Man killed in drunken mass brawl

PHUKET CITY: A young man was killed and another critically injured after being stabbed during a drunken melee that broke out in a children’s playground at Saphan Hin early Tuesday morning.

Phuket City Police Investigator Pol Lt Col Somkid Boonrat identified the dead man as Sompob Chumpan, 24, who died of a single three-inch-deep stab wound to the abdomen.

The other victim, 23-year-old Jarun Dejtim, was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital after suffering two stab wounds to the chest and a third to the right side of his midsection, he said.

Col Somkid said that about 1 am the two men were sitting as part of a six- or seven-member drinking circle near one of the sports gymnasiums in the area.

Sompob began arguing with his girlfriend and became furious, smashing a beer bottle against the ground.

This drew the ire of another, similarly-sized drinking circle nearby, whose members began to curse Sompob’s group before mounting their motorcycles to leave.

As they were leaving, Sompob hurled his beer bottle at them, but it missed and hit a member of a third, much larger drinking circle further away.

Some 20 members of that group, some armed with knives, set upon Sompob’s group. When it was all over Sompob’s lifeless body was found about 400 meters away. Near him was a bloody sword with a blade almost a meter long.

Police said it was the weapon used to stab Jarun, not Sompob.

Col Somkid told the Gazette that police have arrested a teenager nicknamed “Jo” in connection with the murder and have witnesses from Sompob’s group willing to identify him as the one who stabbed Sompob.

Jo has already served time in a juvenile detention center for possession of an illegal weapon, he added.

Police are now trying to track down the other members of Jo’s group, Col Somkid said.