Bird row turns deadly; spirited drugs chase; sex toy romp

Bangkok Post

05-07-2025

Up hill and down dale
Police were conducting a manhunt on Koh Lanta in Krabi after a man shot his neighbour, his wife and child, killing two of them, in a row over a pet bird.
Officers were scouring coastal villages, local hills and orchards looking for the suspect, Wiwat Sukontharat, 41, who lived across from his victim's home.
Wiwat shot dead his neighbour Apiwath Manpian, 37, a taxi driver, in a hail of bullets which also hit the victim's wife and one-year-old daughter.
Sudarat Boosman, 28, Apiwath's wife, was shot in the right arm and is recovering, and Nicharin Manpian, his daughter, was shot in the head and later died.
Apiwath himself was shot in the left arm, with the bullet passing through his chest and severing his heart with one shot.
The men had argued the day before after Wiwat discovered his victim had bought a pet bird, a golden-breasted Myna, which his mother had been raising on his behalf, and which came free from its cage.
A villager caught it and sold it to Apiwath, who claimed he did not know it belonged to Wiwat.
When the suspect turned up to ask for its return, Apiwath suggested he buy it back from him. The two exchanged insults and the next day the suspect returned and shot him.
In front of the victim's house, police found eight 9mm shell casings. Wiwat fled the village on a Yamaha R15 motorcycle, sparking the search.
Police later discovered the suspect's motorcycle abandoned in a palm plantation at the foot of a hill next to a durian orchard in Koh Lanta Noi, adjacent to a coastal village.
A team of 100 policemen spread out to search the area, covering several kilometres.
Over 30 houses along the coast were checked. Locals said they had seen no sign of him attempting to board a fishing boat to leave the island.
Police, who appealed to residents for help, also searched rubber plantations on the hill that required foot access to huts. They established a perimeter to block escape routes down the hill, which is heavily forested.
Wiwat's mother, 70, who visited Koh Lanta police, appealed to her son through the media to give himself up. She said her son had a conviction for bodily harm resulting in death in Phang Nga in 2014.
He served eight years in prison before being released two years ago and returning to Koh Lanta to work as a fisherman with relatives.
After the fatal shooting over the bird, he returned to his home and told his mother what he had done. He said he shot the little girl unintentionally and apologised before fleeing.
Police obtained a warrant for his arrest on charges of premeditated murder and firearms charges. The search is ongoing.
Well-paid drug mule trips up
A drug-dealer led police on a spirited chase through Buri Ram before abandoning his partner along with 2 million speed pills.
Police in Lam Plai Mat district pursued a pickup truck after it fled the scene of a search, finally shooting the tires multiple times until the vehicle was immobilised.
The driver escaped on foot, leaving his wife in the car along with the methamphetamine pills, before eventually being caught.
Earlier, district police spotted a suspect vehicle traveling on the Khu Mueang-Lam Plai Mat road, accompanied by a lead vehicle. Police spotted the bronze-grey Isuzu truck entering the district, and signalled to the driver to stop, but he fled.
Motorcycle and car police units pursued the suspect through various alleys in Lam Plai Mat before firing a the tires, forcing it to a halt.
The driver fled on foot, leaving behind Ladawan (no surname provided), 28, his wife, who was taken into custody.
In the truck's cabin, officers discovered five sacks of plastic-wrapped packages of methamphetamine, a total of 2 million pills.
Provincial police joined the search and by 6am on June 30, they apprehended Thongkham (no surname given), also known as Bass, 29, 10km from the incident site.
Investigators found a video on his phone showing a box containing 200,000 baht in cash, believed to be payment for the drug transport.
They also seized another Isuzu pickup truck abandoned in Huai Thalaeng district of Nakhon Ratchasima, near the border with Lam Plai Mat. However, the driver had fled.
Ladawan said her husband had picked up the meth from Nakhon Phanom and was delivering it to Saraburi, his second such trip, for which he received 200,000 baht.
Bass said he had made two previous trips, taking 2 million pills each time.
He picked up the drugs from That Phanom in Nakhon Phanom, traveling through Kalasin, Roi Et, Maha Sarakham, and into Lam Plai Mat before heading towards Nakhon Ratchasima.
On his first trip, he delivered the drugs to Ang Thong and received 200,000 baht. They were left on the roadside near his home in Yang Sisurat, Maha Sarakham for him to pick up. He admitted taking at least 10 pills himself during each trip.
Police charged Thongkham with selling and taking drugs.
It's a rainy-day thing
An LGBTQ+ man in Chiang Mai who admits that riding his bike naked in the rain makes him sexually aroused was busted after locals raised concerns.
Mae Faek police arrested the man, "B", 49, after he was spotted on CCTV riding the streets in San Sai district, naked and with sex toys attached to the front of his bike.
B, originally from Lampang province and who identifies as LGBTQ+, said he had been roaming around the village in this unusual fashion, what he called a "personal preference", for six years.
Residents filmed him on one of his nighttime escapades early on July 1. The clip was posted online, sparking concerns from locals who say they feared for their safety.
Police traced the motorcycle and arrested him in the middle of the street in Phaya Chedi village. A search turned up three large sex toys and three bottles of lubricant hidden inside a backpack.
B said he experiences sexual urges during the rainy season and would go out once a week for about an hour, riding his motorcycle with a sex toy along the back roads of the village, trying to avoid encounters with residents.
He acknowledged his actions were wrong and apologised to the local community, adding he would seek medical help for his condition.