Up in arms
A Chon Buri man, upset at being told not to smoke in front of a shop, returned to the spot with a bunch of teens and chopped off the owner's arm.
Wihan
Si Racha police nabbed Wihan (no surname given), 41, for the brutal attack on liquor store owner Panithan Buaklee, 39, as he sat with his wife outside his shop on April 2.
CCTV vision shows Wihan, holding a metre-long sword behind his back, approaching the shop, and without provocation slashing wildly at Mr Panithan, who raised his left arm to defend himself. The next swing of the sword cut his arm clean off.
Wihan hit the victim three times, forcing Mr Panithan to retreat briefly inside the shop.
As Mr Panithan's wife, Daraporn Kulyathep, 39, called out for help, the offender handed the sword to one of the youngsters who accompanied him and ran away.
The attack stemmed from a traffic accident near the shop on March 31. Wihan, who was smoking, was among spectators who gathered at the scene to watch. Mr Panithan, annoyed by the fumes, asked him to put it out. Wihan claimed the shop-owner spoke rudely and flashed a gun on his waist, as if to threaten him. Angered by the episode, he decided to seek revenge.
On April 2 he persuaded his teen son and a group of seven of his friends to accompany him back to the shop. They lay in wait until a sedan pulled up, providing the cover Wihan needed to approach the shopwner with the sword behind his back.
After the attack, Wihan tried to flee on his motorbike but found it would not start. He was forced to run into a nearby forest.
Ms Daraporn, meanwhile, picked up her husband's severed arm from outside the shop and followed him on foot to a nearby hospital. A good samaritan helped get him there, and surgeons, operating overnight, were able to reattach his arm. He is now out of ICU and recovering.
Following their escape, Wihan, his son and his friends reunited at a rented place nearby, before deciding to split up. Police found them next morning and took them in for questioning.
One youngster whom the offender brought with him, a boy aged just 13, fled on foot in horror at what he saw, according to his elder sister, Siriyaporn (no surname given), 16.
Siriyaporn, who was not involved in the attack, said Wihan had dared her brother and the other teens to accompany him. However, her brother was so scared by the bloody scene he witnessed that he ran away.
Police called in the parents for a talk but the teens are likely to escape charges. They charged Wihan with attempting to kill.
Cutting the knot
An Udon Thani woman seems in no hurry to claim her husband back after he declared a dramatic end to their marriage on social media.
A tearful Supachai has his wrists tied by his father-in-law.
Supachai, or Non (no surname given), 35, from Muang district, posted a clip on TikTok of a northeastern-style ceremony in which he "gave" his wife back to her father, without her actually being present.
During the clip, his father-in-law and other relatives of his wife's tied white string around Non's wrist to wish him the best after his decision to leave his wife.
She was not present at the ceremony, which took place at her father's place a day after he discovered her there with what news reports said was another admirer.
News reports said he asked his father-in-law if he could give his daughter back, now they could no longer be husband and wife.
After the string-tying ceremony, which Non struggled through in tears, he prostrated himself at the old man's feet.
"Seeing her with another man was hard to accept, but she probably wants a better future than I can offer, so it is better if I clear a path," he told reporters after his video drew messages of support.
He said he found his wife at her father's house with a newcomer, though was too heartbroken to say anything.
He seems not to have asked his wife about the mystery visitor, but after a great deal of thought, and checking with her father, decided to call off their (unregistered) marriage.
Contacted by reporters a day later, Non's wife said Non was jumping to conclusions that she was seeing another man. However, she did not disclose the other person's status in her life.
"He no doubt feels put out, but we can talk it through. As for whether we get back together, that's a matter for the future, like he said," she told reporters briefly, before ending the call.
Non said he went back to her father's place after seeing his wife with her new admirer, to make sure he had not misunderstood. Her father confirmed she had been living there quietly with the newcomer but offered few further details.
During the ceremony, Non sought the old man's forgiveness for his wife's transgressions. Her father, unnamed in news reports, wished Non a happy life ahead.
Non, a construction worker, said the pair had been together for six years. He worked with his uncle while his wife, until recently, stayed at home to care for their four year-old son. However, late last year she asked if she could go home to her parents' place, in the same village, to look after her ailing mother.
When she died in January, his wife asked if she could stay on to look after her father, and finally, last month, asked if she sell goods in Muang district to help make ends meet. She would stay with her younger sister in town.
Non said he had no problem with his wife's plans. However, on March 29, his younger brother asked why her motorbike was still parked at her Dad's place.
"I took my son with me and we paid a visit. I saw her there and asked why she was not selling goods as she claimed. I also saw someone else there.
"I felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest. I didn't know what to do, so I took my son back home with me," he told reporters.
Later he sent his wife a Line message declaring an end to the relationship. After his message went unread, he blocked her.
Non said he would carry on looking after the child and his wife could see him whenever she chose. "If my wife asks to start again I will have to think about it; but for now we should go our separate ways," he said.
His uncle Buarian (no surname given), 60, said he had told Non he was just passing through a phase. "As long as the female species hasn't died out, he can always find a new one," he said.
Reporters also spoke to the wife's elder sister, Ying, 40, who said the "man" Non saw at the house that day was actually a tomboy friend of his wife's.
"I don't talk to my sister much as we are both busy. However, I think they should stay together, as Non is a good guy who works hard," she said.
The saga continues.
Unheeded warnings
A Surat Thani man paid with his life after his family asked him repeatedly to quit taking illegal drugs and stop beating them up, but he refused.
The scene at the house where the shooting occurred.
Bang Sawan police last week nabbed Chalermsak "Nueng" Chunak 37, for shooting to death his brother-in-law, Kittikorn "Boy" Thongchart 31, at the victim's Phrasaeng district home.
Mr Chalermsak, an assistant village head, shot Kittikorn in the nape of the neck with a 9mm calibre handgun.
He told police later that he had asked the victim to stop taking drugs, but he refused. Whenever he took drugs, he would beat up his wife and their three children, he said.
Earlier, the victim's wife, Thippawan Chunak, 30, called police to their home after noticing her husband had bought a large supply of speed pills.
She had alerted them previously whenever he bought drugs, but he kept going back to his bad habits.
The village head, Withoon Promchaem, turned up with two police. They say Kittikorn cooperated well as they asked to search the place.
While they were looking for the drugs, they say a shot rang out. They found Kittikorn dead on the floor. Mr Chalermsak, who was also in the house, admitted attacking him.
Ms Thippawan told police: "He warned my husband not to mess with drugs, as he couldn't stand to see me hurt, but he would not listen."
She had been with her husband for 13 years and they have three children, aged 11, five and three. "But for the last four years he has been messing with drugs and when under the influence, he would lose control," she said.
Last month he assaulted her, breaking her arm. She alerted police, but did not visit the station to answer police questions.
Their 11 year-old son, unnamed in news reports, said the victim was a good dad except when taking drugs.
Mr Chalermsak said he pleaded with the victim to no avail, so decided to act.
"Thippawan is my only younger sister and I didn't want to see her hurt, but he went and bought more drugs," he said.
No word was to hand on the charges he will face.
