3 Thai men allegedly stage fatal accident for 14 million baht payout
Police arrested three Thai men for allegedly killing a man and staging a fatal car accident in the Isaan province of Sakon Nakhon to claim over 14 million baht in insurance money. Another suspect is currently on the run.
Representatives from several insurance companies requested a further investigation from Sakon Nakhon Provincial Police officers into the accident that claimed the life a 32 year old man, Wichian Jityen, on February 10.
Wichian reportedly fell from a pickup truck owned by 56 year old Somsak. Somsak claimed that Wichian was sitting on the back of the vehicle and accidentally fell onto the road, where he was then run over by a following vehicle.
The driver of the pickup truck travelling behind Somsak’s vehicle, 41 year old Pornchanok, told police that he was towing another car owned by 30 year old Peeraphat.
Pornchanok said he noticed Wichian’s fall and managed to avoid running into him. Unfortunately, Peeraphat was unable to avoid Wichian and ran over his body. This led the police to initially charge the three men with reckless driving causing death.
Later, Wichian’s relative, 38 year old Sakon, claimed compensation from each insurance company on behalf of Wichian’s mother, 56 year old Jantee. The total amount he could claim from the insurance companies of all three vehicles was over 14 million baht.
However, the insurance companies have not yet paid the compensation due to several suspicious aspects of the case. Firstly, Wichian did not sustain the severe injuries or abrasions expected from such a fatal accident, having only two wounds on his body.
Sister’s confession
Moreover, the three vehicles were covered by an unusually high number of insurance policies, some of which were only issued shortly before the accident. This led the insurance companies to suspect that the death was a murder staged to look like a fatal accident.
Wichian’s sister, 33 year old Buarian, eventually came forward, expressing her sorrow over her brother’s death. She admitted to suspecting Sakon of killing her brother.
Buarian revealed that she had previously confided in Sakon that Wichian was addicted to drugs and frequently harmed their parents. In a moment of anger, she had said to Sakon…
“Can you just take him away and kill him.”
Buarian insisted that she did not truly intend to have her brother killed and spoke out of fury.
On the night of the incident, Sakon picked Wichian up from their shared home at about 11pm. Buarian later received a call from the police informing her of Wichian’s death.
Following Buarian’s confession, the police issued arrest warrants for the four men: Sakon, Somsak, Pornchanok, and Peeraphat. They managed to arrest three of the suspects, while Pornchanok remains at large.
According to Matichon, one of the suspects confessed to planning Wichian’s murder and staging the fatal accident to cover up the crime. The other two continued to deny the accusation.
However, none of the suspects have revealed the motive behind their actions, leaving it unclear whether the crime was driven by the potential 14 million baht insurance payout or by Buarian’s plea.
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