3 Suspected Robbers Escape From Bangkok Court With Help From Friends

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3 suspected robbers escape from Bangkok court with help from friends

Gang members attacked Corrections Department officials and freed three suspected robbers from the Talinchan district court Monday morning.

The three suspects belong to the so-called flying pig robber gangs, whose leader was a former racer.

They fled on a green Honda Civic following a gun fight with the authorities.

-- The Nation 2009/12/21

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[Explorer]

Wow! the old wild wild west scene

Next: Poster reward?

Explorer

[kartman]

Did the Civic have numbers on the doors? easy to trace just look it up in a Bira programe

[TAWP]

To be honest, my first reaction from reading in the Twitter-feed was 'LOL' (i.e. to actually laugh out loud in the office), then I got concerned...

And what exactly is a pig robber? Does pigs carry around a lot of money these days? I know they moved into the house and started sleeping in the beds, but where do they put the wallets?

[junglist]

I can all ready here the music from The Good The Bad and the Ugly playing.

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UPDATE

Gangsters try but fail to free 3 suspected robbers from Bangkok court

Gang members opened fire at Corrections Department officials at the Taingchan district court Monday morning but failed to free three suspected robbers.

The three suspects, who are members of the so-called flying pig robber gangs, were being taken to the court for a trial.

The attackers fled on a green Honda Civic after failing to help their friends.

-- The Nation 2009/12/21

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[neverdie]

Ohh, so whats next, another version of the incident my goodness.

stand by people, theres gonna be more updates,

next: they actually escaped in a red coloured lairjet

then: they wernt actually at the court, but rather being escorted to the local som tum bar for a ho down.

Edited December 21, 2009 by neverdie

[ballpoint]

And what exactly is a pig robber? Does pigs carry around a lot of money these days? I know they moved into the house and started sleeping in the beds, but where do they put the wallets?

They're flying pig robbers. That make a difference, those flying pigs are worth a lot of money.

[ballpoint]

The attackers fled on a green Honda Civic after failing to help their friends.

Be on the lookout for a green Honda Civic with a bunch of armed men sitting on it.

[Sisaketmike]

Wow! the old wild wild west scene

Next: Poster reward?

Explorer

Well, let's wait for news....they'll be back soon.

[Sisaketmike]

Ohh, so whats next, another version of the incident my goodness.

stand by people, theres gonna be more updates,

next: they actually escaped in a red coloured lairjet

then: they wernt actually at the court, but rather being escorted to the local som tum bar for a ho down.

So pigs were flying in a helicopter?

[basjke]

The OP actually didn't happen.

Then they are members from the flying pig robber gang.

"When pigs fly" is an idiomatic way of saying that something will never happen.

So maybe even the gang actually doesn't excist.

[MagnumForce]

The attackers fled on a green Honda Civic after failing to help their friends.

-- The Nation 2009/12/21

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That would have been hilarious to see! One guy sitting on the roof and another one spread across the bonnet holding on to the windscreen wipers....

Seriously though, did these journalist miss the 'Prepositions' class at journalist school?

[apetley]

Ohh, so whats next, another version of the incident my goodness.

stand by people, theres gonna be more updates,

next: they actually escaped in a red coloured lairjet

then: they wernt actually at the court, but rather being escorted to the local som tum bar for a ho down.

When has 'The Nation' ever let the facts and competent reporting get in the way of a good story?

[Chunkton]

Ohh, so whats next, another version of the incident my goodness.

stand by people, theres gonna be more updates,

next: they actually escaped in a red coloured lairjet

then: they wernt actually at the court, but rather being escorted to the local som tum bar for a ho down.

When has 'The Nation' ever let the facts and competent reporting get in the way of a good story?

Quite true, which is why they prefer to avoid facts at all costs. It certainly brings great credibility to this forum.

[moskito]

seems THE NATIONS is a great newspaper with good jounalists, I LIKE IT.....but when I was young I liked the MAD magazine too

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Police sabotage escape plan

By Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai,

Supachai Petchtewee

The Nation

Published on December 22, 2009

Police managed to recapture two suspects, part of the so-called "flying-pig" gang of robbers, after their attempt to escape outside Bangkok's Taling Chan District Court yesterday.

Officers were transporting five suspected robbers, namely Nat Chahom, 32; Supat "Tom" Noenwichien, 29; Peerawat Tawantharong, 23; and Waranyaporn Triamthanawat and Walailak Sriprapai, both 27; to court for their final hearing. They are being tried for allegedly breaking into the houses of many politicians, senior officials and artists with the help of car-racer Hathai Chaiwan, 38, and making off with valuables worth some Bt200 million from July 2007 to May 2009.

