Protest hanging; family of thieves; drugs under wraps

Move out of the way, Mum

A policeman inspects the beam where the old woman allegedly hanged herself.

A druggie in Nonthaburi claims she did not see the body of her mother lying in their home even though she had been dead at least a day before worried neighbours sounded the alert.

Rattanathibet police found the bloated body of Sommai Taengnoo, 72, at her two-storey Bang Kraso sub-district home.

She was wearing shorts and a patterned shirt. The house showed no signs of a struggle, and her body no signs of foul play. A plastic chair was found overturned by her side, and a nylon rope around her neck.

News reports say a crude note was found in which the old woman supposedly wrote, “I cannot live with someone who takes drugs. I’d rather die.”

Her daughter, Famai, 47, claimed she did not notice her mother’s body lying at the foot of the stairs, right in front of the fridge, even though she would have to pass that spot to get outside. While Famai lived upstairs, she would have to use the stairs to come and go from the house.

Neighbours called her eldest daughter, Som, after realising they had not seen the old woman for hours. Normally she keeps the door open and has the TV going.

When Som turned up after neighbours sounded the alert, she found the door closed and TV off. When she asked Famai to open the door, she found their mother’s body and called the police.

Rope marks could be seen on a wooden beam above the stairs, where police say the old woman could have hanged herself before her body fell to the ground.

Yet they are not sold on the suicide theory, as Famai has a hisory of abusing her mother, according to neighbours, and had once stabbed her father, now dead of natural causes, and set fire to the house.

Som, the oldest daughter, believes Famai is connected to her mother’s death. Sommai, she said, had no reason to take her own life, as she was debt-free and seemed happy enough.

Yet Som admitted she had not seen her mother in almost a year, and seldom spoke to Famai either. She said Famai looked much thinner than she remembered, and wondered if it was because she takes drugs.

Famai, who is open about her five-year drug habit, said she normally takes them only on days off. Just before her mother’s death, she bought three ya ba pills for 100 baht. A urine test found traces of the drugs in her system.

Police, who have charged her initially with taking and possessing drugs, said she made little sense under questioning about her mother’s death.

Famai has her own theory as to why her mother would want to take her own life, and is annoyed that people around her have been “pressuring” her into admitting to dark deeds.

“I went out to get food and didn’t see her lying dead on the stairs on the way down,” she said, adding she has been looking after her mother for the past 20 years.

“I admit we have had problems; lately I have had no money to give my mother, who was worried about the power bill.”

Famai was working as a security guard at a store until the end of July, but left. “If I had no money to give her we would argue, but I didn’t hit her,” she said.

“I think Mum resented the fact I was not working and making a wage like everyone else. But people around me are trying to get me to admit to something I didn’t do.”

Police, who say inquiries are continuing, have sent the body for an autopsy.

Setting a good example

The pickup in which the family stole the motorbike.

A Phetchabun man caught a family stealing motorcycles to order, including his own, after a high-speed chase across town.

Somsak (no surname given), said he visited a market in Si Thep district last week, leaving his motorcycle unattended for five minutes. When he returned, he was stunned to see it was gone.

“After standing there dumbfounded for a moment, I realised it had been stolen but the thieves only had one exit to the main road,” he said.

He hurriedly borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and set off in pursuit down the soi.

Somsak spotted a Mitsubishi pickup with his motorcycle in the back close to a local petrol station. Traffic was heavy, so the pickup was forced to slow.

“As I pulled alongside on my friend’s motorbike, I kicked the side window, and swerved in front to block its path,” he said.

He found a family of thieves inside: a father, mother, a girl, aged 14, and her boyfriend, 18.

“I yanked the driver from his seat. Locals and I set upon the boy, who was wearing black and so scared he offered everyone a wai and wet himself,” he said.

“The kid claimed he had asthma, but I think that was just an excuse. I jumped on him, and kicked him in the ribs and other vital places,” he added.

Another one of the vehicle’s occupants ran off, but locals caught him. They held the thieves until police arrived.

Officers found 35 ya ba pills in the vehicle, along with a stash of vehicle registration plates and smartphones, no doubt belonging to past victims of their thievery.

They also found a long list of orders from would-be customers for stolen vehicles, and a knife.

Somsak, who fractured two fingers in the melee, has to wear a splint for two weeks as he recovers.

Chatree, or Tom, 36 (no surname given), who was among the locals who came to Somsak’s aid as they subdued the thieves, said one member of the gang claimed he was hired for 2,500 baht to steal Somsak’s bike and take it to a customer in Khok Samrong district, Lop Buri.

CCTV vision shows the mother and daughter walk over to Somsak’s bike in the market, wheel it to their pickup, and lift it into the back before the vehicle sped away.

Police are expanding their probe.

Keep those legs shut

Anusara found with a drug stash hidden in an unusual spot.

Police in Trat came across an unexpected stash of drugs when they searched a house known as a local hangout for teens.

Police and district officials raided a house in Bo Rai district where they found homeowners Anusara, 39, and her partner, Suppakit, 27 (no surnames given).

Officers say Anusara was counting 7.3 grammes of ya ice when they arrived. When they asked to search her, she refused, so district officials took over.

They found she was clenching a blue bag between her legs.

Rooting around, they found four bags of drugs concealed in her underwear, hidden by a sanitary pad. Each contained 200 ya ba pills.

Police searching the house found another bag with 113 pills in it, or a total of 913 pills, along with a gun.

Anusara said she was once married to a man who was caught for selling drugs and jailed. Later she took up with Suppakit, and they started selling ya ba and ya ice together.

Locals noticed teen customers coming and going from their house, which led to the raid.

“At first she wanted only Suppakit to admit to the drugs, but when officers found 800 pills in her underwear, she had to come around,” one news report said.

The woman has a 10-year-old daughter, who would now have to go into a relative’s care as she was likely to face jail time.