Reports say suspect had moonlighted as a driver for his businessman victim
PUBLISHED : 30 Dec 2023 at 11:49
A police officer has been arrested after a businessman was shot to death on an expressway in Wang Thonglang district late Friday night.
The fatal shooting happened at kilometre marker 10 on the Chalong Rat expressway above Praditmanutham Road, said Pol Capt Ouaychai Srisong, deputy investigation chief at the Wang Thonglang police staton, who was alerted about midnight.
Police, forensic officers, a doctor and rescue workers who rushed to the scene found the body of a man was lying in a pool of blood on the left lane of the expressway. Wearing black jeans and a polo T-shirt, the man had sustained five gunshot wounds to his forehead, right hand, right arm and right leg.
Police found 50,000 baht in cash and other valuables on his body. Five cartridges were collected from the scene.
An expressway employee told investigators that he and a colleague were on duty when they saw two men quarrelling beside a van parked near the wall of the expressway. One of them was assaulted and fell on the road. The other man sat astride him, holding a gun in his right hand.
On seeing the gun, the expressway staff stepped away. They later heard two gunshots and the gunman immediately fled in the van.
The two workers rushed to help the wounded victim, who told them to help phone his wife. During the phone conversation, he told her to take their children and flee their home for fear that the gunman might come after them.
Shortly afterward, the gunman returned and parked the van on the opposite side from the shooting scene. He got out of the van, jumped over the barriers at the road divider and walked towards the injured man.
Upon seeing the gunman, the two expressway staff took shelter inside their vehicle and drove a few metres away. They saw the gunman firing more shots at the victim before returning to the van to flee. The victim died on the spot.
The expressway staff got out of their car and flagged down a passing passenger bus No 34E travelling on the expressway to Rangsit. They asked the driver to park the bus to prevent other vehicles from running over the body. They then alerted police.
The victim’s mother, his wife and his children arrived shortly afterward and broke into tears on seeing the body. The deceased has been identified only as Krit.
The victim’s wife told police that the gunman and her husband knew each other. The suspect was identified as Pol Lt Narongwat Thachata, a deputy investigation chief at a station in Bangkok. The van he was driving belonged to her husband.
A few hours later, investigators from Metropolitan Police Division 4 raided a rented room in Don Muang district and arrested Pol Lt Narongwat. He was being questioned at the MPD 4 office.
There were reports that the victim was a businessman and owner of a factory. Pol Lt Narongwat reportedly met Krit five months ago at the Hua Mak police station, where the officer worked. The policeman reportedly worked as a driver for the businessman in his spare time.
Local media reports said the officer had debts of about 2 million baht. Mr Krit reportedly promised to help write off the debt after asking the officer to help him clear a case in which he was involved.
The reports said the victim also worked as a broker who hired lawyers to fight various cases, including fraud cases.