Police officers rushed to court at 8.30am yesterday to find the five suspects being detained by Corrections Department officials, though the alleged mastermind had escaped in a green Honda Civic with a Bangkok licence plate numbered "Phor Kor 3598".

Corrections officials said that when the suspects were being ushered out of the prison vehicle, Nat screamed "bomb" and officers did notice a couple of bomb-like objects nearby. Nat and Tom, in shackles, used the chaos as an opportunity to try and flee in a waiting green car, but were easily caught. However, the two accomplices, including fraud suspect Chatchawal Kowkimseng, waiting in the car sped off. The 26-year-old suspect had been released on bail on December 14.

Once things calmed down, police discovered that the two bomb-like objects were merely firecrackers packed in a pair of socks.

Later yesterday, the escape vehicle was found abandoned in a dead-end ally about 800 metres from the scene and an unregistered .38 pistol and 10 bullets were retrieved.

Police believe that Nat and Tom were going to pay the accomplices with the stolen valuable, and reports say that Chatchawal and Nat were either friends from before or had become mates in prison.

At a press conference yesterday, Taling Chan court's chief judge Pattharasak Sirisin said this escape attempt had been planned in prison, and that the bomb-like objects had been assembled while the suspects were behind bars. Upon release, Chatchawal had allegedly planted the so-called bombs in the prison vehicle, which Nat later used as a distraction. Allegedly, Chatchawal was to pick up the two suspects and then lay low in Chon Buri before hiding out in Cambodia, he said.

The judge added that since both Nat and Tom are suspects in some 20 theft cases and that their numerous requests for bail had been turned down, they had realised that they were in for some serious sentences and thus came up with the plan to escape. Pattharasak added that an arrest warrant had been issued for Chatchawal because he failed to show up for his hearing yesterday.

The judge, however, did not confirm if the incident could be blamed on negligence. The prison truck had been parked at the court's entrance instead of being driven straight into the court detention centre compound. Prison officials say this was because they had to deliver several suspects in different places.

The judge did admit that if the truck had gone inside as required by protocol, the incident would not have occurred.

The punishment for assisting a jailbreak is seven-years imprisonment and Bt14,000 in fines.

Meanwhile, Corrections Department chief Chatchai Suthiklom has given Bangkok Special Prison chief Sopon Thitithammapreuk the job of finding out who might have provided the materials to make the fake bombs and check security camera footage to see if Chatchawal's green car was ever spotted in the prison compound.

A source at the prison said Nat and Tom were being detained in separate cells and admitted that officials had not been able to keep a close eye on inmates because there were so many of them.

Meanwhile, Hathai, who was not taken to court yesterday because he is not a suspect in the Taling Chan robbery, said he knew nothing about the escape attempt. He explained that he did not need to make a break for it because he had only been charged for one robbery and faced just two years in prison. He said his only link to the gang was that he had offered to negotiate with the police on their behalf.

-- The Nation 2009/12/22

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UPDATE

'Flying Pigs' put in shackles in prison

By Monthien Inthaket

The Nation

Published on December 23, 2009

The Corrections Department chief yesterday ordered that suspects related to the so-called "Flying Pig" gang of robbers be detained in separate cells.

The move follows suspects Nat Chahom's and Supat "Tom" Noenwichien's failed attempt to escape upon arrival at Bangkok's Taling Chan District Court on Monday with their accomplice Chatchawal Kowkimseng.

Department chief Chatchai Suthiklom said the Bangkok Special Prison chief had put together a team to investigate the origin of materials used for the fake bombs that were reportedly put together in prison and then used by the suspects as a distraction when trying to escape. If any officials are found involved in the making of these fake bombs then they would be severely punished, he added.

Chatchai said information from the prison's security camera footage should be ready in three days. It is believed that Chatchawal, a fraud suspect released on bail last Monday, had visited the gangsters and was often seen entering the prison compound in the Honda Civic he had used as a getaway vehicle.

The department chief added that prison officials had beefed up security, especially when transporting inmates to court. In addition, suspects were now put in shackles, detained in solitary cells and not allowed any visitors, he said, adding that it's a good thing that they are being detained pending trail because otherwise their conditions would be further downgraded.

Meanwhile, the court yesterday issued a warrant to arrest Chatchawal for assisting jailbreak, possessing an unregistered pistol and carrying weapons in public spaces without permission. The police have also interviewed the five Corrections officials who transported the suspects and have also discovered that the green Honda's car licence plate belonged to a Phuket resident. Police officers have launched a hunt for Chatchawal in Bangkok, his hometown as well as hospitals that he was often known to use as a hotel.

-- The Nation 2009/12/23

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