He couldn't let her go
Seri 'Ai Kai' Boonprab
A man in Nakhon Si Thammarat who admitted killing a married woman he had been seeing and supporting financially on the sly claims he was annoyed when she tried to break it off.
Police in Muang district last week nabbed Seri "Ai Kai" Boonprab, 57, for strangling to death his lover of three to four years, Kesorn "Toi" Srichan, 45, at a bungalow on July 27.
After killing her with a nylon cord he kept with his motorcycle, Mr Seri abandoned the body and fled the scene about midnight. Cleaning staff found her the next day.
The pair met for sex after he returned earlier the same day from Malaysia, where he raises fighting cocks. Mr Seri said he was staying at his mother's place in Chawang district when Kesorn called him and asked to meet.
He travelled to Muang district and opened a room at the bungalow about 5pm. When she turned up three hours later they had sex before Kesorn, he said, suddenly declared she wanted to end the relationship, as she had found someone else.
"I asked when she had met him, and she told me it was when I was in Malaysia. I was angry as I had been supporting her with my earnings from there, sending her 10,000 baht a month. I also mortgaged land to help her pay off debts," he told police after his arrest.
Mr Seri said he looked around for a piece of wood he could hit her with, but found none, so he headed out to his motorcycle where he knew he kept a nylon cord. He took it into the room and strangled her with it.
Police say they found no evidence of a struggle in the room, except on the bed itself. Her belongings, including a carry bag, wallet, cash and phone, were intact.
Mr Seri said he spent an hour holding the body before fleeing, as he loved Kesorn and regretted his actions as soon as she was dead.
After fleeing the bungalow, he tossed the clothes he was wearing and his SIM card.
Called to the scene the next day, police were told the CCTV cameras at the bungalow were out of order, so they sought security footage from cameras elsewhere and examined her phone.
On Aug 31, police finally caught up with Mr Seri, hiding at his mother's place.
Reporters spoke to his elder sister, Pornchanan, who works in Bangkok and says she seldom speaks to her brother. She was shocked to hear of his arrest and travelled to visit the suspect in his holding cell.
Mr Seri, she said, was well-known in the cock-fighting trade in Malaysia, and angry to be rejected, especially after supporting her for so long.
Apart from the monthly payments, she said he also mortgaged land which his mother had transferred him for 45,000 baht to give to the woman. A receipt obtained by reporters showed he had repaid 18,385 of the principal with the rest still outstanding.
Kesorn 'Toi' Srichan
Reporters also spoke to Pong, her third partner and the man she was living with at the time she died. While relieved to hear police had found the killer, he cast doubts over the credibility of Mr Seri's claims that he had supported her financially for years, even after their relationship ended.
Mr Pong said he had been living with the victim for seven months. "She told me she had two previous husbands: one by whom she had two kids, a man known as Wirat from Phra Phrom district; and Seri.
"However, it is unlikely she was seeing us at the same time, as she always slept in the same place with me and did not talk to other men," he said.
"I also think it's unlikely he was giving her that much money, as I paid Kesorn 5,000 baht a month and it was enough for her needs. I never saw her with 10,000 baht; she never had much money," he added.
Police charged the suspect with murder.
The neighbour from hell
A Bangkok man stabbed a neighbour in the neck and calmly went back to drinking with a mate, after the pair argued earlier over a Wi-Fi connection.
Police arrest Thawat, or O
Sala Daeng police nabbed rubbish collector Thawat, or O, 34, in Thawi Watthana district after attacking his neighbour, Phana, 44, with a knife.
Mr Phana, who was sent to hospital but is now out of danger, said Mr Thawat liked a drink and would often cause trouble in the area.
On the day he was stabbed, he had earlier broken up a fight between Mr Thawat and another local.
They went their separate ways, but Mr Thawat, who was evidently unhappy about the way it ended, burst into his place shortly after and stabbed him in the neck.
Mr Phana said he knew the attacker well, and had previously had a problem with him over unpaid debt.
However, he had also helped him out when he had no money, with his son even lending Mr Thawat his phone, which was linked to the Wi-Fi box in Mr Phana's home.
"Two days before the stabbing Thawat abused me after he was unable to get onto the internet. He demanded to know why I had switched off my Wi-Fi," Mr Phana said.
"He threw a booze bottle at me, which smashed inside my home. Shards of the glass injured my daughter so I complained to Sala Daeng police," he said.
Thai media zeroed in on the Wi-Fi dispute as the cause of the stabbing, though it was probably the later fight with his neighbour in which Mr Phana intervened that triggered the attack.
"Why'd you switch off the Wi-Fi?" one headline put it entertainingly, as the attacker might have roared at him that day. For the victim, however, it was no laughing matter.
"Doctors told me I was lucky to escape with my life, as the knife wound just missed a major artery," Mr Phana said.
Mr Thawat didn't flee the scene but carried on drinking with an elderly mate in a hut about 50m away as if nothing had happened.
When police showed up, he raised a hue and cry and abused them, so officers cuffed him and sent him to the station. He claimed to know nothing about the stabbing.
Saijai, 44, the victim's girlfriend, said she turned up to help Mr Phana. "Thawat, who I saw drinking down the way, threatened me, saying if he ever gets out he will come after me," she told reporters.
Bua Noixia, 78, the old man with whom he was drinking, said O collects rubbish for a living. They drank four bottles of alcohol together, and when they ran out O went off to get more.
However, when he returned he noticed that his phone, which he placed on the table, had gone. He was unhappy so charged to the victim's place.
O admitted knowing the victim and his girlfriend, and said he went through a phase when he had no food to eat and the victim lent him money. However, he denied stabbing him. Unimpressed, police charged him with attempting to kill, assault, and trespass.
He never made it in the door
A local troublemaker in Surin came under-prepared when he attempted to burst into a rival's place and stab him with a knife.
The scene of the shooting, as police mill about.
Muang Bua police last week recovered the body of Wuttipong, or Ta, 26, in front of his rival's house in Chumphon Buri district.
Wuttipong, known for causing trouble with local teens in the area, was found with 20 bullet holes in his chest.
He was still clutching a knife in one hand, and its sheath in the other. The shooter, thought to be the house owner, fled along with two other suspects.
Police said they suspect Wuttipong was intending to burst in and stab the owner, but his rival saw him first and shot him.
A neighbour of Wuttipong's said the victim lived alone with a younger sister. Their parents work in Bangkok.
"The victim loved picking fights with youngsters in the area and had many rivals and enemies," he said. Police say they had tracked down two suspects, and were looking for one more.
