Missing Thai lawyer mysteriously dies in Bangkok car park 2 days before key trial

Police managed to locate a missing Thai lawyer in his parked car at a petrol station in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district after his wife alerted cops to his absence. Unfortunately, he later died of a heart attack in hospital. His wife and family suspect murder.

Kittipong, a Kok Kram Police Station officer, reported that a Thai woman, whose identity was not revealed, filed a missing person’s complaint at the police station stating that her 66 year old husband, Somyot Sukjai, was missing.

According to the woman, her husband was a lawyer who had been involved in several significant cases and had previously stood as a candidate MP with the Thai Smart Party. Due to his professional and political commitments, she, along with other family members, expressed concerns that Somyot might find himself in conflict with someone, possibly leading to harm.

Somyot’s wife disclosed that her husband went missing two days before his scheduled court appearance for a crucial case involving a dispute between Thevasunthon Temple and Chandrakasem Rajabhat University. The university is situated on the temple’s land and pays an annual fee of approximately 1,250 baht.

Despite attempts to negotiate a reasonable fee, an agreement could not be reached, prompting the temple to file a lawsuit against the university.

As Somyot was the temple’s legal representative, his wife revealed that a victory in the case could result in the temple gaining over 100 million baht. She expressed her belief that someone on the losing side of the dispute might be motivated to harm her husband.

Video conference

Somyot’s wife also shared videos of her husband asking a friend for help. He had a video conference with his friend. One of the lenses from his eyeglasses appeared to have disappeared and he had difficulty breathing. He tried to talk but could not utter a word. He moved the camera around to show that he was in his car before the call was cut off.

Officers later received a report of Somyot’s whereabouts at 12.37pm on Saturday, November 18. An attendant at the Bang Chak petrol station near Soi Prasert Manukitch 15 in the Lat Phrao district reported that a Thai man, later confirmed to be Somyot, had lost consciousness in his car.

Police rushed to the scene and found Somyot in his bronze Toyota Hilux pickup. He was exhausted and shocked by the lack of oxygen. Officers then coordinated with a rescue team to take Somyot to Nawawate Hospital. However, the medical team was unable to save Somyot’s life.

A petrol station attendant said that Somyot entered the petrol station alone on November 16. He parked his car inside for a while before changing his parking place. Somyot then got out of his car for about 30 minutes before returning to his vehicle.

Somyot’s car was still in the car park a day later on November 17, which made the attendant suspicious. They checked through the car window and found Somyot unconscious in the driver’s seat. They reported the matter to the police.

According to the hospital, Somyot died of a heart attack. There were no visible wounds or signs of assault on his body. However, an autopsy would be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

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