One of five suspects wanted in connection with aiding the escape of a 37-year-old prisoner, incarcerated for multiple serious crimes, from a hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat has been arrested in Songkhla.
Khanet "Boy" Thongprajong, 28, was apprehended inside a shopping mall in Songkhla's Hat Yai district on Thursday evening as he went to watch a movie. He admitted to the charges during police questioning at Muang station in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday.
Khanet was among the five suspects facing arrest warrants for their alleged involvement in the escape of prisoner Chaowalit Thongduang, alias "Sia Paeng Nanod", from Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.
Chaowalit managed to escape from the hospital on Sunday morning. He had been taken to the hospital for dental treatment on Friday and was subsequently kept in after collapsing, citing severe leg pain.
During questioning, Khanet initially denied any involvement, but he later confessed when presented with CCTV footage from the hospital. He admitted to providing a mobile phone and tools to aid Chaowalit's escape on Friday night.
Police took him to Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital on Friday for a re-enactment of the crime, and his motorcycle was seized at a rented house in Muang district of this southern province.
According to Khanet's confession, he had known Chaowalit from their time serving sentences on drug charges at Central Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison. Following his release, Chaowalit contacted him.
Khanet now faces charges of colluding in helping the prisoner's escape, carrying a prison term of up to five years.
Police suspected that Chaowalit may be hiding in Khao Banthat Wildlife Sanctuary, a refuge for animals that covers four southern provinces.
Police were tracing the prisoner in the area via mobile phone signals, which marks a U-turn from their previous assumption that Chaowalit had fled the country through the southern border province of Satun.
Chaowalit was sentenced to 20 years and six months in jail last year by Phatthalung Provincial Court for attempted murders in connection with an armed attack on police during an attempted abduction on Sept 2, 2019, in Phatthalung.
Chaowalit began serving his sentence at Phatthalung Prison in January 2022 and was transferred to Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison on Aug 7 this year. He also faces multiple other criminal charges, including murders, most of which are still in the courts.