Jail sounds a better option
Staff chased Phakin after he walked out with a gold ring.
Muang police on Thursday were notified of a man pretending to be a customer at a gold shop at a local shopping centre.
He tried on gold rings and walked out with them, but not before asking: “If I walk out without paying, will I be arrested?”
The suspect was identified as Phakin, or Tao (no surname given), 30, who admitted the thefts.
Duk (no surname given), an employee at the first gold shop, said the man asked to see a gold ring and asked, “If I walk out wearing it, will I be arrested? I want to go to jail”.
He boldly put on the ring and walked out.
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| Phakin, or Tao |
Nannaphat (no surname given), branch manager of the second shop, said the suspect asked to try on a two salueng gold ring (worth about 28,000 baht) and again asked if he would be arrested.
When she confirmed he would, he still walked out, prompting staff to chase him and retrieve the ring.
Tao, the suspect, said he staged the stunts because he wanted to go to jail.
His actions were motivated by personal problems: he felt resentful toward his mother for refusing to give him six rai of land despite being her only son.
He has a wife and young child and said he wanted to return to jail because he had previously served time for theft on behalf of a friend.
He also admitted to having methamphetamine debts and being a habitual user, taking 1–2 pills per day.
He apologised to his mother and wife for the prank and promised that if jailed, he would reform and behave himself upon release.
His wife, Arisa, 27, visited him at the station with their 3-year-old daughter.
She said her husband had been stressed and paranoid, even talking about robbery and suicide.
She was shocked to learn he had been using methamphetamine, previously thinking he was only drinking.
Tao said he was stressed by life problems and had experienced hallucinations, thinking someone wanted to kill him.
Urine tests returned positive for drugs. Authorities decided the suspect did not intend real theft or robbery, and no charges for theft were pressed. The victims did not press charges, either. He was, however, charged with taking drugs.
‘Why are you staring at me?’
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| Phunsawat, who died in front of a convenience store |
Police have arrested a 25-year-old man who gunned down his uncle in Thon Buri after family tensions boiled over.
The suspect was nabbed at home where he fled soon after the shooting, though he took a detour to toss the murder weapon into the Chao Phraya River.
The victim, motorcycle taxi rider Phunsawat (no surname given), 45, was shot seven times and died in front of a convenience store in Chom Thong district on Sept 11.
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| Chatchaorn. |
Relatives from both sides had long been embroiled in inheritance disputes, creating years of family tensions.
Metropolitan Police Division 8 and Bukkhalo police nabbed Chatchaporn at his home in the Wat Bang Sakae Nai community, off soi Thoet Thai 33.
Chatchaporn admitted shooting his uncle with a 9mm pistol, which he claimed to have thrown into the river near Rama V Bridge.
Phunsawat was shot in the left shoulder, right cheek and chest. Seven 9mm cartridge casings were recovered.
A witness, Rattanachai Phutsiri, who also worked at the motorcycle taxi stand, said he was riding close behind the victim when they encountered the suspect, Chatchaporn, a hospital orderly.
Chatchaporn was evidently giving his uncle the evil eye. The victim asked him, “Why are you staring at me?”
Chatchaporn rode off, and returned armed with a pistol.
The two began trading punches. “Toon (Chatchaporn) was losing the fight since his uncle was bigger, so I tried to break them up,” Mr Rattanachai said. “Then Toon pulled a gun from his waistband and fired repeatedly, dropping his uncle to the ground.
“He turned the weapon on me, but the gun misfired. Then he shot his uncle three more times before fleeing,” he added.
Police said the two families had long been estranged over inheritance disputes, refusing to even look at one another. The most recent quarrel erupted after Chatchaporn’s dog ran in front of the victim’s wife’s motorcycle.
Chatchaporn was charged with murder.
Stinking out the place
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| Jirawat, nabbed with his stolen durian |
A Nonthaburi man chose a large 7kg durian to steal from a local vendor, but had made his way through barely half of it when police — hot on the scent of the trail — nabbed him.
Police in Pak Kret caught Jirawat, or Poo (no surname given), 48, in his rented room after he stole the Musang King durian from a local vendor.
He had eaten half of it when police knocked on his door.
Durian shop owner, Narin (no surname given), 60, noticed his prized durian — worth about 1,100 baht — missing on Sept 7 and reviewed CCTV footage.
The camera showed the suspect riding a bicycle past the shop, parking and casually walking across the street to grab the durian before pedalling off.
“When it happened, he stopped and pretended to wait, then grabbed the durian while people were nearby,” said Narin.
“I didn’t realise at first because I was busy with customers. Ten minutes later, it was gone. If he had just asked, I would have gladly given him some — no need to steal.”
Jirawat admitted he hadn’t planned the theft in advance.
“I rode past, saw the durian and suddenly really wanted some. I didn’t dare ask the owner, so I just took it. I peeled it and ate half, but I hadn’t finished when the police came,” he said, apologising to the shop owner.
Police recovered the remaining half of the durian and the bicycle used in the theft. They charged Jirawat with “nighttime theft using a vehicle to facilitate crime”.
Monk strays from brief
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| Phra Kiattisak, below left, and the car he drove when he hit the old woman. |
A monk in Buri Ram who was unlicensed to drive struck and killed a pensioner returning from collecting her senior citizen allowance of 700 baht.
Phra Kiattisak Kamhom, 24, was driving a temple car when he hit Khiew Phutjip, 72, causing her immediate death.
The accident, which took place on Sept 10 on Nalao–Huafai Road, in Khaen Dong district, raised questions among the victim’s relatives.
The car driven by Phra Kiattisak had no annual tax, no compulsory motor insurance (Buri Ram ), and the monk himself did not have a driver’s licence.
Sao Pawatha, Khiew’s younger brother, said monks are not supposed to drive, but this one bent the rules.
If travel is necessary, a disciple or a licensed local is supposed to drive instead. Another relative, Boonmak Tubtaisong, was also shocked by the news, as she usually accompanied Khiew to collect her allowance.
The monk’s mother, Boonruang Boonying, visited the victim’s family and accepted full responsibility, saying she would compensate them as much as possible given her family’s limited means.
She said the car involved belonged to the temple and was purchased for disciples to travel to school. Her son drove the car himself because there were no public transport options in the area.
Ms Boonruang viewed the incident as a matter of “karma” and the consequences of past deeds, but she also expressed sympathy for her son, who had sought refuge from drug problems.
He had chosen to ordain as a monk to study the Buddhist path, only to be caught in the road tragedy.
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