PUBLISHED : 9 Jan 2024 at 15:04
SAKON NAKHON: A 35-year-old man has been detained for interrogation in the murder of his father and younger sister, whose bodies were discovered in locked steel boxes dumped in a pond.
Residents of Ban Sang Khui iin Phang Khon district informed police on Monday that two large steel boxes they had briefly seen beside the pond were suddenly missing.
Police and rescue workers found the two boxes in the pond about 1am on Tuesday. They were raised to the surface and dragged ashore. The boxes were brand-new and held closed by steel chains. Upon opening, each was found to contain one body.
The bodies were later identified as Prayat Detphummee, 66, and his daughter Piangpen, 33.
Police detained a 35-year-old man at the scene who was shouting and talking senselessly. He was initially identified only as Waroot. Police learned that he was Prayat’s son and Piangpen’s elder brother.
The Thai News Agency reported that the family came from Sawang Daen Din district. A metal worker there told police Mr Waroot had bought two large steel boxes from him on Nov 25 last year for 12,000 baht.
He said Mr Waroot claimed he planned to the use the two cases to store fishing equipment.
Detectives from Sawang Daen Din police said the three family members – father, son and daughter – had told relatives they were taking a trip to Bhumibol dam in Tak province. They left thei home about noon on Monday, according to the Thai News Agency report.
The family was reportedly well-to-do and owned a three-storey dormitory. The mother was a retired government official and had died in October last year.