Family wants reinvestigation of death of Pornchanok's ex-husband

Family wants reinvestigation of death of Pornchanok's ex-husband

Alleged Shimato murderers formally charged

The daughter of the late Japanese husband of a Samut Prakan woman charged for killing and dismembering her new Japanese companion has asked Thai police to reopen the investigation into his fatal 2003 “accident.”

Keiko Matta, 31, met with Bang Sao Thong police Thursday and asked them to re-investigate the death of her father, Kasitosi Tanaka, who was found dead at the bottom of the stairs at a home he shared with then-wife Pornchanok Chaiyapa.

Partners in crime in the alleged killing of 79-year-old Japanese teacher Yoshinori Shimato — Pornchanok Chaiyapa, 47, and her taxi driver husband Somchai Kaewbangyang — are taken to a police press conference for the first time after their arrest at the Metropolitan Police Bureau on Thursday afternoon. The tearful Pornchanok denied she and her partner killed Shimoto. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)

Mrs Pornchanok and her taxi driver husband Somchai Kaewbangyang, both 47, were formally charged with killing 79-year-old Yoshinori Shimato and tossing his dismembered remains into a Samut Prakan canal.

Ms Matta said she travelled to Samut Prakan after learning through the media that Mrs Pornchanok had become a suspect in the murder of Shimato, with whom she had been keeping time since April.

According to Ms Matta who was at the Bang Sao Thong police station, her father called her two weeks before his death that Mrs Pornchanok had him to apply for a life-insurance deposit programme, which would pay one million to his children upon his death.

Two weeks later, she received a phone call from Mrs Pornchanok telling her that Tanaka had gotten drunk, suffered a heart attack and fallen down the stairs at home, killing himself. At that time police ruled the death an accident.

Ms Matta said her father had never been diagnosed with a heart disease and never drank to excess. Mrs Pornchanok appeared to quickly organise the funeral and cremation of her husband. She later checked with the insurance company only to find out that Mrs Pornchanok had withdrawn all the money and disappeared.

The daughter said she and her family always felt the death was suspicious. But, at the time, she was only 20 and felt she couldn't dispute the police's accidental-death determination.

"I want the police to reopen my father's case," Ms Matta said.

Keiko Matta at Bang Sao Thong station, Samut Prakan (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

Mrs Pornchanok - who also had a fraud warrant outstanding on her - has been known by two other names. As Pensri Chaiyapa, she married Mr Somchai, with whom she had a child. She then married businessman Tanaka in 2002 and had another child with him. In 2004 the woman changed her name to Pornchanok.

The Criminal Court Thursday approved official warrants for both Mrs Pornchanok and Mr Somchai on charges of premeditated murder, false imprisonment, and concealing a body.

They are accused of killing Shimato, cutting up his body and dumping his remains into Khlong Nang Thim canal in Bang Bo district in Samut Prakan. DNA tests already confirmed the remains were of Shimato.

Mrs Pornchanok also was charged earlier with stealing 700,000 baht from the dead man's bank account using his ATM card.

The suspects were taken to the Metropolitan Police Bureau on Wednesday afternoon for further production of documents related to the case and physical checkups to confirm they had confessed the crime without being tortured by authorities.

Pol Lt Gen Ruangsak Jarit-ek, acting deputy national police chief, said Mrs Pornchanok and Mr Somchai would be detained at Bang Sao Thong police station in Samut Prakan which has jurisdiction over the crime scene pending their trial.

Police led them to a press conference in which Mrs Pornchanok still denied she had a hand in the murder of Shimato, while Mr Somchai admitted that he had cut up the victim's body at their home in the Orchid Villa housing estate in Samut Prakan's Bang Sao Thong district on Sept 21. 

The pair earlier said the Japanese died from shock, according to the police.

The re-enactment of the murder is expected to be held on Friday, Pol Lt Gen Ruangsak said.

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