Policeman’s killer caught

TRANG: Police have arrested Sompong “Jorm” Prayongyam, one of the two men alleged to have been invloved in a vicious attack on Kathu police officer Pol Sgt Pramual Thongaugsorn that led to his death.

Sgt Pramual, who was being treated at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital for severe head injuries, later died when his parents requested that he be removed from life support. He was cremated yesterday at Laem Petch Temple in Patong.

Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niemwadee of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that the hunt for Sompong ended in Trang at 2 pm yesterday.

A fellow employee at the My Way Pub on Soi Paradise, where both attackers had worked, had tipped off investigators that Sompong was hiding out with friends in Trang. The informant also gave them Sompong’s mobile phone number.

Undercover police, posing as friends, called the fugitive and convinced him to meet them at the Trang Bus Terminal, where he was arrested.

The other attacker, 26-year-old Wisanu Bumlungsak of Bangkok, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with Sgt Pramual’s service revolver after police surrounded his home in Kebsab Village after the attack.

Police said Sompong, a native of Ayudhaya, confessed to his role in the murder, which took place on Sunday in a noodle shop on Nanai Rd.

He will go before the court tomorrow, where he will face charges of premeditated murder of a government official. If found guilty, he faces capital punishment under Section 289 of the penal code. Such sentences are generally commuted to life imprisonment if the accused pleads guilty.