Man held for murder, stabbings

KATHU: Tung Tong police arrested a 22-year-old construction worker early this morning after he allegedly stabbed his wife and two men, leaving one man dead. Pol Capt Kittipong Klaykaew of Tung Tong Police Station named the attacker as Sitipol “Ta” Kotawan, from Nakhon Phanom, who worked at a construction camp near the Patong-Kathu intersection. Capt Kittipong said police arrived at the camp about 6 am and found the body of a man later identified as Virakom “Nain” Yothapak, 25, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat. He had a single stab wound in the chest. Also on the scene were two other stab victims, Ped Yaisa, 22, and Ta’s wife Wannarat Insorm, 22. K. Wannarat escaped with minor injuries, while K. Ped remains in Wachira Phuket Hospital being treated for stomach wounds. The three victims worked with Ta at the same camp. Capt Kittipong said police searched Ta’s room and found a 12-inch kitchen knife with blood on it under a bucket. They also found a pile of burned fabric about two meters away from the room. Capt Kittipong said Ta had fled the camp by the time officers arrived. Thinking he might try to flee the province, police went to the bus station in Phuket Town with a photo of Ta they had found in his room. “We arrived at the station and found him waiting for the bus to Phang Nga, and we arrested him,” Capt Kittipong said. Ta confessed to the stabbings and re-enacted the crime for police earlier today. He told police that around 5 am he and his wife and the two men were drinking at Kingdaeng Beer Garden next to the Go-Kart speedway, about 500 meters from the construction camp. Ta said he became angry when he noticed his wife was talking to K. Nain, and he walked away to sit alone at another table. Ta told police he later walked alone back to the camp and burned his wife’s clothes. He then cut the power supply in the camp and waited in the darkness for his wife and the men to return. He said he picked up a large wooden stick and struck K. Nain on the head as the three entered the camp. Then, Ta told police, he pulled out a knife and stabbed K. Nain in the chest. Ta said he stabbed both K. Ped and K. Wannarat as they tried to help K. Nain, then fled to his room to hide the knife. Ta was charged with murder and attempted murder and remains in custody at Tung Tong Police Station.