Gun-toting Thai YouTuber arrested for attempted murder after 5 years on the run
A famous YouTuber was finally arrested at his home in Nontha Buri province in central Thailand yesterday for attempted murder after 5 years on the run.
Worrachate “Taek” Jantaphan was charged with attempted murder in 2017 after he used a gun to shoot at a truck, injuring its driver, because it was parked in front of his resort accommodation.
The 63 year old Thai man was sentenced to a 5-year prison term for the offense but asked the court for temporary bail, saying he accidentally and unintentionally shot the truck.
Bizarrely, the court granted the gun-toting YouTuber a temporary release, but he never returned.
Taek, who is the father of 2 famous Thai actors, Nachat “Nicky” Jantaphan and Natcha “Mouse” Jantaphan, carried on with his life as if nothing had ever happened.
He even launched a YouTube channel on August 28 in 2021 called Pai91.5 Resort, which is also the name of his resort in the Mae Tang district in Chiang Mai.
Taek has more than 500 thousand people following his video content on everything from health, food, agriculture, storytelling, and cooking.
But that all came to an end yesterday when police finally caught up with him.
The Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, Jirapob Puridet, informed media that fame does not protect you from the law.
“No matter how famous the suspect is, how many famous people the suspects know, how rich they are, or how big their political positions are, they will face the same standard of the law processes and penalties as everyone else.”
The arrest was made as part of a nationwide Central Investigation Bureau operation called ยยุทธการปราบคนพาล, which means Suppress Gangster Operation.
Seventeen suspects were arrested, including 6 on murder charges, 7 for an attempted murder charge, 3 for theft, and 1 assault, causing severe harm.
