PHUKET: Police have arrested at least two men for their roles in the attempted murder of three men in a pickup near Wat Srisoonthorn, north of the Heroines Monument, early Sunday morning (Dec 19).
Thalang Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Anukul Nuket revealed the arrests yesterday (Dec 21) following a video being posted online accusing the police of not investigating the shooting.
Lt Col Anukul dismissed the video simply as, “Not true.”
“At about 4am on the day of the incident [Dec 19], Lt Col Niwat Timket, Inspector of Investigation, was on duty at Thalang Police Station,” Lt Col Anukul said.
“Prathan Mongkonhong, 28, and other two people came to file a complaint that his vehicle was shot at, with bullets breaking through the windows, by an assailant using an unknown type of firearm while he and the others were sitting in the car at about 2:30am that same day,” he added.
The shooting occurred in a small alley beside Srisoonthorn Temple on Thepkrasattri Rd, about 1.38km north of Heroines Monument, he added.
The vehicle Mr Prathan and his colleagues were sitting in was a black Isuzu pickup truck registered in Bangkok.
“The investigating officer interviewed Mr Prathan and two other people before entering the daily report at 4:20am,” Lt Col Ankul explained, adding that Mr Prathan returned to give an additional statement at 3pm the next day.
“Forensic police inspected the pickup and gathered evidence of the gunshots, and coordinated with the investigation team who tracked down the culprit, who we now know is Anothai Jindaphon, 27, a resident of Srisoonthorn,” Lt Col Anukul said.
Police had already arrested “the people” in connection with the attack, Lt Col Anukul said.
The arrests were reported by Thalang Police in their daily arrest report for Monday (Dec 20), he said.
Lt Col Anukul gave no further information.
The daily arrest report for Monday noted that two men, Thamrong “Toi” Sukmetta and Anothai “Pae” Jindapol, were arrested after they were found in joint possession of a 9mm Glock handgun with two magazines, one of them loaded with 10 bullets; a 9mm Beretta handgun with two magazines; and 30 12-gauge shotgun cartridges.
Also recorded as seized as evidence from the men were two black garbage bags, said the report.
They both face charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Anothai faces an additional charge of illegal possession of unregistered explosives, the report said.
Listed separately as a “different case” was that Anothai also faces charges under an arrest warrant No. 372/2021 issued by Phuket Provincial Court on Monday (Dec 20) for jointly attempting to kill another person, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and for illegally carrying firearms in a public area.
Also listed separately as a “different case” was that Thamrong faces charges under arrest warrant No. 373/2021 issued on Monday Dec 20 for committing the crime of jointly attempting to kill another person, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and for illegally carrying firearms in a public area.
Neither the arrest report nor Lt Col Anukul gave any motive for the attack.
Also reported on Monday as arrested and facing charges for committing the crime of jointly attempting to kill another person with premeditation was Ekachai “Eke” Nimla-or. It was not explained whether or not the arrest of “Eke” had any connection to the attack on Sunday, as it was listed that he was arrested under arrest warrant No. 362/2021 issued on Dec 13.
The fourth arrest reported on Monday was that of a “Mr Deh”, full name not reported, for illegal possession of a Category 1 narcotic, specifically amphetamine and crystal meth (ya ice). Deh was found with three meth pills (ya bah) and about 0.18 grammes of ya ice.
The four alleged offenders were handed over to investigators for further legal proceedings and the collecting of DNA samples, the report noted.
Source: The Phuket News
