Alice Bar Murder (reposted)

[cojones]

Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Three witnesses testify in Jennings murder trial

PHUKET: Three witnesses appeared on the stand this morning in the

trial of Nongnut Tungkaburi and Kraisorn Kamnoun for their alleged

involvement in the December 15, 1997 murder of Roger Jennings,

Nongnut's common-law husband.

The first witness, Weeranat Kammanochart, 22, a cashier at the Alice

Bar, owned by Jennings and Nongnut, testified that Mr Jennings and

Nongnut were nice people. He said they sometimes had fights, but that

these didn't appear serious.

He also testified that on the day of the murder, Wattana, a relative

of Nongnut, took 4,000 baht from the bar at Nongnut's request.

Wattana, however, didn't tell him what the money was for.

When asked by the defense if Nongnut had previously asked Wattana to

pick up money, Khun Weeranat answered, "Yes, sometimes, but not very

often."

He also testified that there had previously been two robberies at the

Patong Hill Estate where Mr Jennings and Nongnut lived, and where Mr

Jennings was found dead.

In response to additional questions from the defense, he said he

believed that Nongnut was responsible for the murder.

The second witness of the morning was Peter John Davey, 47, an

Englishman living in Patong. He testified he had known Jennings for

two or three years before the murder.

He also said he knew Jennings was living with a woman named Nongnut,

but that he wasn't sure whether or not they were married.

Mr Davey then testified that he frequented the Alice Bar five or six

times a week. He said that the last time he met Mr Jennings at the bar

was on December 14, 1997, at around 10:30 pm.

The next day, he said, when he and his wife went to the Islander

Restaurant for dinner, he didn't see Mr Jennings, even though Mr

Jennings normally went to the restaurant to eat.

When Mr Davey left The Islander, he went to the Alice Bar at about 8

pm, but again did not see his friend. When the staff at the Alice Bar

told him they hadn't seen their boss either, he called Mr Jennings'

home at Patong Hill Estate, but there was no answer.

At around 9 pm, Mr Davey testified, Nongnut entered the bar and came

over to talk with him. He said that he found this surprising as she

had never talked with him at the bar before.

When he asked Nongnut where Mr Jennings was, she said that maybe he

had gone to the dentist. He said he found this puzzling, as dentists

in Patong were closed by 8 pm.

At 10:10 pm, a maid from Patong Hill Estate ran into the bar and

shouted "Papa dead! Papa dead!" causing an uproar in the bar.

After helping Nongnut – who had collapsed on the floor – he asked

Weeranat to close the bar. He then went to Patong Hill Estate where he

found the dead body of Mr Jennings.

He said that he never talked with Mr Jennings about any problems with

Nongnut and that he had never seen them fight. He did say, however,

that Mr Jennings had once told him that Nongnut spent a lot of money

gambling, and on the lottery.

When asked by defense lawyers if he thought Nongnut murdered Mr

Jennings, he said that he did, because of all of the evidence against

her and because of her strange behavior on the night of the murder.

The third witness, Jongjitr Tonchaiyapoom, 19, formerly a gardener at

the Patong Hill Estate, testified that she and her husband Santi lived

in the gardener's house approximately 100 meters from Mr Jennings'

home.

At around 5 pm on the night of the murder, Nongnut took Jongjitr,

Santi, two relatives and two house dogs to dinner in Patong Beach.

Khun Santi said this was the first time Nongnut had taken her to a

restaurant and that she had never seen the dogs taken out of the house

before.

When the party returned to Patong Hill Estate at 10:30 pm, Da, one of

the relatives who had gone to dinner with them, walked to Mr Jennings'

house. A couple of minutes later she began screaming, "Papa dead! Papa

dead!"

The group then went to the Alice Bar to break the news to Nongnut.

When asked whether she believed Nongnut was responsible for Jennings'

death, Khun Jongjitr replied in the affirmatve.

Further testimony will now be collected by courts in Bangkok, Buriram

and Chiang Rai, as some of the witnesses have moved to those places

since the murder.

When the out-of-province testimony is complete, the trial will resume

in Phuket. No date has yet been set.

Wednesday, November 10, 1999

Car rental owner gives evidence in murder trial

PHUKET: Prayoon Trongpeng, owner of a car and motorbike rental

business, appeared in court yesterday morning as a witness in the

ongoing trial of two people accused of participation in the murder of

Briton Roger Jennings.

