CHIANG RAI: A 43-year-old man has been arrested in this northern province, 19 years after fleeing arrest for fatally stabbing a fourth-year police cadet in Bangkok in 2006.
Pol Maj Gen Wittaya Sriprasertparp, commander of the Crime Suppression (CSD), said the murder occurred when Thanawat and some friends, who were cadets in the 60th class of the Royal Police Cadet Academy (RPCA), were dining at an eatery in Bangkok’s Prawet district.
Nuttawut, then 24, and three other friends were seated nearby, all drunk. The group threw a glass and a bottle onto the floor, prompting Thanawat to speak up and warn them. A heated argument ensued, during which Nattawut pulled out an eight-inch folding knife and stabbed Thanawat in the right ribcage, fatally wounding him.
The suspect’s friends were arrested shortly after the incident, but Nattawut managed to evade capture for nearly two decades. CSD officers recently traced him to Chiang Rai province, where he had been living under a false identity. Police moved in and successfully apprehended him, bringing an end to a 19-year manhunt.
The case’s statute of limitations is set to expire in 2026.
Pol Maj Gen Wittaya said Nattawut confessed to the murder charge during police interrogation and was taken to Udom Suk police station in Prawet district for further prosecution.