Confusion over motive
Wuttipong chases Ratchada with a knife.
Her family denies the claim, however, suggesting she knocked back his request for a large loan, triggering the attack.
Wang Thong police nabbed Wuttipong (no surname given) 50, a restaurant singer, for stabbing to death Ratchada, or Mod (no surname given), aged 43, also a singer whom he had pursued romantically for three years, without success.
Surveillance footage captured the moment he arrived on a motorcycle on June 10 and parked in front of a grocery store where the victim worked.
He enters the store, and shortly after, Ratchada runs out in terror. She flees into her two-storey wooden house near the store.
Wielding a kitchen knife he brought with him, Wuttipong pursues her and stabs her 31 times until she is dead. Police found her body in the lower parking area of the house.
They arrested Wuttipong following a struggle, after he attacked passersby who approached.
He told police he had been trying to woo her for several years, but she did not reciprocate.
He was also suffering from a serious illness, which contributed to his stress and led him to commit the crime. Reports said he is receiving treatment for cancer and HIV.
After drinking to drown his sorrows, he said he could not remember what he had done. A breathalyser test confirmed high levels of alcohol in his system, but no sign of drugs.
The victim’s husband, Tai, 50, devastated at the sight of his dead wife, cried over her body when he turned up at the scene. They had been married 10 years with a family.
The victim’s son, Ton, 18, said Wuttipong had visited his mother several times to borrow large sums of money, which she refused, leading to the attack.
He was unaware of any relationship between them and questioned whether the claims of a romantic involvement were true or merely a shield for his borrowing.
Khunakan (no surname given), 33, the band leader and a friend of the victim, said he was also unaware of issues between the assailant and the victim.
He said Ratchada was a good person who worked hard to care for her children and had been a singer with his band for a long time. He was shocked to hear the news.
Later, the police took Wuttipong for a crime re-enactment in front of a large crowd, who condemned his actions.
The victim’s son rushed at the suspect in anger over the brutal murder of his mother but was restrained by officials.
Police charged the suspect with premeditated murder and weapons charges.
Distracted by an argument
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| Rescue workers console Kanokorn after her boyfriend was hit by a car. |
A Samut Prakan man ran across the road to console his girlfriend after an argument but was clipped by a car, and then struck by another, killing him.
Piyapong Ingsanthea, 40, was found face-down on Suk Sawat Road near soi Suk Sawat 78 in Phra Pradaeng district, with multiple broken limbs.
A security camera captured him and Kanokorn Suanphuk, 35, his girlfriend, having a heated argument on the roadside.
The couple argued for nearly five minutes when the victim threw his girlfriend’s bag into the middle of the road.
Ms Kanokorn tried to flee the scene by hailing a taxi, but the victim stopped her and threw her bag into the street again.
His girlfriend ran to retrieve her bag and crossed to the other side before her boyfriend, following in pursuit, was struck by two vehicles and killed.
Two cars were damaged: the first a white Toyota Yaris, which sustained a broken right window, which was driven by Natthapol (no surname given), 38. He reported hearing a sound as if something hit the side of the car.
When he looked in the rearview mirror, he saw a body flying into the car behind him.
The second vehicle was a grey Honda Accord which sustained a large cracked windshield and crumpled hood, and was driven by Pongnapat (no surname given), 29.
He said everything happened very quickly; suddenly, the victim dashed in front of his car at close range, leaving him unable to brake in time.
Ms Kanokorn, who was sitting on the median strip crying when rescue workers arrived, said the couple had been dating less than a month. Both worked at the same tiling company.
Before the incident, they argued about money, during which the victim kicked her, prompting her to run out and wave for a taxi. However, Piyapong chased her, presumably to reconcile, which led to him being hit.
She was shocked and unable to react, only able to cry out for help for her boyfriend, but it was too late.
Police reviewed the security camera footage and were preparing to charge both drivers with reckless driving resulting in death.
Just out for a morning drive
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| A teen with his ankles in shackles is held by the side of the road. |
Police in Nakhon Ratchasima were shocked to find a teenager with his ankles in shackles, driving a sedan.
Onlookers initially assumed he was an escaped prisoner and alerted them.
In fact, his mother had chained up the young man, aged 15, whose name was not released, to protect other members of the household, as the teen was hooked on drugs and inclined to flying into rages.
Suffering withdrawal symptoms and still wearing the restraints, he fled home in the vehicle when police stopped him.
Phoklang police intercepted the vehicle after a concerned citizen alerted them about a young man wearing shackles and driving a red sedan into a petrol station to refuel.
Officers intercepted the vehicle near the 80th Anniversary Sports Stadium.
The driver, from Chum Phuang district, appeared dirty and was in a dazed state. His right ankle was shackled with a 2m-long long chain, secured with a large padlock.
The young man said he was not an escaped prisoner as first thought.
He said his mother had chained him at their home because he suffered hallucinations and violent outbursts owing to his heavy methamphetamine habit.
At times, he would harm his parents and neighbours, prompting them to chain him up. He was taking 4-5 pills a day.
He experienced withdrawal symptoms after being denied the drugs for several days, so decided to flee.
He managed to free the end of the chain that was attached to a post in the house and stole his mother’s car, leaving the house around 4am.
He drove into Muang district, a distance of over 70 kilometres, before stopping to refuel. However, the petrol station staff noticed his odd behaviour and the shackles on his ankles, assumed he was an escaped criminal, and alerted police.
Pol Col Weenwat Sriyaem, Phoklang station chief, said officers contacted his guardians to take him for drug rehab.
The chaining was deemed a necessity by his guardians to prevent their child, who was heavily addicted to drugs, from causing trouble to others, he said.
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