murder.
‘Show us your belt buckle’
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| The twins charged with murder |
Prawet police nabbed Yotsakorn “Not” Krasaeng and Yotsaporn “Note” Krasaeng, both 19, for shooting to death Koonsap “Nammon” Patnawas, also 19.
The victim was on his way to Seacon shopping centre in Srinakarin Road with friends when the twins stopped him at soi On Nut 70 and asked where he studied.
They also asked to see his school belt buckle, which would tell them what tech school he attended, if any, and so whether he was a rival to their own.
Koonsap, whose mother says he quit studies at the end of third form, told the boys he was not studying anywhere.
According to news reports, Yotsakorn, who was sitting behind his brother on their motorcycle, pulled out a Smith and Wesson .32 calibre handgun and shot the teen in the abdomen. A friend took Koonsap to hospital but he died from his injuries.
The twins fled the scene and ditched the gun by the side of a canal in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan.
When police arrested them, they admitted the shooting, but said their victim looked at them in a bad way.
They followed him, the exchange over the belt buckle followed, and Yotsakorn shot him, they said.
The victim’s Mum, Sakorn Boonmanee, said her son lived at home with his family. “Since finishing school, he has been ferrying people about the place. He takes me to work and his younger sister to school,” she said, describing Koonsap as a good boy who had never caused trouble to anyone.
The twin’s mother, Khamkaew (assumed name), said her sons were on their way to see a friend when the victim’s motorcycle cut in front of them.
“Koonsap jumped off his motorcycle as if he was going to attack them. Yotsakorn was alarmed so shot him,” she told reporters, adding she did not know where her son found the handgun.
“Later he called me to say he’d been involved in a shooting incident. He didn’t yet know the lad was dead and feels sad for what happened,” she added. Her son had asked her to apologise to Koonsap’s family on his behalf.
News reports say the twins have been involved in trouble before. In September last year, they were shot and injured in the arm by a rival.
On Feb 17, they shot a rival of their own in another argument but both were stabbed in return too.
Police charged the pair with premeditated murder in relation to Koonsap’s death, along with firearms offences.
He just felt like killing someone
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| Suspect Ratchapol |
Region 3, Buri Ram and Thamen Chai police nabbed Ratchapol, 44, a hairdresser, for killing a relative, Danuporn or “Aof”, 25, at a house in Lamplaimas district.
The group had taken part in family merit-making activities which started the night before.
A witness says Ratchapol, drinking with friends in a streetside hut about 30m away, declared that he wanted to hit someone.
“He walked to his pickup truck, pulled out a knife, and asked: Who wants it? He headed towards Aof’s group and stabbed Aof once in the chest,” the witness told reporters.
Aof grabbed his chest and asked: “Hey! We don’t know each other.” Fearing for his safety, Aof ran into the house but collapsed. He died later from his injuries.
It is unclear why Ratchapol singled out Aof, a young man he did not know and who had moved to the village only four months before. After stabbing him, he and his mates fled in his truck.
Police later made contact and persuaded Ratchapol, who had fled to Mukdahan, to return. He was nabbed in Maha Sarakham on his way back.
The owner of the house where the stabbing occurred said the victim was a nephew by marriage. Ratchapol was another relative.
He was puzzled by the incident as neither knew the other, despite the fact they were related.
Needless to say, Ratchapol gives a different account. He told police that he was drinking with three mates when he saw the victim walk past, take off his shirt and act aggressively. “He criticised my relatives, we started to argue and I stabbed him,” he said.
The killer’s dad, Bunchee, 73, said his son was a computer teacher before moving to Korea to work. He had been back about a year and opened his own barber’s shop.
Ratchapol said he realises he and the victim were related by marriage and is sorry for what happened. However, he was drunk, he said, as if that excuses it. Police have charged him with murder.
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