All in the family, not in that old car, conscript peril

Three members of a Si Sa Ket family, and one friend, have been charged with the brutal stabbing of the family patriarch, after he supposedly spoke to them too harshly.

Muang police nabbed the four for the murder of Sathaporn Jinkhamphanao, 48, a tour company operator, in his sleep.

The suspects stabbed him to death then dumped his body by the Haet Reservoir, where it was found later by locals. He had been stabbed in the neck and below the chest bone at least five times.

Police called in his family but when they started giving contradictory evidence split them up for questioning. Ultimately they confessed.

Sathaporn’s wife, Phuricha Promsopa, 51, stepdaughter Phettim Wangkul, 25, stepson Thanachok Phanikorn, 21, and a friend of the young man’s, identified as Peerapat (no surname given), 21, admitted stabbing the victim repeatedly until he was dead.

They say he had returned home from drinking on the night of Dec 8 and abused them, so they decided to get revenge.

News reports say his wife and stepdaughter admitted to the stabbing first; followed by the stepson, who implicated his mate. The stepson and stepdaughter are Ms Phuricha’s children from her first marriage.

Peerapat’s hand was injured as he helped the others hold down the victim’s body while they plunged in the knife. Mr Thanachok took him to hospital to get treated.

Reports say Peerapat initially denied taking part in the murder, claiming he was trying to help the victim, but later changed his testimony.

Police took stepson Mr Thanachok to retrieve the knife from the San Reservoir where he had tossed it.

Reports differ as to the role each played in subduing and killing the victim. The Daily News newspaper claimed the stepdaughter sat on his legs, and stepson sat on his body, while his wife and her son’s friend grabbed his hands. They stabbed him together, it said.

The Manager Online, however, says his wife held down his shoulders, while the stepson pinned down his legs. When Ms Phuricha’s hands started to hurt, her son called in his mate, who took over. The stepson, according to this account, straddled his body and stabbed him in the chest.

When the victim was dead they wrapped the body in a mattress, hauled it into their Nissan Almera, and took it to the reservoir where locals found it.

Police do not believe the murder was prompted merely by harsh words. The victim’s daughter by birth, Chonthicha Pannok, 22, from Nakhon Ratchasima, is just as sceptical.

She disputes the accused’s account that her father liked to pick fights. “He loved his wife dearly and acceded to her every wish,” she said, adding inheritance was a more likely motivating factor.

Sathaporn’s paternal grandmother had died recently, leaving him millions of baht, she said.

Ms Phuricha had tried to contact her before her father’s death, Ms Chonthicha was to find out later. She called an elder asking for her number, but he declined to give it.

Ms Chonthicha said she called back, but no one answered. Police charged the four with premeditated murder.

No keys to the ‘crime scene’

A man in Kamphaeng Phet who lured his mate to a fishing spot to kill him claims it was revenge after his friend molested his wife. The victim’s family, however, disputes it.

Provincial and Lan Krabue district police nabbed Atthaphong “Boonmee” Pumpuang, 29, for the Nov 30 fatal shooting of Chatchai Promchan, 31, close to Koh Loi park.

Mr Atthaphong admitted the killing after a local found the body and police realised he was the last person to see the victim alive.

He claims Chatchai lured his wife into his vehicle and molested her there. His wife told him about it later but for unexplained reasons they did not go to the police.

Mr Atthaphong said he kept his frustration bottled up for two months before deciding to lure his friend to a fishing spot in Lan Krabue district where he shot him in the face and head.

News reports say he left the body there and picked up his wife, who helped him dispose of the evidence, including the gun which they tossed into the water off Koh Loi.

A local found the body on Dec 5. The victim had been reported missing the day before, police said. They went to talk to his family and found the suspect had picked him up on Nov 30 to go fishing.

Dong Promchan, 70, the victim’s mother, said Mr Atthaphong picked up her son about 7pm and she didn’t see him again. She laid a complaint on Dec 4, and heard the next day that the body had been found at the waterway about 20km away from her home.

“I don’t believe the suspect’s story as my son was good looking and had an attractive partner (so wouldn’t be interested in women elsewhere),” she told reporters.

“Plenty of women liked the look of him,” she added.

Namoi Thongkam, 50, his elder sister, agrees, saying her brother’s car, the alleged scene of the crime, had been parked in the same spot for years as it was broken down.

She doubts the suspect could have gained access to the vehicle, which is overgrown with weeds and covered in dust.

“We can’t open the doors as no one has the key. I reckon drugs are the real reason behind my brother’s death,” she said.

Police haven’t said if they are pursuing the drugs angle in their probe. They charged Mr Atthaphong with premeditated murder.

Don’t they vet these people?

A conscript soldier in Samut Prakan who attacked a fellow conscript after an argument had four run-ins with the law over drugs and theft before entering the military, despite his young age.

Muang police nabbed Pvt Winai Chantararoj, 22, originally from Krabi, after he stabbed Pvt Boriwat Srirat, 21, originally from Yala, in his sleep. Both serve at the naval museum in Pak Nam.

Pvt Winai, who was conscripted two years ago and close to completing his service, took exception to a comment by Pvt Boriwat in response to taunts over his sexual preferences.

Pvt Winai, who admits he and Pvt Boriwat did not get along, learned that Pvt Boriwat had a boyfriend and claimed he had a secret preference for monks.

Pvt Boriwat, who was unhappy to hear this, responded: “So do you want trouble?”

The two argued before going their separate ways. Pvt Winai was still brooding over their argument when he started his shift later that day.

When he finished work at about 10pm he started drinking alone behind the soldiers’ sleeping quarters. Intent on getting revenge by stabbing Pvt Boriwat in his sleep, he grabbed a knife and sharpened it against a rock.

When the knife was ready he walked to the second storey of the barracks, only to find Pvt Boriwat was still awake and in the company of friends.

Pvt Winai went back outside and carried on drinking until shortly after midnight, when he went back upstairs to find Pvt Boriwat asleep.

One news report put it: “He saw his adversary was asleep, climbed over his body, and stabbed him once in the neck. Then he fled, tossing the knife.

“Pvt Winai tried to flee the museum, only to find an officer and a large number of privates (alerted to what he had done) were chasing him. So he took shelter in a guard’s booth close to the entrance.”

Police turned up and tried to persuade Pvt Winai to come out, without success, so they burst in and nabbed him.

A check of his background found he had been in trouble three times for ya ba offences, and one theft offence. He was charged with attempted premeditated murder, which he can now add to his rap sheet. Pvt Boriwat is recovering from his injuries.