A nasty piece of work
Buri Ram parents are appealing for help after they had to beg their jailbird son from attacking his own niece in a drug-fueled bender.
Earn recovers from internal injuries.
Non Suwan police nabbed Manatchai, or Teh, (no surname given), 28, last week after he attacked his niece, Earn, 16, at the family home, leaving her with internal injuries.
They say Manatchai has been jailed repeatedly for drug offences but when he gets out reverts back to drinking and abusing speed with friends. He takes out his frustrations on family and neighbours when they refuse to pander to his demands for money to feed his addiction.
His father, Chalom, 66, said the latest incident occurred on July 18 when Manatchai, released from prison only days before, turned up drunk and high on drugs. He kicked in the door of the house and the door of his niece's bedroom, and started kicking and stomping on her.
His parents intervened, with his mother dragging the teenager out of the room and his father tackling him. However, Manatchai fought back and threatened to kill them both. He resumed attacking his niece, leaving her with a swollen spleen and bruised kidney, and only stopped when his parents begged him with a wai to stop hitting her.
Earn's mother, Thidarat, 35, who works in the provinces but rushed back to be with her daughter when she heard the news, said the attacks are unprovoked and usually stem from her younger brother's habit of using his niece as a bargaining chip for drugs money.
"He asks our parents to borrow anything from 200 baht to 1,200 baht at a time. They are mere farmers; where are they going to find money like that? However, if he doesn't get his way, he threatens to attack my daughter, who is held hostage to his demands.
"Our parents have to resort to borrowing from wherever they can find money just to keep her safe," she said.
Manatchai also causes problems for locals in the area, she said.
"After attacking family members, he will often hide in the forest or take shelter with friends. No one does anything because they are scared. But we would rather face up to him here than have him bother the neighbours, so we let him back," she added.
His family say it is only a matter of time before someone is killed, as jail alone does not appear to deter him. He has also been to drugs rehab, but keeps lapsing back into his old habit. Manatchai, they say, also makes his own firearms at home, which they say puts them in added danger.
After Mr Chalom complained to police about the latest attack, officers turned up the next day to arrest him.
Manatchai posted a clip of the encounter live to social media. In the clip, he complains loudly about their presence, and seems particularly upset when the arresting officer grabs him. "Hey, can't you just talk about it?" he yells.
Manatchai, or Teh
While the family are breathing a sigh of relief that police once again have him in custody, they are worried the respite will be short-lived. "He gets out of jail and we have to go back to living in fear. We would like authorities to step in and do more to help," Mr Chalom said.
"At the very least we want them to prosecute to the full extent of the law," he added.
Police say a urine test showed Manatchai tested positive for methamphetamines. They charged him with drug offences initially. His niece Earn is recovering in hospital.
Village head Amnuay Anuun said he felt sorry for the suspect's family, as Manatchai has gone to rehab and been jailed many times but it makes no difference to his conduct.
Police say that independent of the attack on his niece, a warrant was issued for Manatchai's arrest on July 21 in another case, on charges of attempting to kill. No further details were given. If convicted, he could be put away for years.
Fatal confession
A debt collector in Saraburi who beat his girlfriend with a piece of wood says he meant to take her to see a doctor for her injuries, but she died first.
Alongkorn Roopdee
Phetchabun highway police caught Alongkorn Roopdee, or Best, 34, as he fled the scene the day after the July 24 attack in Ban Mo, Saraburi.
Alongkorn, who had known the victim Thongsuk Wathuad, 24, a restaurant worker, for just two months, said he was drunk when he beat her out of jealousy.
A waitress at a restaurant in Sao Hai district, she was popular with men and when questioned had confirmed his suspicions that she was seeing someone on the side, he said.
He struck her in the head in the evening and meant to take her to see a doctor the next morning to get her injuries treated. However, she died overnight.
"I didn't mean to kill her," he told police.
However, rather than alert the authorities, Alongkorn draped a blanket over her body, which was naked from the waist up, and fled on his motorcycle for his home province of Phetchabun.
Local police sounded the alert and highway officers from Phetchabun caught up with him on the Saraburi-Lom Sak Road at 4pm.
A neighbour, Natthapol Pongpakdee, 38, said the couple rented the room on July 5. They had argued the night of the attack, and he saw Alongkorn kick the victim in the face several times. He intervened to make him stop.
Thongsuk Wathuad
At 11am the next day, Alongkorn left on his motorbike alone, along with a bag of clothes, which aroused his suspicions.
When the neighbour opened the door of their place, he found the victim's body inside and called police.
Officers say they saw evidence of a struggle, with the couple's belongings scattered about.
They also found the remains of a broken guitar and bottle of alcohol in a fertiliser bag.
The victim's mother, Lookpla Saekho, said her daughter had complained to her once before that Alongkorn had beaten her up. However, she went back to him after he appeased her.
Police charged him initially with assault causing death.
He didn't see that coming
A bar patron in Sukhothai who stabbed a rival in the neck with a pair of ice tongs was shot in the belly for his troubles.
Jetsarit was attacked with a pair of ice tongs by Apiwat.
Muang police nabbed Jetsarit (no surname given), 34, who admits shooting a man in the stomach after he attacked him outside the bar in Muang district where they had earlier fallen out. They confiscated his weapon, a .38 Super.
Jetsarit said he was drinking with friends when they fell out with a group at the next table. Media reports say they argued but without further incident inside the bar.
After the place closed, Jetsarit said he was heading to his vehicle outside when Apiwat, 30, whom he recognised as one of the drinkers from the other table, surprised him from behind.
He stabbed him in the nape of the neck with a pair of ice tongs.
"I was in shock and shot him in the stomach in self-defence," Mr Jetsarit said after his arrest. He did not flee the scene but waited for police.
His attacker fell to the ground and was taken by friends to hospital, where he is now out of danger.
Police charged Mr Jetsarit with premeditated murder and firearms offences. Mr Apiwat will be charged with assault causing injury.
