Man centre of unsolved “Nong Chompoo” murder case gets jail over protected wood

The man who has been in the centre of the highly-publicised death of his 3 year old niece known as “Nong Chompoo” sentenced to a year in jail… but not for charges related to the unsolved murder case. He was convicted of possessing protected wood and was sentenced to four months in jail, which has been suspended for a year.

44 year old Chaiphol Wipha, also known as “Lung Phol,” has been a suspect in the death of his niece. In 2020, Orawan “Chompoo” Wongsricha’s naked body was found on a mountain just 2 kilometres from her home in the Isaan province Mukdahan. Two witnesses say they saw Lung Phol walking from the foothills of the northeastern Thailand mountains near where his niece went missing.

A court warrant was issued for Lung Phol in June 2021 in of depriving a child of parental care, abandoning a child under 9 years old in a way that caused her death, and tampering with a body to influence an autopsy and police investigation. He was later released and the investigation is still open.

With the overdramatised media coverage and continuous updates, Lung Phol became a minor celebrity and gained a fan base, some of who have raised donations to help prove his innocence. Two Thai TV channels even covered the case on a daily basis, as if it were a reality show. He even got into the music industry and released a song.

In the case of the protected wood, forestry officials had inspected his home, which is also a deity shrine, and found makha tae wood from the protected sindora siamensis tree. Mukdahan’s lower court ordered Lung Phol to four months in jail, which was suspended for one year, and fined him 6,666 baht.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post