Karaoke hostess murdered

PHUKET CITY: A karaoke bar hostess was found murdered in her apartment off Montri Rd early yesterday morning. Police are searching for the victim’s live-in boyfriend, who is the prime suspect in the case.

Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Sien Kaewthong identified the victim as 28-year-old Kanchana Aonpleng, from Pathum Thani province.

About 12:45 am yesterday, police received a report that K. Kanchana’s body was found on her bed at an unnamed boarding house on Soi Pink Lady.

Dressed in a gray shirt and orange shorts, K. Kanchana appeared to have been hit on the head with a heavy object. Police estimate that she died five to seven hours before her body was discovered.

Her body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for examination.

Neighbors said the victim had lived in the room since April with a man identified as Saharat Kamhongsa, 27, from Khon Kaen province, Col Sien said.

Saharat was a guard with security company KPS while K. Kanchana was a hostess at Nongwan Karaoke Bar, north of Nimit Circle.

K. Kanchana’s body was discovered after relatives of Saharat called KPS to say that Saharat had called them about 6 pm on Tuesday. Apparently Sarahat said that he had just killed someone and was going into hiding.

Col Sien told the Gazette that neighbors said that they had heard people arguing loudly in the victim’s room a few days before the murder.

Police in Khon Kaen have been notified of the murder so they can arrest Saharat if he tries to return to his family there, he added.

Police suspect jealousy as the motive for the murder.

“We can’t be 100% sure, though. We will have to wait until Saharat has been arrested to know for sure,” he said.