NAI THON: Police are hoping to establish the identity of a headless and badly decomposed human corpse discovered washed up on Nai Thon Beach June 19.

Sub Lt Thianchai Duangsuwan of the Tah Chat Chai Police Station told the Gazette the gruesome discovery was made at about 10:30 am on the stretch of beach in front of the Naithonburi Beach Resort.

“Although the head and legs were missing, we can identify it as that of a man. It was badly decayed and appears to have been partially eaten by marine animals,” Lt Thianchai said.

Photos of the corpse, prominently displayed on the front page of a daily Thai language newspaper, showed that the corpse was clad only in a pair of light blue underpants.

The only flesh remaining was from the lower abdomen down to the knees.

“There were no cut marks or other signs that would indicate foul play,” Lt Thianchai said.

From the man’s size it is more likely he is Asian and not Caucasian, police said. Lt Thianchai estimated the man died about two weeks ago.

“We suspect he may have been a crew member on a fishing boat,” Lt Thianchai said.

BANGKOK (The Nation): The Supreme Court on June 21 upheld an Appeals Court verdict and ordered Phuket businessman Charearn Thavornwongwongse to vacate four plots of SorPorKor land for landless farmers covering roughly 16 rai in Kamala and Kathu Districts.

According to the court, K. Charearn could no longer be considered a farmer because he owned various businesses.

He is the managing director of Tilok Company, which operates three hotels in Phuket under the Thavorn Group name, including the flagship 150-room Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel in the heart of Phuket City.

Tilok’s other assets in Phuket City include a crocodile farm on Chana Jaroen Rd, originally set up as a tourist attraction but now only raises crocodiles commercially.

K. Charearn, who was not present at the court ruling, has 36 other plots of land covering more than 60 rai, the court noted.

K. Charearn’s lawyer, Benjama Abhaiwongse, said his client would respect the court’s decision, but would ask the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO), the plaintiff in the case, to let him lease the four plots.

K. Benjama said K. Charearn had acquired and used these plots since 1957.

They remained rubber plantations and fruit orchards, he said.

The ALRO has filed several lawsuits to evict wealthy people from SorPorKor land that had been earmarked for agricultural use by landless farmers.

There are five cases before the Supreme Court and three others pending at the Court of Appeals.

PHUKET CITY: Provincial bureaucrats will sleep better at night, following the June 21 arrest by Phuket City Police of a man wanted for stealing valuables from government offices on the island.

At a press conference yesterday, Phuket City Police Station Superintendent Col Nos Sawetalek presented 30-year-old Prayuth Kruakaew as the thief, along with four laptop computers, three mobile phones and cash in baht, US dollars and Chinese yuan as evidence.

Prayuth Kruakaew (right) was arrested June 21, three weeks after CCTV cameras at the OrBorJor’s offices had caught him in the act.

Three men – Nopparat Phakdee, 23; Phurin Eiamtrakul, 20; and Peerapat Kongchuay, 23 – along with one woman – Thanasak Chaisaengsri, 22 – were charged with receiving the stolen property.

Prayuth’s arrest followed a report to police by officials at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) offices, where images of Prayuth with office property in hand were captured on closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) on June 2.

Col Nos said Prayuth had confessed to stealing laptop computers, mobile phones and cash left unattended at government offices.

Police said that Prayuth had also admitted to roaming the corridors of schools, municipality offices, student dormitories, and patient wards at Mission Hospital and Vachira Phuket Hospital in his quest for valuables to pilfer.

Prayuth’s modus operandi was to arrive in a rented Jeep at his chosen location around noon under the pretext of conducting official business, but knowing that government offices on the island are often unattended from noon until 1 pm, when civil servants break for lunch, Col Nos said.

“He was released from prison last month on similar charges. He did the same type of thing in Surat Thani,” Col Nos told reporters.

However, two nights earlier, thieves made the most of the dark and stormy night and made off with about 90,000 baht in cash after breaking into a Christian foundation at Phun Pol Night Plaza, in Phuket City.

“Burglars broke into the New Life Foundation at 74/123 Phun Pol Night Plaza. They scaled a wall at the rear of the building, then removed louvers to enter a work room on the second floor.

“The burglars pried open work desks, making off with about 90,000 baht in cash they found there,” Lt Col Ampolwat Saengrueng told the Gazette.

“Although we have fingerprints and footprints of the burglars at the scene, and I have interviewed all the people who work at the foundation, we have yet to determine a prime suspect,” said Col Ampolwat.

Police couldn’t find any witnesses to the break-in, he said.

In another break-in at building with a religious affiliation on the same night, persons unknown made off with Jatukham Ramathep amulets worth a total of about 10,000 baht from Wat Sapam on Thepkrasattri Rd.

Yuwadee Yuthitham, a volunteer worker at the temple, told the Gazette, “Burglars pried open a glass cabinet that contained Jatukham amulets. We have already reported this to Phuket Police Station,” she said.

Police officials in Ranong report that they have arrested a suspect in the theft of the amulets, but are awaiting further evidence and reports from Phuket.

KATHU: On a night of rain, gunfights and car chases, police smashed a major ya bah (methamphetamine) ring on June 19, arresting five people and seizing 1,384 ya bah pills and 115,000 baht in cash as evidence.