Mr Jennings died after being stabbed 19 times in his Patong home on

December 15, 1997. On trial are his common-law wife, Nongnut

Tungkaburi, and Kraisorn Kamnoun.

Prayoon, 42, a Patong resident who has run his rental business on Soi

Bangla for almost 10 years, said in response to prosecution questions

that on the day of the murder, at around 1:30 pm, Nongnut – who

operates a bar on Soi Bangla – asked to rent a jeep from him for two

days.

He recognized Nongnut, he said, because their businesses were close to

each other. He rented a jeep to her after she told him that her own

car, a BMW, was being cleaned.

The following morning he saw the jeep parked in front of Nongnut's

bar. Later in the day, he said, he heard that a foreigner had been

murdered in Patong, though he did not know who the foreigner was.

Ekapong Aroonrat, for the defense, asked Prayoon how often Nongnut

rented cars from him. Prayoon said that she had done so on several

occasions.

He said he knew Nongnut because her bar was very famous in Patong. He

added that sometimes she would ask him to check if cars left outside

her bar by inebriated customers had been rented from him.

Prompted by Ekapong, he added that he thought Nongnut a nice person

and did not think she had been involved in her common-law husband's

murder.

The next hearing in the trial is scheduled for November 17, followed

by another on November 29.

Tuesday, August 31, 1999

Lawyer not well, Alice trial hearing postponed

PHUKET TOWN: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today postponed testimony in the

trial of two people charged in connection with the stabbing death of

56-year-old British publican Roger Jennings at his home in Patong Hill

Estate on December 15, 1997.

The judge postponed the hearing after being told that Eakapong

Aroonrat, lawyer for one of the accused, Jennings' common-law wife

Nongnut Tungkaburi, was ill.

Hearings in the trial are now scheduled for November 9, 17 and 29.

Tuesday, August 24, 1999

Judge orders arrest of missing trial witness

PHUKET: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today issued warrants for the arrest

of two prosecution witnesses who failed to appear this morning for a

hearing in the ongoing trial of two people accused of the murder of

Briton Roger Jennings.

The two witnesses, Amara Meanteap and Weeranat Kammanochart, failed to

appear despite twice being subpoenaed. The judge, issuing the arrest

warrants, ordered them to be brought before the court at the next

hearing, scheduled for next Tuesday, August 31.

He also requested that the Kathu Police Superintendent, Pol Col Kokiat

Wongvarachart, attend the hearing to give testimony on the

presentation of subpoenas to the two witnesses.

Weeranat, who was a cashier at the Alice Bar in Patong, owned by Mr

Jennings, has already testified once, for the prosecution. He was due

to appear again today for questioning by the defense. Amara's

appearance in the hearing would have been her first.

Mr Jennings died after being stabbed 19 times in his Patong home on

December 15, 1997. On trial for the murder are his common-law wife,

Nongnut Tungkaburi, and Kraisorn Kamnoun

Thursday, April 29, 1999

Murder trial testimony again delayed

PHUKET TOWN: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today postponed testimony in the

murder trial of Nongnut Tungkaburi and Kraisorn Kamnoun.

The two stand accused of participation in a murder-for-hire scheme in

connection with the brutal stabbing death of 56-year-old British

publican Roger Jennings at his home in Patong Hill Estate on December

15, 1997.

The judge heard that the lawyer for one of the accused was unable to

attend court because of an illness, and adjourned the proceedings

until June 22.

Wednesday, March 24, 1999

Jennings Murder Trial Resumes

PHUKET TOWN: The court trying two people accused in connection with

the murder of Patong-based British publican Roger Jennings reopened on

March 24 to hear evidence from two witnesses.

Jennings (56), was found stabbed to death at his home in Patong Hill

Estate, a residential development between Le Meridien Phuket and

Patong, on December 15, 1997.

On trial before Phuket Provincial Court Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit are

Nongnut Tungkaburi, Jennings' common-law wife, and Kraisorn Kamnoun.

The first witness, Santi Thonchaiyapoom, 25, a gardener at Patong Hill

Estate, testified that apart from Jennings, three people lived in the

Patong Hill Estate home -- Nongnut, the housekeeper Ms Da, and a Mr.

