Suspect arrested in Hat Yai murder and rape of schoolgirl

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