Jealous Thai man sets fire to ex-wife’s boyfriend leading to fatality
A jealous Thai man set fire to his ex-wife’s boyfriend in a temple parking lot in Bangkok on Friday, February 8, leading to the victim’s death.
Officers from Bang Pongpang Police Station and rescuers from the Poe Teck Tung Foundation rushed to the Dokmai Temple’s car park after reports of a fire. Upon arrival, they found a Suzuki pickup ablaze, with the driver, 52 year old Rachain, suffering serious burns across his body.
Rachain was a vendor and his pickup operated as a mobile watermelon store. He parked his car at the scene, waiting for customers. About 80% of his body was affected by the fire. He was rushed to Charoenkrung Pracharak Hospital, where he later died at around 3pm on Saturday.
Witnesses revealed that the murderer was the former chauffeur of the temple’s abbot, 46 year old Akkakorn, also known as Ploen. The witness saw Ploen throw petrol at Rachain and then set him alight.
Ploen is the ex-husband of Rachain’s girlfriend, Nukanda. After divorcing Ploen, Nukanda entered into a relationship with the victim.
Rachain had been previously married and had a daughter with his ex-wife. He and Nukanda had been in a relationship for about six months, and Ploen had been harassing the woman during that time.
Channel 7 reported that Ploen demanded that Nukanda repay his money and return his car. It has not been confirmed whether the woman owed Ploen money or whether the car in question belonged to her or her ex-husband.
Rachain’s daughter told the media that she believed the motive for the fatal attack was jealousy. She said the killer should have spoken to her father calmly to resolve their issues.
Photo via Channel 8.
As of now, Ploen remains at large. Police have issued an arrest warrant for him, charging him with murder and arson.
If convicted of murder, Ploen faces the death penalty, life imprisonment, or a sentence of 15 to 20 years under Section 288 of the Criminal Law.
Under Section 217 of the Criminal Law, setting fire to another person’s property could result in imprisonment for six months to seven years and a fine of 10,000 to 140,000 baht.
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