Police name third Preecha killing suspect
PHUKET CITY: Police say they believe they now know the name of the gunman who assassinated Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate.
Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth named the wanted man as Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi.
Meanwhile, Pol Capt Wanchana Polpalangkul and Pol Sgt Pongsak Kosi-ratanapibal, both formerly attached to the province’s élite Special Operations Unit but now suspended from duty because of their alleged involvement in the murder, have been released on bail, Gen Decha said.
Wanchana is accused of organizing the hit, while Pongsak is accused of identifying K. Preecha for the gunman, he explained.
“They were refused bail by Phuket Provincial Court but were later granted bail by the Court of Appeal in Surat Thani,” Gen Decha said.
“Now we have to catch the other two involved in the murder. One of them is the gunman, Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi. We believe that Samrerng and the driver involved in the killing are hiding in Central Thailand,” Gen Decha said.
“We are coordinating with the Crime Suppression Division [in Bangkok] to arrest these two men,” he added.
K. Preecha was shot twice in the head on March 14 with while driving along Wiset Rd in Rawai at about 11 pm with his wife and son in the family’s black Jeep Cherokee. He died the following day.
