Policeman - Led Gang Abducts 5 Youngsters Killing One

[sriracha john]

incredible story unfolding...

Gang abducts students

Policeman takes five youngsters hostage, kills one, father missing, manhunt underway

A massive manhunt is underway for a police lance corporal who abducted five school students and killed one of them in Chonburi yesterday. The abducted students _ Siriwan sae Liang, 16, Papassorn Tharapis, 14, Ae Somsorn, 11, and two kindergarten students, Pawaris Tharapis, 6, and Peerada Somsorn, 4 _ were relatives who attend St Louis School in Muang district of Chachoengsao. They were being driven to school by Siriwan's father, Somchai, 36, in a pick-up truck on Friday when they were stopped by two gunmen outside Bang Kla Rajabhat University in Chachoengsao's Ratchasan district. The men emerged from a pick-up truck parked across the road to prevent Mr Somchai's truck from going through. Siriwan later told police that one gunman dragged her father out of the truck and took him away. The other gunman then drove Somchai's truck with the children on board for about an hour until they arrived at a bungalow near Bang Saen beach in Chonburi's Muang district. Police said the bungalow was rented by a Sureeporn Puedpong, 26, who also bought clothes and food for the children. The gang ordered the children to change into the new clothes. Mr Somchai is still missing. Police investigators identified the gang leader as Pol L/C Suriya Charajamnong, attached to the Phanom Sarakham district police in Chachoengsao. Siriwan, who is in the 11th grade, said he used to be a ''friend of the family''. The children called him Por Dom (Father Dom), she said. Police said the gang contacted the children's families and demanded they pay a three-million-baht ransom. But the families tried to bargain it down to one million baht because they could not find the money, angering the gang. Siriwan said the gang planned to kill her and Papassorn because they were afraid the girls would remember them. The abductors attempted to strangle Siriwan with a cloth but she pretended to be dead. They then attacked Papassorn who fought them off and ran away. The men caught her and she was assaulted. The gang ran the pick-up truck over her body to make sure she was dead, said Siriwan. Papassorn's body was found near the entrance of

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/100808_News/10Aug2008_news00.php

Edited August 10, 2008 by sriracha john

[stumonster]

one gunman dragged her father out of the truck and took him away.

this seems to be missing from the headline - not just children were abducted

[Spee]

incredible story unfolding...

Gang abducts students

Policeman takes five youngsters hostage, kills one, father missing, manhunt underway

A massive manhunt is underway for a police lance corporal who abducted five school students and killed one of them in Chonburi yesterday. The abducted

Sickening, disgusting, awful, tragic, there aren't enough words. I can't even imagine the horror the families are experiencing. Not to mention more fuel on the fire of rampant police corruption.

[PoorSucker]

Another great day for Thailand's finest.

[sriracha john]

*move to News Clippings Forum?*

File photo shows a policeman standing guard in Bangkok. A gang headed by a policeman kidnapped five children in eastern Thailand as they were being driven to school, killing one girl so she would not identify them, a top police official has said

- AFP

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Hope they find the BIB quickly and are not to gentle in bringing them in.

[A_Traveller]

I know Bangkok Post fair use issue, but this line does seem vital

Parents of the children told police they were close friends of Pol L/C Suriya until he asked for gambling money.

As with others words fail one, even here, with the rampant corruption we all see within the Royal Thai Police Force, for someone to stoop this low, extraordinary.

Condolences to the families, and a hope that both justice will be served, and those who have suffered this trauma manage to put it behind them.

Regards

[JetsetBkk]

Appalling. Never heard of such a shockingly cruel way to extort money, and obviously so badly planned they couldn't possibly hope to get away with it.

[sriracha john]

Pair arrested over Thai kidnapping case

Police in eastern Thailand have arrested two men accused of kidnapping five children for ransom as they were being driven to school.

The three youngest children were released, but the abductors attacked their two teenage captives fearing they could identify them.

A 14-year-old girl was killed, but her cousin escaped and contacted police.

Thai officials say that a policeman was involved in kidnapping.

- AFP

[sriracha john]

Thai gang kidnaps five children, kills one: police

BANGKOK (AFP) - A gang headed by a policeman kidnapped five children in eastern Thailand as they were being driven to school, killing one girl so she would not identify them, a top police official said on Sunday.

Four kidnappers abducted a six-year-old boy and four girls aged three, six, 14 and 16, in Chachoengsao province on Friday morning, said deputy national police chief Jongruk Jutanond.

The 39-year-old man driving the youths was also kidnapped, and the abductors demanded a three-million-baht ransom from the man's family. The driver was related to all of the kidnapped children.

The driver's 14-year-old niece was found dead on Saturday in Chonburi province near Bangkok, while his 16-year-old daughter survived with injuries and told police who were her father's captors.

"The policeman involved in the kidnapping was close to this family. They tried to kill them (the girls) to prevent them from telling the truth," he said.

The kidnappers released the three smaller children on Saturday, and police arrested two people later that day, including a police corporal, who Jongruk said had gambling debts.

"They confessed that they had kidnapped people for ransom," he said.

The driver and two of the suspected abductors remain missing.

