A man on the run for 13 years from a murder charge was caught on Friday in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district after selfies he posted on his Facebook page led police to him.
Thana Kanchanasak, 37, a fishing trawler crewman, was wanted on court warrant in a murder case. He was apprehended on Mittraparp Road in tambon Klang Dong of Pak Chong district, police said.
The suspect fled arrest after knifing a rival, Nopparit Maneechot, 35, to death during an argument at a fresh market on Thoed Thai Road in Talat Phlu area of Bangkok’s Thon Buri district on Aug 24, 2002, said Pol Lt Col Wichai Sonsakul, investigation chief at the metropolitan police division 8, who led the arrest.
After the murder Thana fled the scene, but left behind a bag containing his personal documents. Talat Phlu police used the documents to obtain a court warrant for his arrest.
Police launched an unsuccessful 13-year manhunt for the suspect. Only recently they did find selfie pictures he posted on his Facebook page. They closely monitored Thana’s Facebook and learned the wanted man had gone to visit his mother in Chaiyaphum.
He was caught in Nakhon Ratchasima province travelling on an interprovincial passenger bus, returning from Chaiyaphum to Bangkok.
Pol Lt Col Wichai said Thana confessed to having killed Nopparit on the night of Aug 24, 2002. He had been drinking beer with four friends at a market beneath Talat Phlu bridge when Nopparit walked up and assaulted him over a previous conflict. Thana told police he lost his temper, pulled out a knife and stabbed the man to death.
He had fled and gone to sea on a fishing vessel operating in waters near Malaysia. He had not returned to shore for several years.
Loneliness drove him to buy a smartphone to contact women on Facebook, Thana said. He had posted selfies on this Facebook page, which led to his eventual downfall.
The statute of limitations in his case would have expired in seven more years and he would have gone free if not caught by then.