Crime Fugitive Fake Doctor Arrested After Eight Years on the Run for Fatal Injection Incident

[Georgealbert]

 

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

Authorities have arrested the owner of an illegal clinic who administered a fatal injection to a patient eight years ago, later admitting he was not a licensed doctor but had merely worked in healthcare settings.

 

Police from Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), led by Pol Lt Gen Jiraphop Bhuridej, alongside officers from the Special Operations Division, apprehended the suspect, identified only as Wichaya, outside a rural property in Sam Phrao Subdistrict, Mueang District, Udon Thani Province.

 

The charges against Wichaya include causing death through negligence, selling and importing modern pharmaceuticals without authorisation, and practising medicine without a licence.

 

The incident dates back to 4 July 2017, when a woman in Samut Prakan Province filed a police complaint after her husband died following treatment at a clinic in Soi Thetsaban Bang Pu 1. The man, who had sought help for pain in his right upper arm, was diagnosed with muscle inflammation and received a single injection at the clinic, which was later discovered to be owned and operated illegally by Wichaya.

 

The patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly after the treatment. He was rushed to hospital but died shortly afterwards, raising suspicions about the true cause of death.

 

Following the complaint, health officials from the Samut Prakan Provincial Public Health Office and police investigators inspected the clinic. They found it operating without a licensed doctor, stocked with medical equipment, used syringes, and patient records, including that of the deceased man. Investigators also discovered the medication administered, Prednisone, a corticosteroid that must be prescribed and managed carefully.

 

Wichaya admitted to being the clinic owner but denied being a qualified doctor, claiming he had simply worked in a healthcare facility for over a decade before opening the unauthorised practice. The deceased man’s wife confirmed that Wichaya personally examined her husband, administered the fatal injection, and dispensed additional anti-inflammatory and antihistamine medications.

 

Further inquiries revealed that a registered doctor had officially ceased work at the clinic months before the fatal incident, yet Wichaya continued operating illegally. It was also discovered that Wichaya had previously faced similar accusations.

 

After years on the run, police tracked him to Udon Thani, where he had been hiding. Officers arrested him without incident and transferred him to Samut Prakan Provincial Police Station to face legal proceedings.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-04-30.