The operation started with a routine drug bust on June 18 in front of Rungtawee Mansion in Kathu, where Maj Chalermchai Hernsawat of the Phuket City Police and his team arrested Rungsan Pongtrakul for possession of two ya bah pills.

Upon questioning, Rungsan named his supplier as Sayam Jamjantra. Undercover police arranged to buy 20 ya bah pills the following day from Sayam on Soi Irawadee Ketho, in Kathu.

As Sayam was being placed under arrest, police noticed a red tuk-tuk nearby making a hasty retreat from the scene. In heavy rain, a patrol car gave chase. The driver of the tuk-tuk fired two shots at the patrol car, the occupants of which returned fire.

The tuk-tuk driver managed to get away, but his vehicle was seen parked in front of Sritrang Romyen dormitory. Once spotted by police, the man tried to flee on foot by scaling a wall and running across a rooftop.

The rooftop gave way, sending the man crashing to the floor of the house, much to the surprise of its occupants. Saying he was in a hurry, the man gave them his Thai ID card as collateral and promised to return the next day to repair the damage.

The man escaped, but the family turned over the ID card to police, who identified him as Pornchai Limpanich, who was still at-large as this edition went to press.

Already in custody, Sayam named his supplier as Ketchakart “Kim” Kitpunwong, a resident of SB Park Mansion on Soi Thida. Police found the man in the parking lot of the apartment complex, where they searched his body and uncovered a fully-loaded Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol and 100,000 baht in cash. A search of his room uncovered five bags of ya bah, each containing 200 pills.

The alleged leader of the drug ring, also a resident of SB Mansion, then happened to pull his car into the parking lot while police were still there.

The man, Suwit Kaewnit, rammed the patrol truck police used to block the exit. Officers then shot out one of his tires and took him into custody. A body search uncovered 200 ya bah pills, 15,000 baht cash and a book containing a list of customers.

A search of Suwit’s room uncovered a .32 automatic pistol with seven bullets, aluminum foil, packs of drinking straws and other equipment commonly used to package ya bah.

Police also arrested Suwit’s roommate Noppateep Petrak, whom they suspected of being a drug user.

A more thorough search a few days later uncovered 164 more ya bah pills in a bag taped underneath the television set.

Maj Chalermchai said the gang members used rented cars to drive to Bangkok, where they bought up to 10,000 pills per trip. Once in Phuket, they could sell the drugs at 500 baht each, he added.

All the suspects were then remanded in custody at Phuket City Police Station except from Sayam, who is being held at Tung Tong Police Station..

PATONG: Strong waves claimed the life of Chinese tourist Wing Wong, 40, who drowned at Patong Beach about 1:30 pm June 25.

Sub Lt Naruwat Puthawiro, duty investigator of Kathu Police Station, today told the Gazette, “He and his friends were swimming at Patong Beach. Although I have yet to question his friends, at that time there were strong waves. I suspect that Wing Wong was probably tired and drowned.

“His body is at Patong Hospital, waiting for relatives to collect for his funeral,” Sub Lt Naruwat added.

About 1:30 pm June 24, a female Korean teenager swam into difficulties and had to be rescued from the strong surf at Kata.

An official at the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center told the Gazette that the young woman was swimming with about four male friends. “While they were swimming, the girl was caught in a dangerous rip tide and she started struggling and disappearing below the surface, and she took in some sea water.”

“We rescued her and took her up to the beach. She was in shock but still conscious.

Although she seemed not to be in a serious condition we took her to Phuket International Hospital,” the official said.

PHUKET CITY: A down-on-his-luck Dutchman was arrested June 22 for the June 15 robbery of the management office of Phuket Villa California.

Jeroen De Valk (pictured) was arrested for staging a holdup with a cigarette lighter ‘gun’. -Photo by Yongyot Preuksarak.

The man, Jeroen De Valk, 35, allegedly made away with 74,000 baht – but not before CCTV cameras recorded his motorcycle license plate number.

On June 15, a man dressed in black walked into the offices of Phuket Villa California on Chao Fa East Rd with a replica gun and demanded money. Rungruedee Engchuan, the lone office worker at the time, ran for cover while the man searched through the office, eventually making off with the money.

Col Chalit Thintanee, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said that although the man’s face was not visible in the CCTV recording, the license plate was clear and led to the arrest of De Valk.

At a press conference after the arrest, police said De Valk has lived in Thailand for six months, bought a house on credit and set up a clothing store with a Thai woman – but the store was not making money.

The gun used in the hold-up turned out to be of the variety used for lighting cigarettes, not shooting bullets.

BY Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

PHUKET CITY: Police have busted a gang of motorbike thieves, including their leader, who have allegedly stolen about 50 motorbikes over the past four months.

Pol Col Nos Svettalekha, superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette, “The leader of the gang is Krittanai ‘Max’ Buapeng, 36, from Krabi. We followed him for about four months” before his arrest June 20.

“He had about 10 henchmen who stole motorbikes for him. They stole only Honda bikes, and even stole bikes to order. The motorbikes were sent to Burma through Ranong,” he added.

“We arrested his gang in two raids, arresting about five people each time: one raid was at Kapoe in Ranong and the other was while gang members were passing through the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint.

“Over the past four months they stole about 50 motorbikes,” Col Nos said, adding that only seven had been recovered.

Col Nos said that all gang members had confessed to the thefts. A court date had yet to be set, he added.