Brief encounter: Thai man in underwear dodges death after sick leave refusal sparks murder attempt

A Thai man narrowly escaped death and urgently sought help from a neighbour while clad only in his underwear, after a subordinate tried to kill him for rejecting a sick leave request. The suspect was arrested yesterday, January 31.

Deputy District Chief Rojanin Borwonthitichairat filed a complaint against his subordinate, 39 year old Adul, at Nonsuwan Police Station at about 5.30pm on January 30 after he managed to escape the murder attempt in a rented room in the Isaan province of Buriram.

Rojanin arrived at the police station in his underwear and wrapped in a towel. He recounted the incident to the police saying he returned to his room after work and was preparing to take a shower when Adul burst into his room brandishing a gun.

Adul ordered Rojanin to lie on his bed and covered Rojanin’s face with a pillow. While Adul was about to shoot Rojanin, he managed to grab the gun from Adul’s hand. A gunshot was fired but it did not hit either of them. Rojanin fled the room with the gun, even though he was half naked.

A CCTV camera at a local grocery shop in the area showed Rojanin running out of his room to seek help from a store owner. He initially wrapped the lower part of his body with a towel but it fell off while he was fleeing the scene in his underwear and the assailant’s gun.

The store owner, 61 year old Niramon, revealed to SiamRath that Rojana sought help from her in his underwear. The gun in his hand made her confused as to whether he was the attacker or a victim. She realised that Rojana must be the victim when he borrowed her motorcycle to go to the police station.

Motorcycle escape

Niramon said she gave a motorcycle key to Rojana but the engine failed, so she asked a customer to take Rojana to the police station instead.

Police arrested Adul yesterday, January 31, and took him to the police station for questioning. Adul claimed that he suffered from gout and degenerative joint disease and had to visit a hospital for a follow up several times. He had a medical appointment on January 31, so he requested sick leave for the appointment on January 30.

Rojanin declined Adul’s request for leave, noting that he had recently taken time off. This refusal incited Adul’s anger, prompting him to break into Rojanin’s room brandishing a gun. Adul clarified that his intention was not to harm Rojanin but merely to intimidate him.

In a phone interview with Matichon, Rojanin disclosed that he harboured no personal grievances against Adul, who had only joined his team three to four months earlier. Rojanin maintained that he did not outright deny the leave request but instead suggested that Adul provide a medical certificate, as Rojanin had taken sick leave just two days prior.

Furthermore, Rojanin noted that Adul frequently took sick leave and arrived late to work, leading him to suspect that Adul was intoxicated and acted with intent to harm him while under the influence of alcohol.

Adul faces three charges for this criminal act including:

• Section 8 of the Act on Firearms, Ammunition, Explosive, Fireworks, and Imitation Firearm: carrying a gun in a public place without permission and necessary. The punishment will be imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
• Section 364 of the Criminal Law: trespassing. The penalty will be imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
• Attempted murder. The punishment is half of the punishment of Section 288 of the Criminal Law: murder. According to Section 288, whoever murders others shall be punished with life imprisonment or imprisonment from 15 to 20 years.