Suspects arrested after shooting two Myanmar nationals in Thailand
Three suspects have been apprehended following the shooting of two Myanmar nationals in Thong Pha Phum district.
The incident occurred before they fled south to hide in Ranong province. Bang Mhat, a 72 year old, confessed to retaliating under threat of imminent harm.
Police Colonel Nathapob Pongsapan, the investigative chief of Ranong province, with Police Lieutenant Somsak Khamee and Captain Theerapong Meekaew, yesterday, March 12, led a joint police and military operation.
They searched a house in Mueang Ranong district’s Ratchakrut subdistrict and arrested 72 year old Rewat, who was at home with his wife, after presenting a warrant issued by Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court.
The suspects face charges of premeditated murder and burglary in a dwelling of an employer or property under the employer’s possession, by damaging protective barriers and using a vehicle to facilitate the crime or transportation of stolen property.
The police subsequently arrested two more suspects, 22 year old Sakareen and 25 year old Wichai, from the same area, who are also accused of premeditated murder.
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The suspects were brought in for initial questioning at the Ranong Provincial Police investigation division. Pol. Col. Nathapob led the interrogation and informed the suspects of their rights.
Rewat admitted that he, along with his son and grandson, worked at an employer’s plantation in Tha Khanun subdistrict, Thong Pha Phum district in Kanchanaburi province. They were allegedly oppressed and threatened by Myanmar nationals appointed by their employer to oversee rubber tapping, who insisted the Thai workers leave, expressing a desire for only Myanmar nationals to remain.
On the evening of October 23, last year, fearing for their safety after being confronted at their home by people armed with a metre-long knife, Rewat used his employer’s gun to defend himself, resulting in the fatal shooting. The group then fled to their home province of Ranong.
Rewat, who described himself as an elderly man nearing 80, said, “I had no choice, it was a matter of survival. If they had killed us, they could have easily fled back to their country, leaving me to die for nothing.”
The suspects were subsequently detained by the arresting officers. Plans are in place to transfer them to the Kanchanaburi Provincial Police Investigation Division and the Thong Pha Phum police station for further legal proceedings, reported KhaoSod.
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