Fugitive murder suspect nabbed after 15 years hiding as grilled meatball vendor in northeast Thailand
A fugitive murder suspect, who had been on the run for 15 years, was arrested in Surin province for a murder case dating back to 2008. The suspect Preecha, who had been operating a grilled meatball stall while in hiding, was apprehended at his residence in Sri Khoraphum district, Surin, on orders from the Provincial Police Region 5.
The case that put Preecha on the police radar happened on October 21, 2008, when a woman working at a karaoke bar in Chiang Mai was murdered. The victim’s body was found three days later, dumped in a urea bag on the roadside near an entrance to a mill on a hill in Ban Pong, Hang Dong district, Chiang Mai.
Investigations led police to the 45 year old Preecha and two other men, who had allegedly invited the victim for a drink after work. An altercation ensued which resulted in the woman’s death. The trio then allegedly stuffed the body in a urea bag and discarded it along the Hang Dong-Samoeng Road before dispersing to evade arrest.
After years in hiding, Preecha was found living with his wife in Surin, where he had been making a living by selling grilled meatballs. During interrogation, Preecha admitted to being present at the scene and helping his friends dispose of the body but denied committing the murder.
The fugitive murder suspect was handed over to Hang Dong Police Station for further proceedings. Preecha was listed as the 118th suspect on the National Police Office’s most wanted list for this year, with a bounty of 100,000 baht on his head reported KhaoSod.
Recently, a teenage couple was apprehended for the murder of a Thai man alongside a road near an irrigation canal in Chiang Mai’s northern province. They confessed to the crime, asserting it was an act of self-defence. Read more about the case HERE.
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