- AFP

[cloudhopper]

Kidnapping for ransom is increasingly common throughout Latin America. Let's hope it doesn't catch on here.

[girlx]

in parts of southeast asia too like the phillipines. so is breaking in to a foreigner's home to rob them and killing them, from what i have heard. if the economy gets worse i can definitely see this happening here more. this particular story is disgusting. the kid they ran over was 14. such sick greed.

Edited August 10, 2008 by girlx

[Prakanong]

in parts of southeast asia too like the phillipines. so is breaking in to a foreigner's home to rob them and killing them, from what i have heard. if the economy gets worse i can definitely see this happening here more. this particular story is disgusting. the kid they ran over was 14. such sick greed.

Kidnapping for ransom is also big in HK, China etc.

The Economist had it pretty much spot on about the BiB

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11058580

[fred2007]

I found this story absolutely disgusting, some times I wonder why I like to live here

[Scott]

Vert sad.

I wonder who this police officer owed money too that is so influential that he would resort to this. I would think as a policeman, he could avoid paying.

He must be a gambling addict to reach this level of crime. How did he get this gang to go along with it? It's quite sad, but intriguing nonetheless.

[cloudhopper]

The Economist had it pretty much spot on about the BiB

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11058580

Excellent article! - thanks for the link.

[dumball]

I found this story absolutely disgusting, some times I wonder why I like to live here

why do you like to live here?

I did not like it or what i thought could be on its way so i moved out , complaining on forums achieves nothing because we are considered only as "Money fodder'.

[sriracha john]

the missing father has been found... murdered...

Chachoengsao killings: three arrested, including policeman

CHACHOENGSAO, Aug 10 (TNA) -- A teenage schoolgirl and the father of one of her classmates who were killed in a kidnapping scheme gone bad has resulted in the sacking and arrest of a Royal Thai Police sergeant late Saturday, and the arrest of a man and a woman Sunday morning, and a warrant being issued for the arrest of a fourth suspect.

The abducted children were students at St. Louis School in the Chachoengsao provincial seat--Siriwan sae Liang, 16; Papassorn Tharapis, 14; Ae Somsorn, 11; and two kindergarten students, Pawaris Tharapis, 6 and Peerada Somsorn, 4.

According to Deputy National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Jongrak Juthanond, who spoke to the media on Sunday, Pol. Sgt. Suriya Charajamnong, suspected as the gang leader, was apprehended Saturday night and was charged with abducting the five students from a school in Chachoengsao province on Friday morning.

A couple identified as Boonrut Saengpuang and Tamolwan Suwan were nabbed Sunday from a house in nearby Chonburi province. Police also seized about 500 speed pills allegedly in their possession.

Sgt. Suriya was taken into custody at a house in north suburban Bangkok's Pathum Thani province. The abductors killed the father of one of the kidnapped students, Gen. Jongrak said.

He was arrested from a house in Pathum Thani province, near Bangkok, while police also seized a .38 pistol in his possession. He is dismissed from service and initially charged with abducting and demanding ransom, and torturing others.

A couple identified as Boonrut Saengpuang and Tamolwan Suwan were nabbed Sunday at a house Chon Buri province, southeast of the capital. Police also seized about 500 methamphetamine 'speed' pills allegedly in their possession.

Gen. Jongrak said the Chachoengsao court had issued a warrant for the arrest of another abductor who is still at large.

The incident took place early Friday when the five students were being driven to school in a pickup truck driven by Somchai sae Liang, father of one of the students. The car was stopped by armed abductors who parked their pick-up truck across the road.

One of the gunmen forced Mr. Somchai out of the truck and took him away.

Police said three of the students were later abandoned at a market in a district of Chachoengsao after the abductors failed to get the ransom amount of money they demanded from the children's families. The three students have now been returned to their families.

One female student was killed by the abductors while another was able to escape, police said. The body of Mr. Somchai was found Sunday in a village forest area of Chonburi province, police said.

[sriracha john]

Cops announcing the arrest of a cop...

[stumonster]

has resulted in the sacking and arrest of a Royal Thai Police sergeant

has he been sacked so he does not automatically get bail ?

now that the ex " top cop" mr 't' has run away , maybe embarrasment will cause these transgressors ( and other filthy scum in uniforms ) to be prosecuted.

[sriracha john]

the missing father has been found... murdered...

Chachoengsao killings: three arrested, including policeman

make that brutally murdered...

