Thai woman arrested in Cambodia for murder of Taiwanese man

Thai police coordinated with the Cambodian authorities to arrest a Thai woman at a casino in Poipet City yesterday, for her involvement in the murder of a Taiwanese man. It is reported that three Taiwanese suspects are currently evading capture in Cambodia, while another has returned to Taiwan.

An employee at Suvarnabhumi International Airport discovered the dead body of the Taiwanese man, 44 year old Shih Mou Chiang, on Sunday, February 25, in an abandoned restaurant near the airport. Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station found that the man had been shot dead in Areeya Daily Village in the Lat Phrao district of Bangkok and was left at the scene.

Police found five suspects involved in the murder of Shih Mou, including four Taiwanese men and a Thai woman. The suspects fled Thailand to Cambodia after abandoning the body.

Thai police sought assistance from the Cambodian authorities and managed to arrest one of the suspects, the 22 year old Thai woman, Piyanut “Tarn” Thammarat. Tarn was accompanied to an immigration office in the Isaan province of Sa Kaeo before travelling to Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station for questioning yesterday, February 27.

During questioning, Tarn denied any involvement in the murder and insisted that she was not involved in the Taiwanese nationals’ businesses.

Tarn explained that one of the Taiwanese suspects, 42 year old Wang Hung Teng, was her boyfriend. On the day of the incident, she was on the third floor of the house and heard two gunshots but was afraid to investigate. She only found out about the murder when Wang told her to pack up and flee to Cambodia.

Four suspects at large

Tarn said she was afraid of being arrested and decided to follow Wang’s orders. Tarn insisted that the murder was not adultery, as she had not had sexual relations with the deceased. She believed it must be about a conflict in their businesses but she had no idea what they were doing.

Despite Tarn’s denial, she was initially charged with three offences including:

• Section 289(7) of the Criminal Law: intentionally murdering another person to obtain a benefit or to cover up a crime. The charge results in the death penalty.
• Section 199 of the Criminal Law: burying, hiding, moving, or destroying a corpse to cover up the cause of death. The charge results in imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 2,000 baht, or both.
• Section 7 of the Act on Firearms, Ammunition, Explosive, Fireworks, and Imitation Firearm: possessing a gun without permission. The punishment will be imprisonment for up to 10 years, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.

Police reported that three Taiwanese men were still hiding from the arrest in Cambodia but one of the suspects already left Cambodia for Taiwan. Officers planned to coordinate with Taiwanese authorities to transfer the suspect to Thailand.

A Thai van driver was suspected of being involved in the murder plot. He denied the allegation, claiming that he only provided the suspects with transportation from Bangkok to Sa Kaeo province. The driver is still being questioned by police.

ORIGINAL STORY: 5 suspects flee Bangkok for Cambodia after killing Taiwanese man

Five suspects fled Thailand for Cambodia after killing a Taiwanese man and leaving his body in an abandoned restaurant near Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok.

The dead body of the Taiwanese man, 44 year old Shih Mou Chiang, was discovered in the abandoned restaurant on Suvarnabhumi 4 Road in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakarn on February 25. Officers discovered blood and brains outside the restaurant and found Shih Mou’s body inside.

Shih Mou was seen lying in a pool of blood with two gunshot wounds to his head and the back of his left ear. He was wearing a black T-shirt and long black jeans and had about 3,000 baht in cash in his pocket. He had many tattoos, including a giant and letters of the Japanese alphabet.

A 28 year old Thai man, Dilok Samart, discovered the dead body. He explained that he worked as a cleaner at the airport. He and other workers used the abandoned restaurant every day for their afternoon break. He went there as usual and followed the bloodstains to find Shih Mou’s body.

Police suspected that Shih Mou died about four to six hours before his discovery. They believed that the suspects killed Shih Mou somewhere else and later left his dead body at the scene.

Officers checked security cameras at the scene and nearby and discovered a suspicious car, a red Mazda 2 SUV, parked at the scene that morning. Further investigation into the car led police to a suspect’s house in Areeya Daily Village in the Lat Phrao district of Bangkok.

Thai woman involved

Police raided the house at 9pm that day and found bloodstains in several places in the accommodation. Shih Mou’s motorcycle, a red Ducati, was found parked outside the house. Officers also found 50 grammes of ketamine in the house.

A neighbour reported to officers that the house belonged to a Thai national who went to work in Taiwan. A Thai woman aged about 20 years old rented the house and lived there alone. He saw three to four foreign men, suspected to be Chinese nationals, visiting her at the house quite often.

According to the neighbour, he saw Shih Mou arrive at the house on his motorcycle at midnight on February 24. In the early hours of February 25, the neighbour heard two gunshots before two foreign men drove the red car out of the house.

Police discovered the car in Soi Phut-Jaroon in the Klong Song Tonnoon sub-district, Lat Krabang district, Bangkok. Officers found a bottle of bathroom cleaner, three bottles of white bleach cleaning liquid, a bloody plastic bag, and a bloody cloth. The memory card of the dashcam was removed.

According to the police report, four Taiwanese and one Thai were involved in the murder. They were identified as follows:

• 26 year old Taiwanese man Lin Kuang Yuan
• 25 year old Taiwanese man Chou Yu Fan
• 42 year old Taiwanese man Wang Hung Teng
• 33 year old Taiwanese man Hau Peng Yuan
• 22 year old Thai woman Piyanut Thammarat

Suspects flee Thailand

The five suspects fled separately after abandoning the car in the Lat Krabang district. They reunited in the Isaan province of Sa Kaeo before crossing the border into Cambodia and staying at a casino in Poipet City. Police reported that they left the casino at 9pm yesterday, February 26, and headed for Phenom Penh.

Police admitted that they were unable to determine whether or not the suspects had already left Cambodia. They said they would coordinate with Cambodian authorities to arrest them all.

The Commander of the Provincial Police Region 1, Jirasan Kaewsaengek, reported that the motive of the murder was suspected to be a conflict over illegal business, adultery, or drug smuggling. The deceased, Shih Mou, was suspected of being involved with the call centre scam gang, but further investigation would be carried out to confirm this information.

ThaiRath reported that Shih Mou stole a car, a white Toyota Yaris, from his Taiwanese friend in Pattaya on February 24. He drove the stolen car to Bangkok and abandoned it on Ratchadaphisek Road before riding his motorcycle to the suspects’ house. Shih Mou is also on the arrest warrants for theft and gun possession in Taiwan as well.