The recent arrest of the three female suspects in the murder and dismembering case of a 22- year-old karaoke bar girl Warisara Klinjui in Khon Kaen's Khao Suan Kwang district has unveiled a dark reality in Thai society, and at the same time it has taught members of the public many life lessons.
Myanmar authorities working in cooperation with Thai counterparts finally arrested the three female suspects last Saturday evening after they were seen on CCTV footage casually browsing dresses at a fashion store near the border town of Tachileik in Myanmar.
Thai authorities, both police and officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), over the past few weeks had made efforts to force the trio to stand trial in Thailand in connection with the murder and dismembering of Warisara, or "Am".
Anucha Charoenpo is news editor, Bangkok Post.
They contacted Myanmar authorities in the Safe Mekong Joint Operation Centre to help locate them after learning they had crossed the northern Thai-Myanmar border from Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district to Myanmar's Tachilek Township to work in a local pub there and evade arrest.
In Thailand, after the victim's body parts were recovered from a shallow grave in Ban Non Sa-nga of tambon Khammuang, in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen's Khao Suan Kwang district on May 25, the story has made headlines for almost two weeks as one of the most gruesome murders that has ever taken place in the country.
Police investigators questioned dozens of witnesses including relatives, close friends and the 35-year-old husband of Warisara. They found out that Warisara had been missing since the night of May 23 following accounts obtained from some of her friends.
And that's largely thanks to a CCTV camera near Warisara's dormitory in Khon Kaen, which captured an image of a group of people in the act of forcing Warisara into a car on the night of May 23 -- the last time she was seen. Police later sought court approval to issue warrants to arrest Wasin Namprom,25; Jidarat "Benz" Promkhun, 21; Preeyanuch "Preaw" Nonwangchai, 24, Kawita " Earn" Ratchada, 25, and Apiwan" Jae" Sattayabundit, 28.
Mr Wasin was later caught in Vientiane in Laos as Ms Jidarat fled to her home in Ubon Ratchathani and was arrested there. During tense questioning, Mr Wasin, the first suspect arrested, admitted to driving the car for Ms Preeyanuch but insisted he did not kill Warisara.
He told investigators that Ms Preeyanuch throttled Ms Warisara, covered her head with a plastic bag and beat her to death after the victim was abducted in a rented Honda CRV car.
After Warisara was killed they disposed of the body in a plot of land owned by Ms Preeyanuch in Khao Suan Kwang district. Mr Wasin said they stopped to buy a saw at a hardware shop on the way to cut the body up.
After murdering and cutting the body of Warisara into two pieces, the rest of the trio, Ms Preeyanuch, Ms Kawita and Ms Apiwan, fled to Tachilek and were last Saturday evening arrested before being taken to Thailand to face criminal charges.
Initially, police believed personal conflict and a love affair were likely motives for the murder until in-depth investigation found these were not the motives. In fact, the motive was linked to an illegal drugs case, according to Ms Preeyanuch's accounts after her arrest.
She allegedly confessed to strangling her friend Warisara or " Am" and dismembering her body because she had held a grudge against her for divulging information to police which led to the arrest of her husband in a drug case. And she was allegedly owed 40,000 baht.
She told investigators that she just held onto a burning grudge, attacked her to "teach her a lesson", but then when Warisara fought back, she strangled her before cutting her body into two pieces.
And further investigation by local police and authorities found Ms Preeyanuch and her friends had criminal records of drug involvement, while ONCB secretary-general Sirinya Sidthichai came out to insist that the ONCB had irrefutable evidence linking Ms Preeyanuch with an international drugs gang in Myanmar.
Mr Sirinya said the ONCB has shared with Myanmar authorities information of an arrest warrant for a man believed to have helped the trio flee over the Thai-Myanmar border. He was identified as Thawatchai " Kao" Om-chompu.
It is indisputable that from now on it is the duty of police officers and ONCB staff to seek more concrete evidence to substantiate the drug dealing charge against Ms Preeyanuch and her assistants to determine whether they had links to drug dealers outside the country.
According to police, all the suspects would initially be charged with premeditated murder, hiding a body and receiving stolen items.
However, the investigation has not yet been completed. It is possible that more drug charges would be pressed against them if ONCB and police have evidence to link them to an international drug gang as claimed.
For Ms Preeyanuch and her friends, all have been denied bail and being held in custody at Khon Kaen prison. They have lost their freedom and been separated from their loved ones until they have duly paid their dues for the crime they have allegedly committed to Warisara and her family members.
I do not know yet what decision the judges will come to on the case. It will depend on the offences they committed and the charges filed against them. It is possible they may face the death penalty sentence or prison sentence. But for sure I know one thing is that jail is not a place where they will be able to live normally.
When I was a field journalist, I visited many prisons across the country on several occasions with past justice ministers and past directors-general of the Corrections Department to inspect prison administrations and the quality of life of inmates.
Inmates have to get up early in the morning, around 5 am. During the day, they have their duties to carry out. Some are assigned to work at a medical unit, kitchen, and agricultural plantations while others help clean the prison compound and sleeping quarters as well as other buildings inside the prison.
Warders call them to go up to their rooms around 4 pm. Each room, with one toilet, is crammed with around 20- 30 inmates staying together every night. Privacy and personal space inside the prison is limited.
Members of the public, particularly parents of small kids, should learn a lesson from this murder case. If they do not want their kids to end up like Ms Preeyanuch and her friends, they should spend time with their kids, guide them by showing them the right way in life and give them a chance to have proper education so they keep themselves away from all kinds of drugs and bad people.