Wat, whose full names he could not recall. Santi said he lived in a

separate building.

He testified that on the day of the murder, around 5pm, Nongnut took

him and his wife Jongjitr to dinner at a restaurant near Patong Beach.

There they met Da and Wat, accompanied by the Jennings family dogs.

At 8pm, Santi said, Nongnut went to the Alice Bar on Soi Bangla, which

was owned by Jennings and operated by her. Meanwhile he, Jongjitr, Da

and Wat went to Phuket Town, returning home about 10:30pm.

Minutes after they arrived there, Da ran out of Jennings' house and

said that Jennings had been murdered. Santi rushed to the Alice Bar to

tell Nongnut and then to notify the police. When the police arrived at

the scene of the murder, they found Jennings' body at the foot of the

stairs. He was dead of multiple stab wounds.

When the Prosecutor, Chestavit Tantiphanwadee, asked Santi whether

Nongnut was in the habit of taking household staff out to dinner,

Santi replied, "Never." The witness added that the family dogs

normally guarded Jennings' house and usually did not leave it. At the

time of the murder, Santi added, Jennings was alone in the house.

Asked by the prosecutor whether he had ever seen the second accused,

Kraisorn, Santi replied that he had not.

The second witness, Weeranat Kammanochart, was a cashier at the Alice

Bar at the time of the murder. The prosecutor asked him first whether

he knew Wattana Yajaiman. Weeranat replied that he did. On the day of

the killing, he said, he went to the Alice Bar around 4:30pm, where he

saw Wattana and Nongnut. Later, he added, both of them left the bar,

though he could not recall whether they left together.

Weeranat testified that around 10:30pm Wattana returned and told him

that Nongnut needed 4,000 baht. Weeranat gave the money to Wattana to

give to her. He said that he could not recall when Nongnut returned to

the bar, but said that she was there when, a couple of hours later, Da

came into the bar and gave her the news that Jennings had been killed.

The trial resumes on April 29.

Wednesday, February 10, 1999

Jennings Murder Trial Adjourned

PHUKET TOWN: Suspect Nongnut Tungkaburi failed to appear in court

yesterday as the result of an illness which, according to a letter

from her doctor, required that she remain at home for two days,

February 9-10. Her representative also told the court that she has

retained a new, Bangkok-based lawyer who would be able to attend court

in Phuket next month.

Judge Monsikarn Watchawanku adjourned the case until March 24.

Nongnut and Kraisorn Kamnoun are charged with the December 15, 1997

murder of 56-year-old British publican and former bond dealer Roger

Jennings. The victim was murdered in his home at Patong Hill Estate

and died from loss of blood following 19 stab wounds.

Tuesday, November 24, 1998

Doctor Testifies In Murder Trial

PHUKET TOWN: A doctor who examined the body of Roger Jennings

testified in court yesterday that the 56-year-old British publican

died from a loss of blood following 19 stab wounds.

Dr Somchai Chaichayanon of Kathu Hospital was the only witness called

to the stand on Monday before Phuket Provincial Court Judge Amornpoj

Kulwijit in the ongoing trial of two suspects charged in connection

with the murder of Jennings at his Patong Hill Estate Home on December

15, 1997.

The witness told the court he examined the body of the deceased on the

night in question while on duty at the government-run hospital.

Phuket Public Prosecutor Chestavit Tantiphanwadee told the court his

office was unsuccessful in its attempts to serve a subpoena on a

second scheduled witness, an employee of the Alice Bar, a Patong Beach

establishment owned and operated by defendant Nongnut Tungkaburi. The

prosecutor said the employee, whom he did not name in court, was

reportedly no longer residing in Phuket. Nongnut, who is standing

trial along with Kraisorn Kamnoun, was Jennings' common law wife.

The trial is scheduled to resume on February 9, 1999.

In a separate trial of a minor charged in connection with Jennings'

murder, State Prosecutor Somporn Assawakaewmonkol told the Gazette

yesterday that six of 19 scheduled witnesses have provided testimony.

The suspect, who was 17 years old at the time of his arrest, has

pleaded guilty in Phuket Provincial Juvenile and Family Court to

charges he participated in the murder of Jennings and stole personal

property owned by the victim.

Thai law does not permit the disclosure of the names of juvenile

suspects on trial. Even though the defendant has confessed to his

crimes, testimony is being gathered by the court prior to the

sentencing phase.

