Mystery as Khon Kaen police officer found dead in car

Mystery as Khon Kaen police officer found dead in car

Police cordoned off the area where a police caption was found dead in his car parked near an irrigation canal in Muang district in Khon Kaen on Sunday. (Photo by Chakkrapan Natanri)
Police cordoned off the area where a police caption was found dead in his car parked near an irrigation canal in Muang district in Khon Kaen on Sunday. (Photo by Chakkrapan Natanri)

KHON KAEN: A police captain was found dead in his car parked near an irrigation canal in Muang district of this northeastern province, police said.

Pol Capt Thongchai Kaewchampa, Muang Mai police deputy chief investigator, said the Khon Kaen-registered Ford sedan was found parked on a road along the irrigation canal near Ban Khok Pae by a villager who reported it to the police on Sunday morning.

A police team found the car was locked and the engine not running. A stench was leaking out of the car, and the swollen body of a dead man was seated behind the wheel.

A car licence number check revealed the car belonged to Pol Capt Worawut Patarawichitpakdi, 31, a deputy traffic inspector from Muang police station in Khon Ken.

With a car key obtained from his father, the police opened the car and removed the body for examination. He had been shot in the head through the right temple with a 9mm Baretta pistol, which was found laying on the right side of the driver's seat. A 9mm bullet shell was also found in the car.

A traffic police uniform, three mobile phones, a communication radio and a wallet with some money and his citizen and police identification cards were found on the back seat.

Ngao Nikhom, a villager from Ban Khon Pae, said he first saw the car parked by the irrigation canal on May 8. On the following day, the car was still there. He went to take a closer look and noticed a strong bad smell, leading him to suspect that there might be a body inside. It was unclear why he seemingly did not report his observation to the police until Sunday morning.

Mr Ngao said he also saw four or five teenagers arrive in a pick-up truck that day. They stopped near the car twice, but nobody got out to take a look. They just drove away, he said.

Pol Col Pankrit Wichayacheewin, the Muang Mai police chief, said police would investigate to determine whether Pol Capt Worawut's death was a case of murder or a suicide. The body would be sent to the forensic institute of Srinakarin Hospital in Khon Kaen for examination.

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