Spiderman he isn't
A man who fell from the third storey of a Chon Buri apartment after the husband of the woman he had been seeing walked in can thank a safety helmet for cushioning his fall.
Netizens are praising the foresight of "Jiab", 32, who handed her lover, Thewin Lim, 28, the helmet and a pair of trousers after Jiab's husband shoved him out onto the balcony. Moments earlier, he walked in and discovered them naked.
Chaweng Lapromma, 32, who works at an industrial estate, surprised the pair after getting off work early for the day on Oct 28. Staff had been given their second Covid jab and told they could take the rest of the day off.
He ushered Mr Thewin onto the condo balcony and locked the door as he cleared the air with his wife. However, Jiab was able to slip her lover the helmet and trousers, should he be game to scale down the three storeys to freedom rather than have to face her angry husband.
Mr Thewin, who hails from Chiang Mai, is thought to have tried climbing down, but slipped and fell. Neighbours heard a crashing sound and found Mr Thewin writhing in agony on the ground below, his left leg broken after the fall but the helmet having spared him any head injuries.
Police who attended the scene in Nong Mai Daeng, Muang district, found Jiab shielding her lover's face with an umbrella to help protect his identity from prying news crews, who also turned out. "She did not seem remotely interested in her husband," news reports said.
Mr Chaweng accompanied her down after Mr Thewin fell to the ground. Speaking to reporters, he said he had no idea his legally married wife of seven years had been seeing anyone. He had left work at 8am and returned three hours later to find them together. "However, I didn't do anything to him," he told reporters.
Shortly after locking the door to the balcony, he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground outside. "I will lay a police complaint for trespass against the guy by way of evidence for the divorce action which follows. I cannot accept what happened," he said.
After Mr Thewin initially resisted attempts to move him, rescue workers were able to get him onto a stretcher and sent him to Vibharam Amata Nakorn Hospital.
Chanapol (assumed name), a neighbour, said he was resting when he heard a loud bang so went for a look. "I saw a guy wearing a helmet and his body twisted out of shape, crying out in pain. I thought he was a burglar but later saw a husband and wife come down, and found out later the guy in the helmet was close to the wife."
Mr Chanapol said he had never seen Mr Thewin before, and later saw a friend of Jiab's move her belongings out, she and her husband evidently having decided to break up. He didn't see Mr Chaweng again.
On the internet, netizens say the saga should serve as a lesson to illicit lovers, especially those who do their business high up: Always wear a helmet!
That old gun threat!
A Krabi man who shot himself in the head after an argument with his girlfriend had been implicated two months before in the murder of an ex-drug inmate.
Theerasak 'Bank' Chienchom
Theerasak "Bank" Chienchom, 27, a wood deliverer, shot himself with a .38 revolver at an apartment in soi 5, Hemthanon Road, Muang district on Nov 1.
His girlfriend, Nannaphat Suwannapong, 22, said Bank was the jealous type. They argued after Bank complained about her seeing friends. Claiming "no one understood" him, he grabbed the gun and shot himself in the head, she said. Rescue workers took him to Krabi hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
"He had pointed the gun to his head many times before when he was unhappy, but never went ahead with his threat. I thought this time would be the same, but he pulled the trigger," she told police.
Krabi police looked into his history and found that two months ago he was arrested along with one other local for the Jan 24 killing of metal welder Suksan Kaewjua, 24, in a suspected row over drugs. The case was still before the courts, with Bank's father having come up with 2 million baht in security to obtain his bail release.
His father, Noi Chienchom, 60, of Din Udom, Lam Thap, said he doesn't know where his son found the gun. His family was shocked to hear Bank had taken his own life and regretted he would not get the chance to prove his innocence of the murder charge. "Bank said he was shooting birds in the village at the time of the drug slaying," he told reporters.
While he did not say if his son had been tied up in drugs, Ms Nannaphat, the girlfriend, said Bank had many personal problems.
Amarin TV also visited the home of Suksan Kaewjua, the slain ex-drug inmate. His mother, Alai Kaewjua, 60, said she was sick at home with relatives on the day her son was shot outside. "Suksan was sitting behind the house drinking kratom and listening to music when I heard two bangs. I walked out for a look and found him in a pool of blood," she said. Lam Thap police, who handled the case, had offered no updates.
"I didn't know they had nabbed Bank as the police told us nothing. If he did it, today's shooting was a case of karma coming to get him," she said.
Suksan Kaewjua
Citing Lam Thap police, news reports said Suksan, who served time for drugs and was released in 2016, was shot with a long barrelled rifle from about 15m away. Police say they found seven ya ba pills in a belt bag by his body. The killers were hiding in a bush behind the house, and shot him twice. They are thought to have fled through a rubber plantation at the back of the house, travelling a distance of about 2km before a vehicle picked them up.
Looking into Bank's death, Muang police said they had questioned the girlfriend and believe it was a case of suicide.
Lucky amulet fails test
A young man wanted for theft who believed a lucky amulet would protect him from being found by police has a ready explanation for his capture.
Bang Khen police caught Yutthapong Yingdee, 30, next to a housing village in Tha Raeng where he fled after spotting a patrol car on Oct 27.
Police see through Yutthapong Yingdee's leafy disguise.
Moments earlier, he came across the owner of a motorcycle he had "borrowed" without returning, and took flight. When he spotted a passing patrol car, Mr Yutthapong panicked, abandoned his pickup and fled across Thep Rak-Watcharapol Road. Police gave chase.
Mr Yutthapong, wanted on a Sept 29 warrant for the motorcycle theft in Sai Mai, threw himself to the ground by a fish pond and covered himself with leaves. He told police later he believed the charm which he carried with him would ensure police would not see through the leafy camouflage.
Instead, a clip taken at the scene shows one officer clasping Mr Yutthapong's hand in handcuffs even as he lies quietly under his leaves, his body obvious to passersby despite the disguise. "I must have lost the amulet as I was running from the police," he said later by way of explanation for his easy capture. With no amulet on his body, its protective charm failed to work.
Bang Khen police said they called out to Mr Yutthapong as he fled. "The suspect ignored us as he headed into a nearby forest. Police had the area surrounded in five minutes and arrested him shortly after," they said.
Mr Yutthapong had set out to meet a woman friend, "Nong A", in soi Phahol Yothin Rd 52. When he turned up he saw Phatthanasak Sunan, the man whose motorcycle he had borrowed but failed to return, lying in wait.
Mr Phatthanasak, a contract worker, had asked Nong A to lure Mr Yutthapong to the spot. He and his minions wanted to grab him for the theft of his Honda Wave 125i.
He said Mr Yutthapong, a welder who works with him occasionally, on Aug 25 asked to borrow the bike to get a Covid jab. He failed to return, and a week later Mr Phatthanasak complained to Sai Mai police. Nong A tried to lure him into the open. At first he wouldn't come, claiming he was in the provinces, but on Oct 26 got in touch. Police were passing when they noticed his odd behaviour. They charged him with theft.
