He wouldn’t go halves
Jirawan Empin and Samrit Maisonthi (man in black vest).
Samrit Maisonthi, 58, and his wife Jirawan Empin, 32, murdered their friend, Udom Khunphiluek, 60, after he refused to help them pay the 1,430 baht bill at a karaoke shop in Klong Klung district on Dec 5.
Police caught the couple two days later in Uthai Thani, as they were fleeing the law on their way to Chainat province. Reports say they were bickering and drunk.
They admitted to killing the victim, whose body was found with more than 20 stab wounds, floating in a farm canal close to the shop.
Ms Jirawan said her husband held the victim in an arm lock while she beat him over the head with a motorcycle helmet and bottle to subdue him, before stabbing him with a fruit knife.
Some reports say Ms Jirawan used to work at the karaoke shop and met Udom there. They slept together and later became friends. On the night he was to lose his life, both sides claimed not to have enough money to pay the bill.
Shop owner Anong Noonai said the victim turned up at 8.30pm and drank alone until the couple joined him at 10pm.
“When the alcohol ran out I told Udom to go home, as it was late. The couple slipped out, as they didn’t want to pay. They were lurking behind the shop,” she said.
Some reports said the couple were angry that Udom wasn’t willing to go halves, but insisted on paying just a third. Udom, the couple said, was a friend so should be willing to split the bill evenly, the reports said.
Other reports, however, suggested the dispute was triggered partly by the owner’s insistence that Udom, a friend, not to have to pay at all. “I followed the couple out the back and asked the couple to foot the bill themselves. As for Udom, he was exempt, as we are close,” she said.
“The couple, however, claimed the victim would pay for them. I said no, as he wasn’t the owner of the shop (so it was not his decision).”
They refused, so she asked Udom to go with the couple to his father’s place to fetch the money. The couple evidently decided en route to kill and rob Udom rather than pay the bill.
After disposing of Udom’s body on farmland in the district, they later went to his place where they stole three Buddha amulets and a ceremonial sword to help pay for their escape. They raised 500 baht.
Later, they pawned his motorcycle in Nakhon Sawan for 2,000 baht. Police charged the couple jointly with murder and theft.
Beating has its upside
 |
| Thada 'Peck' Wantha is sitting in the park. |
A Surat Thani lad has been overwhelmed with help since his plight as a destitute student fortuitously came to light following an assault by a gang of 11 youngsters in a public park.
Thada “Peck” Wantha, 16, was attacked and robbed by the gang, whose ages ranged from 12 to 17, when he fell asleep while charging his phone.
Peck was assaulted in a park in Bang Kung, Muang district on Dec 9. He was pictured in the media covered in bruises and his clothes torn. Reports say a split lip sustained in the attack needed three stitches.
The gang stole 800 baht from him, with which he hoped to get the power reconnected to his home, after it was cut in May. Peck, who was hopelessly outnumbered, said he was forced to flee after the boys started kicking and beating him.
Police rounded up the teens, some of whom ironically came from homes much better off than Peck’s.
 |
| The teen suspects at the station. |
Peck, who studies at Surat Thani Vocational Education College, lives alone after his mother died two years ago. His father moved to Koh Phangan in search of construction work to support them. He sends money home when he can.
However, Peck was struggling to feed himself regularly, never mind catering to his other needs, and seldom asks others for help.
Peck said he was forced to charge his phone in the park after the power was cut to his home. He would do his homework there in semi-darkness but tell no one.
His father had sold off most of their household possessions. When reporters visited his home, they found the place in darkness. The family’s rice cooker was broken.
“He could not afford to get his clothes washed so would brush them off and go back to school. He is a good student who loves studies,” Amarin TV, which followed the saga, told viewers.
His plight has since improved, with friends, relatives and even strangers coming forward with offers of help since news of the attack hit the media.
Amarin TV said it received many inquiries from viewers asking about the boy. The day following the initial publicity, a reporter took the boy to an appliance store, which replaced his rice cooker for free. He also bought Peck a pair of shoes for him and his Dad.
His school also stepped forward with offers of help, along with friends and neighbours. They publicised his bank account details. By Wednesday, the power and water had been reconnected to his home.
His father, Santi, returned from Koh Phangan when he heard about the attack. He will look for work closer to home so he and his son can be together.
Peck said the gang he met in the park had asked for 20 baht, but decided to attack him. Rounding up the offenders, police called their parents into the station.
When reporters visited Muang police, they found parents upset to hear their sons were involved. Only two of the group confessed, reports say.
One younger boy said he held back as he watched his friends beat Peck, as he thought 11 against one was unfair. “My parents give me 100 baht a day, so I don’t need money,” he said, offering another reason he decided not to join the fray.
One of the older boys, sounding far from repentant, warned Peck through the media not to embellish. “Don’t ever-egg it or you can look forward to another beating,” he growled.
No word was to hand on what charges the gang will face.
Dogged fan tracks down prey
A city singer who started seeing an obsessive fan on the sly has come forward to back his wife’s claims that his secret admirer, angry to discover she had a rival, assaulted her.
“B”, 26, and his wife “Nan”, 28, contacted Ekkapop Luangprasert, founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rod Facebook page, who helps victims of crime. They were worried their complaint to Lat Phrao police about the attack would not be enough to deter her. Mr Ekkapop took them before the media to share their plight.
