Police in hunt for killers of gang rival
KANCHANABURI: Police have spread a wide net in their search for three men who are suspects in the brutal murder of a member of a rival gang outside a restaurant in Kanchanaburi province last Sunday.
Muang district police Phitsut Sukrasorn said yesterday the hunt was on for Parin Pinrote, 18, Chaianuwat Rodpai, 23, and Nitinai Watcharanuthat, 25. Their parents had been asked to convince them to surrender and Mr Parin and Mr Chaianuwat were expected to turn themselves in soon.
They did not expect Mr Nitinai to surrender because he had been convicted in another criminal case and later jumped bail.
Investigators believe the three suspects are still hiding somewhere in Kanchanaburi. It was unlikely they would try to sneak into Myanmar because they had no contacts there.
Two other suspects in the murder, Tin Tewakul, 21, and Paisarn Chanthamethakulwat, 20, were arrested earlier this week, while Pongwit Thepkaweera, 22, surrendered on Thursday.
Mr Pongwit was the leader of their gang, known as Chukkadon. Police said the six were seen in surveillance camera footage beating Kritsada Ornnom, 19, to death beside Saeng Chuto Road in Muang Kanchanaburi district last Sunday night.
The victim was repeatedly hit with a wooden baton, a concrete ornament and other items.
Kritsada’s male companion Peerapong Ruangchan, 22, was also beaten but manag e d to escape.
The beating happened after members of two rival local gangs had reportedly eaten at a food shop on the side of the road.
Mr Pongwit said the dead man was a member of the rival Taopoon gang, which had earlier fired shots at his gang, police said.
Mr Pongwit was convicted of murder at the age of 16 and spent one year in a juvenile detention facility, police said. When he was 19 he was acquitted of gunning down a rival.