Three arrests in kidnap case

CHACHOENGSAO : Three men, including a policeman, accused of abducting five school children and killing one of them were arrested yesterday, and the father of one of the students was found dead. Police Lance Corporal Suriya Charajamnong was apprehended in Pathum Thani in the early hours of yesterday. Investigators identified him as the alleged gang leader. He was attached to the Phanom Sarakham district police in Chachoengsao. The other two suspects, Bunnarat Saengpuang, 32, and Thamolwan Suwan, 36, were captured at their house in Chonburi's Muang district. More than 500 methamphetamine pills were also seized. The three were charged with abduction, assault, torture, and premeditated murder. The fourth suspect, Nithi Sircharoeng, 40, was still at large last night. Pol Gen Jongrak Juthanont, deputy national police chief, has suspended Pol L/C Suriya from work. He will also face a disciplinary inquiry. The body of Somchai Sae Liang, 38, was found near a slaughterhouse in Chonburi. He was the father of one of the abducted children. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and there were bruises and wounds all over his body. Somjai Charajamnong, 39, the former wife of Pol L/C Suriya, said she separated from him six years ago. She described him as a gambler and a womaniser. She cares for their two sons, but said

http://www.bangkokpost.net/110808_News/11Aug2008_news19.php

[kmart]

has resulted in the sacking and arrest of a Royal Thai Police sergeant

has he been sacked so he does not automatically get bail ?

now that the ex " top cop" mr 't' has run away , maybe embarrasment will cause these transgressors ( and other filthy scum in uniforms ) to be prosecuted.

Would like to hope so, but not holding my breath. The whole force is one huge criminal organization, just involved in different levels of criminality... Stories like these highlight the most brutal extremes of the BiB, but this is only the last resort of their normal methods of extortion.

[barky]

Another great day for Thailand's finest.

In the scheme of things a trivial point, but I wonder why we use the term, finest, to describe Thai pigs?

I know it is a common phrase when we are refering to police generally, but here in Thailand we really need to call a spade a spade. Generally they are a collective bunch of corrupt, disgusting, lazy, good for nothing, lieing , trouble making, hypocritical, cowardly, murderous thugs. I have more accurate adjectives but I think you get the idea.

[Spee]

The Economist had it pretty much spot on about the BiB

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11058580

Excellent article! - thanks for the link.

Quoting from the article's concluding paragraph:

"Thai public servants are less loyal to the institutions that employ them than to their loose network of connections—relatives, ex-classmates from military training or old university chums."

The same thing could easily be said of the UK (Eton, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.), the US (Harvard, Yale, Skull&Bones, etc.) and most other countries around the world. The power structures of African dictatorships are almost entirely based upon tribal and family links.

Situations like the police situation in Thailand, the Mugabe dictatorship in Zimbabwe, etc., are just examples of what can happen when things are allowed to get totally out of control.

There is always going to be corruption. It is part of human nature and reasonably accurate to assume that some people can be corrupted. But corruption, like any other human behaviour, can be and has to be kept manageable. By default, if it is not, then it is out of control and these situations are clearly out of control. Like Zimbabwe, I fear the situation in Thailand will continue to get much worse before someone stands up and makes it better through effective control.

It is also worth remembering that the stuff we hear about in this forum and read about in The Economist are only things that have reached the public media. The scary part is that I can't possibly fathom the depth of the current situation and the numbers of murders, rapes, extortions, kickbacks, etc., that no one will ever know about.

[Tony Clifton]

When our son was born now 7 months ago, his Thai mom and I decided that this country wasn't the place to raise him.

Every now and then I stop and think again wondering if we are doing the right thing moving back to Canada in a month from now?

Then I read shit like this every now and then...

Then I wonder how much is a mixed blood child worth to scumbags like this.

Makes me shiver.

Kidnapping for ransom is increasingly common throughout Latin America. Let's hope it doesn't catch on here.

What, you haven't heard of all the billboard wars and kidnappings?

Border patrol kidnappings?

Brown uniforms participating in kidnapping to pay off debts?

Kidnappings have been going on for long here.

in parts of southeast asia too like the phillipines. so is breaking in to a foreigner's home to rob them and killing them, from what i have heard. if the economy gets worse i can definitely see this happening here more. this particular story is disgusting. the kid they ran over was 14. such sick greed.

Not only foreigners are the victims but sure happens regularly in the Thai papers.

I lock the bedroom door as well and keep a machete handy behind the headboard.

[HASSELHOFF]

The world has some sick people iin it. I hope the 14 year old girl RIP

[Prakanong]

"It is also worth remembering that the stuff we hear about in this forum and read about in The Economist are only things that have reached the public media. The scary part is that I can't possibly fathom the depth of the current situation and the numbers of murders, rapes, extortions, kickbacks, etc., that no one will ever know about."

Very good point - the fact is corruption permeates all levels of Thai society and is accepted by most of the people.

Singaporeans tell me Indonesia is worse but not knowing the place I would not know - it may be the typical Singapore paranoia (While hiding the Indo black money happily in their banks) but if it is its must be a long way down.

[seri thai]

Another great day for Thailand's finest.

In the scheme of things a trivial point, but I wonder why we use the term, finest, to describe Thai pigs?

Short answers?

1)Irony,

2)Fear of reprisals

[JetsetBkk]

The Economist had it pretty much spot on about the BiB

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11058580

Excellent article! - thanks for the link.

Ditto.

Police reforms elsewhere have generally succeeded only where a public-spirited and untainted political leadership forced them through. When will Thailand get that sort of leadership?

When, oh when? I'll be pushing up the daisies before that happens, methinks.

[poshthai]

I feel physicaly sick reading this and my thoughts go out to the families of this tragic event.Something has to be done about the police force here in thailand,even for the king to do something because these disgusting creatures need a few lessons in humanity.

However i still feel safe in Thailand despite this monsterous deed by bib.