Manhunt intensifies for escaped prisoner in Nonthaburi forest
A search operation in a forest has yet to yield results in the hunt for an escaped prisoner. CCTV footage shows the 32 year old inmate, convicted of theft, riding a motorcycle from Nonthaburi to Bangkok yesterday, February 3.
Wasan Obnual, who was serving a sentence of one year and 12 months, had completed nine months with a remaining term of one year and three months before escaping from a work detail at the Department of Corrections Museum construction site. He had been brought from Nonthaburi Provincial Prison to assist with work from 8am.
Prison officials realised his escape during the lunch break and immediately coordinated with Mueang Nonthaburi district police to track down the fugitive.
The incident has resulted in a manhunt involving Nonthaburi prison guards and police, who are intensifying efforts to recapture the escapee.
At 9pm yesterday, February 3, Police Lieutenant Colonel Supachai Srisak, deputy chief of the Nonthaburi Provincial Police
The Investigation Unit, alongside volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, equipped with lighting devices, responded to a report of a suspicious man, believed to be Wasan, fleeing into a forest in Soi Nonthaburi 48, Subdistrict Tha Sai, Mueang district, Nonthaburi province.
The area, located in the middle of the alley, comprises approximately three rai of dense Acacia forest, containing a pond, reeds, and a significant amount of debris. The entrance is blocked by a black and green net, and an abandoned area with a 2-metre-high concrete wall further encloses the forest.
Twenty volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, equipped with three large lighting devices, joined around 30 officers from the Nonthaburi Provincial Police Investigation Unit, Rattanathibet Police Station, and Nonthaburi Prison to conduct a thorough search but Wasan was not found.
Phor Teck Tung Foundation rescue volunteer, Kittiphong Phumai, noted that the forest is extremely dark, making visibility challenging.
Prisoner manhunt
The prisoner was reported to have entered from a nearby petrol station, which lies within a larger 10-rai forest area. It is possible that he may have already escaped to the main road.
By 10pm, prison officials received a report from locals of a suspicious man dressed in black attire, including a black helmet and mask, riding a green motorcycle in Soi Rewadee near Wat Bang Phraek Nua, Suan Yai subdistrict, Mueang district, Nonthaburi province. This area provides access to Soi Sripornsawan, where Wasan’s parents live.
Locals claimed the man asked a woman for money in Soi Rewadee before riding away. Reporters later identified Wasan on CCTV at 3.43pm on Ngamwongwan Road, wearing an orange shirt and riding a motorcycle across Phong Phet Intersection towards Bang Khen Intersection in Bangkok.
It is suspected that Wasan may have fled Nonthaburi to evade capture by the police, Nonthaburi Provincial Prison officials, and the Department of Corrections.
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