The prosecutor said that in addition to testimony before Juvenile and

Family Court Judge Duangjai Nakin, witnesses are providing the court

sworn statements taken in several provinces, including Chiang Rai,

Surat Thani, Buri Ram, Udon Thani and Chaiyaphum.

Wednesday, November 18, 1998

Murder Trial On Court Docket

PHUKET TOWN: Testimony is scheduled to resume next Monday morning at 9

a.m. at the Phuket Provincial Courthouse in the trial of two adult

suspects charged in connection with the brutal stabbing death of Roger

Jennings.

Nongnut Tungkaburi, the common law wife of the slain 56-year-old

British publican, is standing trial along with Kraisorn Kamnoun on

charges of participation in a scheme to murder Jennings at his Patong

home last December 15.

Thursday, October 1, 1998

Taxi Driver Testifies In Murder Trial

Taxi Driver Testifies In Murder Trial

PHUKET TOWN: A taxi driver testified in court today that he picked up

murder suspect Kraisorn Kamnoun and another Thai male on the

Patong-Karon Road one evening last December.

Suwit Hemlek, a 34-year-old tuk tuk driver, was the first of two

witnesses to testify this morning before Phuket Provincial Court Judge

Amornpoj Kulwijit in the ongoing trial of two suspects charged in

connection with the murder of British publican Roger Jennings.

The witness told the court that his taxi was flagged down along the

roadside by two men around 7 p.m. one night last December as he was

returning to Patong after dropping off a fare at Le Meridien Phuket

resort. He could not recall the exact date, he said.

Jennings, 56, was found stabbed to death on December 15, 1997 in his

home at Patong Hill Estate, a residential development located between

Le Meridien Phuket and Patong.

Suwit said he took the two men to the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket

Town where they requested that he wait with them for an individual who

would pay their taxi fare. When asked by prosecutor Visit Larpniyom if

he could identify for the court either of the two men in his taxi, he

answered in the affirmative and pointed to Kraisorn.

When the individual who was to have paid the taxi fare failed to show

up after a two-hour wait, the cabbie said he was instructed to drive

the pair to a gold shop where they would pawn a necklace. The search

for a shop that remained open that late led them to the Patong Gold

Shop in Patong Beach. After waiting outside the shop, Suwit said he

was paid a 700 baht fare, whereupon he agreed to drive the men to the

Phuket bus terminal on Phang Nga Road in Phuket Town.

Suwit said he went to police a few days later after coming upon a

photo of Kraisorn and the other passenger in a Siang Tai newspaper

report on the murder.

Under questioning by Parinya Siemharn, defense attorney for Jennings'

common law wife Nongnut Tungkaburi, who is standing trial with

Kraisorn, the taxi driver said Kraisorn sat in the back of the tuk tuk

and that a younger man sat up front during the journey.

The second witness to testify this morning was Thawatchai

Chotwattanakorn, owner of the Patong Gold shop, who told the court a

man arrived at around 10 p.m. on December 15, 1997 to pawn a gold

necklace for 2,000 baht. He said the man returned the following

morning and negotiated sale of the chain to the shop for 4,400 baht.

Thawatchai was not asked whether or not the man was present in court

this morning.

A 17-year-old male has also been charged in connection with the murder

and is being tried separately in Phuket Provincial Juvenile and Family

Court.

The trial is scheduled to resume on November 23.

Tuesday, September 29, 1998

Murder Trial On Thursday's Docket

PHUKET TOWN: Testimony in the trial of two suspects charged in

connection with the murder of Patong resident Roger Jennings is

scheduled to resume at the Phuket Provincial Courthouse on Thursday,

October 1, at 9 a.m.

Nongnut Tungkaburi, Jennings' common law wife, and Kraisorn Kamnoun

are standing trial for their suspected roles in what prosecutors

contend was a murder-for-hire scheme.

[Patong Bob]

As far as I know, Nongnut walked free and the police were collecting the rent on the Alice Bar from then on. An American , Larry, had paid Roger $32,000 US for a "partnership" in the Bar, but Nongnut or Alice as she was known would not recognise this. He lost his money.

Scruffy Murphy's Irish bar now stands where the Alice was. Who collects the rent/ key money is unclear.