Murder on Samui

Two Israelis held for 'mob hit'

A photo taken from surveillance camera footage of the murder of Israeli Maor Mallil after a Honda CRV crashed into his motorcycle at Chaweng beach on Koh Samui on Sunday afternoon.
A photo taken from surveillance camera footage of the murder of Israeli Maor Mallil after a Honda CRV crashed into his motorcycle at Chaweng beach on Koh Samui on Sunday afternoon.

Two Israeli nationals were detained at Don Mueang airport on Sunday night and held for questioning over the murder of a compatriot on Koh Samui - an attack local media described as a "mob hit."

Maor Mallil, 34, was killed on Sunday afternoon on a street outside Samui International Hospital, parallel to Chaweng beach.

Police suspect the attack was a mob hit, according to Thai media reports.

The suspects were detained at about 9.30pm by immigration authorities upon their arrival at Don Mueang airport, reports said. The men had travelled from Surat Thani with Lion Air.

Dolev Zuarez, 24, and Eyal Bokal, 26, were held for questioning on suspicion of being involved in the murder. They were expected to be handed over to police in Surat Thani on Monday.

The killers' Honda CRV slammed into the motorcycle Mallil and his girlfriend were riding, knocking them to the ground. It then reversed back into the motorcycle, hitting it again, and a man got out and stabbed Mallil several times.

He was later pronounced dead at Bangkok-Samui Hospital. His girlfriend was also admitted to hospital for treatment for her injuries.

Two motorcyclists, believed to be friends of the victims, tried to help, but were also hit by the car.

The attack was captured by security cameras and triggered a massive manhunt.

The assailants reportedly fled into nearby woods. Sketches of the attackers were released and a search was ordered at every pier.

Police found the car abandoned about 3km away from the scene. Blood stains and crash scratches were found on the front and the rear of the vehicle.

A source close to the investigation said the suspects left Koh Samui on a speedboat to Surat Thani where they boarded a flight to Don Mueang airport.

Pol Maj Gen Apichart Boonsriroj, commander of Surat Thani police, said an initial investigation suggested the victim and his killers had a conflict back in Israel.

He said police had yet to determine if the attackers were linked to any criminal organisation.

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Vocabulary

  • assailant: someone who violently attacks another person - ผู้ทำร้าย
  • detain: to keep someone in a police station or prison and not allow them to leave - กักตัว ควบคุมตัวหรือฝากขัง
  • manhunt: an organised search for a person, especially a criminal - การล่าหัว  การตามล่าจับกุม
  • parallel: when the distance between two lines, etc. is the same all along their length - ขนาน
  • pier: a platform sticking out into water which people walk along or use when getting onto or off boats - ท่าเรือชนิดยื่นออกไปในน้ำ, สะพานที่ยื่นออกไปในน้ำ
  • pronounced dead: officially confirmed to have died -
  • reverse (verb): to move backwards - ถอยหลัง
  • sketch: a simple picture that is drawn quickly and does not have many details - ภาพร่าง
  • slammed into: hit with great force - ชนเข้าอย่างแรง
  • stabbed: when someone is killed or hurt by a knife or other sharp object being pushed into their body - แทงด้วยอาวุธ
  • trigger: to cause - ก่อให้เกิด กระตุ้น
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