Nan said she and her husband argued on Nov 29 and she took their young child to stay elsewhere. On Dec 3 he asked to make up with her, and turned up after work about 3am.
Ten minutes after he arrived, a woman she had never met turned up and tried to beat the door down. “I knew then that B had been seeing someone on the sly,” she said. “She demanded to know why he wasn’t answering her calls.
“We started to argue, so I picked up my phone and started filming. His fling headed straight for me and started hitting me, fleeing only when I told her that I am B’s lawfully wedded wife,” she said.
Nan, married to B for four years, called the police. She also headed out to follow her attacker. “I found her motorcycle at the mouth of the soi. In fact, she headed back to talk to B again, and attacked me a second time when I confronted her,” Nan said.
News images show bruising to her face, body, and a bloody eye. Police turned up and took the fling, unnamed in news reports, to the station.
B, lead singer in a band which plays city restaurants, said the woman asked for his Line details at one of his shows. They started seeing each other, though never slept together, he claimed.
“Lately I have been feeling sorry for our child so asked to sever ties with the woman, but she wouldn’t accept it,” he said. He had turned up to support his wife, as he is worried about her and feels guilty.
He asked a relative to intervene. “I asked her to talk to the woman on my behalf, as I can’t see her alone any more. She agreed to leave me alone, but I am not confident, if we meet again, that there won’t be another incident.”
Mr Ekkapop says Nan can sue the woman for civil damages, and police lay criminal charges. “This woman has gone over the top, wresting B away from his wife, and assaulting Nan as well,” he said. Police inquiries are continuing.
However, Peck was struggling to feed himself regularly, never mind catering to his other needs, and seldom asks others for help.
Peck said he was forced to charge his phone in the park after the power was cut to his home. He would do his homework there in semi-darkness but tell no one.
His father had sold off most of their household possessions. When reporters visited his home, they found the place in darkness. The family’s rice cooker was broken.
“He could not afford to get his clothes washed so would brush them off and go back to school. He is a good student who loves studies,” Amarin TV, which followed the saga, told viewers.
His plight has since improved, with friends, relatives and even strangers coming forward with offers of help since news of the attack hit the media.
Amarin TV said it received many inquiries from viewers asking about the boy. The day following the initial publicity, a reporter took the boy to an appliance store, which replaced his rice cooker for free. He also bought Peck a pair of shoes for him and his Dad.
His school also stepped forward with offers of help, along with friends and neighbours. They publicised his bank account details. By Wednesday, the power and water had been reconnected to his home.
His father, Santi, returned from Koh Phangan when he heard about the attack. He will look for work closer to home so he and his son can be together.
Peck said the gang he met in the park had asked for 20 baht, but decided to attack him. Rounding up the offenders, police called their parents into the station.
When reporters visited Muang police, they found parents upset to hear their sons were involved. Only two of the group confessed, reports say.
One younger boy said he held back as he watched his friends beat Peck, as he thought 11 against one was unfair. “My parents give me 100 baht a day, so I don’t need money,” he said, offering another reason he decided not to join the fray.
One of the older boys, sounding far from repentant, warned Peck through the media not to embellish. “Don’t ever-egg it or you can look forward to another beating,” he growled.
No word was to hand on what charges the gang will face.
Dogged fan tracks down prey
 |
| The crazed woman at B's front door. |
A city singer who started seeing an obsessive fan on the sly has come forward to back his wife’s claims that his secret admirer, angry to discover she had a rival, assaulted her.
“B”, 26, and his wife “Nan”, 28, contacted Ekkapop Luangprasert, founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rod Facebook page, who helps victims of crime. They were worried their complaint to Lat Phrao police about the attack would not be enough to deter her. Mr Ekkapop took them before the media to share their plight.
Nan said she and her husband argued on Nov 29 and she took their young child to stay elsewhere. On Dec 3 he asked to make up with her, and turned up after work about 3am.
Ten minutes after he arrived, a woman she had never met turned up and tried to beat the door down. “I knew then that B had been seeing someone on the sly,” she said. “She demanded to know why he wasn’t answering her calls.
 |
| 'B' and his wife 'Nan' |
Nan, married to B for four years, called the police. She also headed out to follow her attacker. “I found her motorcycle at the mouth of the soi. In fact, she headed back to talk to B again, and attacked me a second time when I confronted her,” Nan said.
News images show bruising to her face, body, and a bloody eye. Police turned up and took the fling, unnamed in news reports, to the station.
B, lead singer in a band which plays city restaurants, said the woman asked for his Line details at one of his shows. They started seeing each other, though never slept together, he claimed.
“Lately I have been feeling sorry for our child so asked to sever ties with the woman, but she wouldn’t accept it,” he said. He had turned up to support his wife, as he is worried about her and feels guilty.
He asked a relative to intervene. “I asked her to talk to the woman on my behalf, as I can’t see her alone any more. She agreed to leave me alone, but I am not confident, if we meet again, that there won’t be another incident.”
Mr Ekkapop says Nan can sue the woman for civil damages, and police lay criminal charges. “This woman has gone over the top, wresting B away from his wife, and assaulting Nan as well,” he said. Police inquiries are continuing.
No comments:
Post a Comment