Barkar Nash (Page 967)

Polish man accused of killing girlfriend

The Bangkok South Criminal Court has denied bail to the Polish man who allegedly murdered and dismembered his Ukrainian girlfriend.

Jan Jerzy Lagoda-Filippow, 25, was arrested on Monday in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district as he attempted to flee to Cambodia.

He was wanted for allegedly murdering and dismembering Alona Savchenko, 25, with a handsaw at a high-rise condominium in Bang Kholaem district in Bangkok after arriving as a tourist on April 29.

Wat Phaya Krai police in Bangkok later took him into custody and under Section 288 of the Criminal Code can detain him for 12 days.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court on Wednesday rejected Mr Lagoda-Filippow’s request for bail.

The court said the case is punishable by the maximum sentence, which could tempt the suspect to flee the country, a police source said. The suspect was arrested at the Immigration Office in the border town of Aranyaprathet, which he said showed his intention to flee.

The source said Wat Phraya Krai police found Savchenko’s body in a condominium unit on the 32nd floor. The body was covered with a blanket. They found a stab wound to her chest, and her left arm up from her wrist was dismembered.

Her head had been nearly severed. Police also found a 46-centimetre handsaw nearby.

According to the post-mortem, the victim might have been dead for 24 hours before her body was discovered.

According to investigators, Mr Lagoda-Filippow entered Thailand on a tourist visa on April 29. On Monday, he grabbed a taxi and asked the driver if he could find a store which sold deodorant.

He also told the driver he had just murdered his girlfriend and was seeking someone to help him to finish dismembering the body. The taxi driver later told the police that he initially believed the suspect was joking.

However, when the driver dropped him off at his condominium, the suspect kept talking about the murder. The driver also said a strong smell of blood came from the suspect while they were in the taxi. He said he told condo staff what the suspect said. Later they found the victim’s body.

Success came from policies, it says

The Move Forward Party (MFP) has nothing to do with a network that fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra insinuated the party may have used to sway Sunday’s election in its favour, deputy party leader Phicharn Chaowapatanawong said yesterday.

Rather, the party’s success at the ballot can be credited to its political ideology and policies, Mr Phicharn said.

He made the remarks in response to a social media session Thaksin held on YouTube on Tuesday night called CareTalk x Care ClubHouse. In it, he discussed the election and his potential return to Thailand.

During the session, Thaksin congratulated the MFP for its victory, which is expected to lead to a significant shift in Bangkok’s political landscape. The MFP is associated with the colour orange and has talked openly about its reformist agenda.

Thaksin shared his belief that the MFP may have been operating an information operation (IO) network and using it to propagate a rumour that Pheu Thai — which finished a close runner-up in the poll — was targeting a different coalition than the MFP’s planned alliance, resulting in some voters likely losing confidence in the party.

Thaksin also hailed the MFP as a “disruptor” that has mastered social media and user-generated content (UGC) to triumph over Pheu Thai and other parties.

He also suggested senior members of Pheu Thai step down to allow a new generation of more media-savvy politicians take the reins of the party he is still closely associated with.

Thaksin said the time has come for the party to undergo what he termed “disruptive innovation”.

He said Pheu Thai failed to disrupt itself enough to overcome the MFP, which he described as being like an SME that beat a much larger and better-established company by offering high-quality products that keep customers satisfied.

Finally, Thaksin said he still wants to return home to help raise his grandchildren.

His daughter Paetongtarn was one of Pheu Thai’s presidential candidates in Sunday’s election. Mr Phicharn said Thaksin’s comments were aimed at undermining the MFP’s success and were an insult to voters.

“The MFP insists it does not have either the budget or the intention to carry out such an operation [as Thaksin claimed regarding the online network],” he said.

Initial investigation indicates driver might have dozed off

PHUKET: Thirty people, mostly Russian tourists, were injured and one tourist is missing after their speedboat hit a channel marker in Chalong Bay on Wednesday evening.

The accident occurred when the Thanathip Marine 555 was bringing 33 Russian tourists back from the Phi Phi islands to Chalong Bay at about 5.30pm, said Nachapong Pranit, the provincial marine chief. The boat driver, his assistant and a tour guide were also on board.

An initial investigation found that the boat driver, identified as Sathit Matchai, might have dozed off. The boat smashed into the channel marker located about 700 metres from the Chalong pier and sustained heavy damage.

About 10 people including the boat driver suffered broken limbs. Two people were reported to have serious injuries and others were slightly injured. They were taken to seven different hospitals on the island, according to local reports.

One tourist was missing and a rescue mission was under way.

Initial investigation indicates driver might have dozed off

PHUKET: Thirty-five people, mostly Russian tourists, were injured after their speedboat hit a channel marker in Chalong Bay on Wednesday evening.

The accident occurred when the Thanathip Marine 555 was bringing 21 Russian, nine Kazakhstanis, two Chineses and one Ukrainian tourists back from the Phi Phi islands to Chalong Bay at about 5.30pm. The boat driver, his assistant and a tour guide were also on board.

An initial investigation found that the boat driver, identified as Sathit Matchai, might have dozed off, said Nachapong Pranit, the provincial marine chief.

The boat smashed into the channel marker located about 700 metres from the Chalong pier and sustained heavy damage.

About 10 people including the boat driver suffered broken limbs. Two people were reported to have serious injuries and others were slightly injured. They were taken to seven different hospitals on the island, according to local reports.

Move Forward chief and allies start to work out details of governing at closed-door gathering

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat says he will announce the outcome of his talks on forming a government with five other political parties on Thursday morning.

Mr Pita met with key figures from the Pheu Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Thai Sang Thai and Fair parties at Chez Miline, an upscale restaurant not far from Government House in Dusit district on Wednesday afternoon to discuss their coalition formation plan.

The six parties together won 310 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, based on unofficial results of Sunday’s election.

Senior officials from Pheu Thai have been urging other parties to support a Pita premiership, aiming to have enough votes to outflank the military-backed Senate. The Democrat Party on Wednesday indicated it might vote for Mr Pita even while remaining in opposition.

The mood outside the restaurant was jovial as the participants arrived just before 4pm before heading inside for closed-door talks. After about an hour and a half, representatives of the six parties emerged and posed happily for photographers.

Mr Pita said that he would announce the outcome of the talks at 10am on Thursday.

As the group started to disperse, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul arrived at the restaurant.

They were the founders of the Future Forward Party that was dissolved in 2020 and reincarnated as Move Forward. They had a high profile during the just-concluded election campaign, travelling around the country and appearing at rallies every night. But officially they are banned from political activity and have faded into the background since Election Day. 

Asked about the topics under discussion, Mr Piyabutr said he had nothing to do with the talks because he was only a campaign assistant of the Move Forward Party.

They had gathered to celebrate their victory and invited Mr Pita and Mr Thanathorn to share a meal, Mr Piyabutr said.

The venue of the talks, Chez Miline, was also the restaurant where the parties concerned discussed the formation of the government led by Chatichai Choonhavan in 1988. It was overthrown by a coup three years later.