Drug addict arrested for murdering employer with chainsaw

A Thai man was arrested at the weekend after he used a chainsaw to murder his employer while they worked together in a rubber plantation in the southern province of Surat Thani. The murderer tested positive for drugs, and police found a chainsaw and a knife covered in blood at the scene.

A resident who lived near the murder scene alerted officers at Baan Na Derm Police Station of the incident on Saturday, March 11. Officers immediately rushed to the scene and arrested the murderer, 34 year old Worrapoj Sip-aeng, while he was about to escape in his pickup.

Worrapoj had drugs in his system and could not provide any information to officers, because of his drugged-up state, but at the back of the pickup, police found a chainsaw and a knife covered in blood.

The officers investigated the scene and discovered the victim’s body buried in the rubber plantation with a huge cut wound that nearly severed his neck. The body was sent to Na Derm Hospital for an autopsy.

According to the police report, Sakda and his two employers, Worrapoj and Boy, were hired to cut down the rubber trees on the plantation. They had been working for four days before the incident happened.

Boy told the police that he witnessed Worrapoj approach Sakda with the chainsaw in his hands and suddenly attacked him. Sakda fell to the floor but Worrapoj continued the attack, causing the frightened Boy to flee the scene.

The resident who notified the police of the murder said she was sitting in front of her house when she heard Boy screaming, “It’s cut!” Boy then ran to her house and asked her to report the murder to the police before hiding.

The woman said the murderer, Worrapoj, followed Boy to her house and borrowed a hoe from her. She remained calm and quiet and later notified the police after Worrapoj left with the hoe. She added that the murderer walked around the scene and cleared the area and tried to dispose of the murder weapons for about 20 minutes before getting in the pickup. That was when police apprehended the suspect.

The charges issued against Worrapoj have not been reported but he faces charges of drug use and murder. The murder charge will result in the death penalty or imprisonment for 15 years to 20 years according to Section 288 of the Criminal Law.