Songkhla pageant ends in shambles, contestant accuses judges of fixing scores

UPDATE:

A man is now in custody for the robbery of 1.1 million baht worth of gold necklaces in Hat Yai yesterday morning. Pvt Ukrit Thongsomsri, a 24 year old naval deserter from the Songkla naval bank was identified and taken into custody at a house in tambon Khuan Lang in Hat Yai. The man allegedly confessed and showed police where he had buried a bag containing the necklaces. Only 10 of the 14 missing necklaces were recovered though, so police continue to search for the missing 4. The car used in the robbery was also recovered as well as the camouflage trousers he threw from the car while fleeing, which were found on the side of the road. A press conference is expected to share more details.

ORIGINAL STORY:

An armed and masked man stole gold necklaces valued at 1.1 million baht from a Big C shopping mall in Hat Yai Saturday afternoon. Police are searching now for the suspect and his accomplice who drove a getaway car. The robbery took place at the Yaowarat Bangkok gold shop around 3:30 pm on the upper level of the Khlong Hae branch of the international supermarket chain Big C.

Early police reports indicate that the 2 men involved in the robbery arrive in a bronze-coloured Toyota Vios with the license plates removed. They parked at the mall entrance and one man entered Big C and went to the gold shop. At the time three women and a man were on shift at the gold shop.

The thief pretended to be a customer and requested to look at expensive gold necklaces. The staff opened the case to show him several necklaces when the man lunged across the counter and grabbed a handful of necklaces while pulling out a gun and threatening to shoot the staff members. The necklaces he grabbed were about 682 grammes of gold, worth about 1.1 million baht.

After snatching the gold, the man fled from Big C and jumped into the waiting getaway car. Security guards had attempted to stop the man as he raced out of the mall but the thief aimed his gun at them and threatened them. Songkla Police are reviewing security camera footage now to try to identify the thieves. The video showed the man dressed in camouflage trousers and a camouflage hat, a black jacket, dark glasses and a face mask. No further details have been released yet.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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2 men were killed and 1 was injured in an early morning accident after their car rear-ended a container truck in Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla. The crash occurred at 12:30am in Rattaphum district at the Khuha intersection on the main highway in tambon Khuan Ru, according to the district’s deputy investigation chief.

The car, a Honda City, with Bangkok license plates, hit the back of a cargo truck and became wedged under its tray, trapping 2 people in the back seat and killing them. Rescue workers used a hydraulic jack to open the car and remove the bodies. The victims of the accident are thought to be migrant workers, as investigators found construction tools inside the wrecked car.

The car hit the container truck after it had stopped at the Khuha intersection, with investigators saying they believe the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. Officials did not say whether the driver of the truck was injured, but did say they would call him in for questioning.

Meanwhile, a teenage scout drowned yesterday after jumping in a swamp during a mock war with teachers who were throwing rocks at the students, acting as if the stones were bombs. The teen was later reported missing when he did not return home. It took divers 4 hours to search the 3-metre deep swamp and find 15 year old Noppakao Sita’s body.

Police say the Wat Na Ban Kor School in the Isaan province Kalasin had sent the students out to the nearby swamp for scout activities. Reports say teachers were throwing rocks at the students. The students pretended the rocks were bombs and jumped into the swamp, dodging the stones. Police suspect Noppakao did not know how to swim and was forced to participate in the activity. At around 2pm, people noticed that Noppakao didn’t return home, and reported him missing to police 6 hours later.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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The suspect of a schoolgirl’s disturbing rape and murder in Hat Yai is now under arrest. The alleged criminal, 49 year old Prathom Iadkhao, known as Bangmad Kongra, was already a convicted sex offender who spent 1 year in prison back in 2002. He was convicted of taking a young girl from her parents for lewd purposes in Songkhla.

Now, a top police officer in Songkhla province has given details of how the 15 year old girl on her motorbike was allegedly hit from behind by the suspect who then beat, robbed, raped and murdered her at around 12:30am last Saturday morning. Her body was found by police under her motorbike in a ditch in the middle of a local highway in Hat Yai.

Police tracked her last movements to a local petrol station where she filled her motorbike at 12:30 am approximately on Saturday morning. Prathom had pulled into the station just minutes before the girl arrived.

Prathom was arrested in the Kongra district of neighbouring Phattalung province, and was brought to the crime scene to stage a crime reenactment. Local residents were in tears with some being restrained by police from attacking the suspect.

Police say the suspect confessed to hitting the girl with his car, beating, raping, stealing and murdering her. His account matches the police’s description of what happened along with his DNA matching DNA found under the victim’s fingernails.

Prathom told police that when he saw the girl at the petrol station, he waited for her on the road and let her overtake him on her motorbike. Then, he rammed the girl’s motorbike from behind sending her into the ditch. The suspect told police he pummelled her 3 times in the stomach before raping her and stealing 1,300 baht from her bag.

He then allegedly used a tyre wrench from his car to hit the girl on the head 2 or 3 times to kill her. Then, he used the girl’s clothing to wipe off the semen from his body. He said he then put the motorbike on her body to make it look like a traffic accident.

Prathom has been charged with premeditated murder and rape of the girl as well as one count of theft.

SOURCE: Thai Examiner

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