Drug-addicted Thai man’s petrol fury leaves neighbours in critical condition

A drug-addicted Thai man with a mental illness set fire to three neighbours on Sunday in the central province of Lopburi on the night. Two victims are in a critical condition.

The incident took place at about 7pm on Sunday, July 28, at the house of one of the victims in the Ngew Rai sub-district, Mueang district, Lopburi. The three injured male victims were identified as 43 year old community leader Narongsak, 60 year old Sathit, and 60 year old Boonmee.

Officers from Ban Kum Police Station were called to the scene and found locals trying to extinguish the fire on Sathit’s body. Sathit was lying on the ground, screaming in pain. Boonmee suffered only a minor injury, while Narongsak was burned over his whole body. His family rushed him to the hospital before police arrived.

Boonmee recounted the incident to the police, saying he and the other two victims were drinking alcohol outside his home. The alleged culprit, 40 year old Kongkiat, arrived at the spot on his motorcycle carrying a gallon of petrol in a plastic container.

Kongkiat filled the plastic gallon container with petrol from a fuel vending machine before approaching them and suddenly pouring the contents over them. Sathit was smoking a cigarette, causing a fire to break out, which spread to Narongsak, who was sitting next to him. Boonmee was getting up from his seat to use the bathroom, so suffered only a minor injury.

Boonmee believed that Kongkiat thought Narongsak called the police to arrest him for drug use. So, he committed the crime as revenge.

Parents defends son

More than 20 police officers arrived at Kongkiat’s home to arrest him but were obstructed by his parents. The parents presented a medical document to the police, claiming that Kongkiat’s actions were due to mental illness. They insisted that they would take their son to the police station themselves.

The police, however, were concerned that Kongkiat might evade arrest if allowed to leave with his parents. They spent over nine hours negotiating with the family until Kongkiat eventually surrendered. He was then taken to the police station and underwent a drug test.

Kongkiat tested positive for drugs but denied the allegations, attributing the result to a faulty testing device. His parents continued to defend and protect him throughout the ordeal.

Amid the chaos of summoning witnesses and recounting the events, the police were forced to handcuff Kongkiat and transport him to the car for temporary detention at Lopburi Provincial Court.

ThaiRath reported that Narongsak and Sathit remain in critical condition in hospital and may not survive.

According to Kongkiat’s mother, the man had a mental illness for ten years and was once jailed for five years for murder. She claimed that Kongkiat was gang-attacked in prison, making his mental illness worse.

Kongkiat faces three charges, including:

• Section 288 of the Criminal Laws: whoever murders another shall be punished with life imprisonment or imprisonment from 15 to 20 years. For attempted murder, they would be punished with half the sentence of Section 288.
• Section 220 of the Criminal Law: setting another person’s property on fire. The penalty is imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine from 10,000 to 100,000 baht.
• Section 297 of the Criminal Law: assaulting another person resulting in serious injury. The penalty is imprisonment of between six months and ten years and a fine of between 10,000 and 200,000 baht.