A former night-entertainment venue operator wanted for the murder of three people turned himself in to police on Wednesday after four years on the run.
Triple murder suspect Yodthongchai Prayoonrat, alias ‘’Tik Ratchada’’, wearing a black shirt, surrenders to CSD police on Feb 11 after four years on the run. (Photo by Pornprom Satrabhaya)
Yodthongchai Prayoonrat, alias "Tik Ratchada", 34, the former operator of an entertainment venue in Bangkok’s Meng Chai area, surrendered to Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police on Wednesday morning.
The suspect was named on arrest warrants issued by the Criminal Court, the Suphan Buri Provincial Court and the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for murder and attempted murder in connection with the deaths of three people, CSD acting chief Akkaradech Pimolsri said.
The first murder was in October 2010 when the suspect allegedly shot dead a man identified only as Tor at Micky Mouse snooker club in Bangkok’s Huay Kwang district following a quarrel.
The suspect fled into hiding and allegedly committed another murder two years later.
Mr Yodthongchai and a friend had a quarrel with Nopparat Saritawut at a restaurant in Meng Chai, before allegedly killing him in April 2012. Nopparat's body was found dumped on the roadside on route No.304 between Bangkok and Suphan Buri in Bang Pla Ma district of Suphan Buri. The victim had been shot three times with an 11mm calibre pistol, the acting CSD chief said.
In the third case, the suspect had allegedly strangled his then girlfriend Ploylapas Chaengcharoen in a fit of jealousy in Chiang Mai in December last year.
The victim, the daughter of a retired police lieutenant colonel, was found dead in her apartment room in Muang district. She and the suspect had lived together and the couple had a two-year-old child.
After the murder, the suspect fled and found work at a shop near a university in the province. As CSD police intensified the hunt for him, the suspect decided to surrender.
According to Pol Col Akkaradech, Mr Yodthongchai confessed to murder in all three cases.
After interrogation, Mr Yodthongchai pleaded guilty to the three murders and apologised to their families.
The suspect was handed over to Sutthisarn police station for legal action. The CSD will inform police in Suphan Buri and Chiang Mai about his arrest, he said.