Phuket Police investigate “work conflict’ as motive for Jintana murder

PHUKET: Police are pursuing the possibility that Phuket mother-of-two Jintana Mahattanapak, may have been murdered over a conflict at work.

Mrs Jintana was executed with a single gunshot to head while waiting at traffic lights on Chao Fa West Road last night (story here).

She was the Human Resources director at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa at Karon Beach, on Phuket’s west coast.

“Police believe a work conflict may be the motive for the murder Mrs Jintana murder,” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Arun Kleawwatee revealed this afternoon.

Police reviewed the CCTV footage at the traffic lights, which showed Mrs Jintana on her way home from work. She was in the left lane and her car was the first car to stop at the traffic lights (map here), he explained.

“At first we saw a black pickup truck pull up in the next lane alongside her car. The truck took off before her when the traffic lights turned green. Then Mrs Jintana’s car began moving, but following the black pickup truck was a white sedan with no license plates.

“Once the sedan had reached the right position, the person sitting in the passenger seat opened fire, killing Mrs Jintana. Then her car hit the street light and stopped,” Col Arun said.

During the initial police investigation, officers learned that Mrs Jintana in her role as HR Director at the Hilton Phuket, was forced to deal with employees caught stealing from the hotel.

“She was a strict person at work. She was straight, and so some employees at the hotel lost their jobs. In a previous incident, she had to fire some employees because they were found cheating their employer. This probably caused her murder,” Col Arun added.

“However, we are continuing our investigation. Police will call in for questioning all ex-employees of the hotel. We believe the persons involved in this murder will be arrested soon,” Col Arun said.

— Nation Breaking News