Owner Of 'Lavita Coffee' Shot Dead In Bangkok's Rama III Park

[webfact]

Coffee boss shot dead in Rama III park

By Supachai Petchtewee

The Nation

The owner of "Lavita Coffee" was shot dead while exercising in a public park on Bangkok's Rama III road yesterday morning.

Following a homicide report at 6am, police rushed to Chalerm Phrakiat Park to find the body of Somchai Leuangtrakul, 57.

He had a gunshot wound in the back of head, one in the hip and one in the right thigh.

The victim's wife and daughter, who went to the scene, told police Somchai owned a coffee plantation and had a retail coffee business under the brand "Lavita".

Somchai used to drive his car to the park to exercise before going home late in the morning.

His wife said they had an idea who may be behind the murder, but declined to comment before speaking to police.

Witnesses said the Somchai got out of his car and walked into the park while one of the two men on a motorcycle at the scene pulled out a gun and shot at the businessman. He was hit in the thigh and hip before being shot in the back of the head. The killers then fled on the motorbike.

Metropolitan Police Area 5 deputy chief Police Colonel Jirapat Phumjit said that initial police inquiries found that the victim had prior conflicts with his business partners and split to run his own business. He also told his wife that someone followed him and he feared they might ambush him.

-- The Nation 2011-02-23

[richard10365]

The coffee business in Thailand does at times seem to have some mafia like traits. I have done some research on the subject here in Northern Thailand and have heard from coffee farmers it is a protected business.

[supaprik]

yes coffee in Thailand is as dangerous as a bar on walking street for sure

[asiawatcher]

He knew it was coming - you would have thought he would change habits - if the bike guys were waiting he was habitual thus easy target. Sad but T.i.T. Life is cheap.

[powderpuff]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

[ginjag]

He knew it was coming - you would have thought he would change habits - if the bike guys were waiting he was habitual thus easy target. Sad but T.i.T. Life is cheap.

Somebody spilt the.. .beans.. in ..de caf,.. killed with... expresso... timing, these guys will have ...filtered ...away quickly.and gone back to their big...maxwell house.

[61guitarman61]

At times one gets the feeling of being in Sicily in the 60's. Same mafia, same killings, same responses by police. Not to mention the spousal involvement in unfortunate demises of wealthy men. (Only for discussion sake in this killing of course, as there is no evidence or indictment of the wife/family in this killing - yet.) The LOS could be more aptly named the LOFS - Land of Fake Smiles. Have you ever noticed how sullen faced most Thais are until you smile at them. Then you get a reciprocated smile and "sawasdee krap/ka". They could give you the obligatory greeting and turn to stick a knife in your back without missing a beat - be it literally or figuratively. I personally do not feel threatened or in danger of this nature at all. My wife, however, complains at me any time I go out at night for a walk for fear of some nefarious individual doing me harm. Makes me think........ I am in Maesot, Tak province by the way. Benign, quiet city where we live in a "suburban" area that has all the charms or Beaver Cleaver's neighborhood. And yet these fears coming, not from me, but from a local. Glad I'm not rich............. I might be dead already.

[bbradsby]

The coffee business in Thailand does at times seem to have some mafia like traits. I have done some research on the subject here in Northern Thailand and have heard from coffee farmers it is a protected business.

To help TV members from inadvertently stepping into something unsavory, which portion(s) of the biz are you referring to - farming, distribution, roasting, retail outlets? And what kind of research did you undertake? Many farangs likely consider opening up a coffee bar or three in LOS. And with the value of Civet poop coffee [hilarious BTW] quite a few farangs may consider other portions of the business besides retail outlets.

-bdb

[random]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

Did you actually read the report?

[Colabamumbai]

Good that they are not blaming it on drugs, maybe it was Muslim insurgents from the south? Smile

[Losangels]

Good that they are not blaming it on drugs, maybe it was Muslim insurgents from the south? Smile

[edwinchester]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

Try reading the OP again. He was out for some early morning exercise.

[KKvampire]

At times one gets the feeling of being in Sicily in the 60's. Same mafia, same killings, same responses by police. Not to mention the spousal involvement in unfortunate demises of wealthy men. (Only for discussion sake in this killing of course, as there is no evidence or indictment of the wife/family in this killing - yet.) The LOS could be more aptly named the LOFS - Land of Fake Smiles. Have you ever noticed how sullen faced most Thais are until you smile at them. Then you get a reciprocated smile and "sawasdee krap/ka". They could give you the obligatory greeting and turn to stick a knife in your back without missing a beat - be it literally or figuratively. I personally do not feel threatened or in danger of this nature at all. My wife, however, complains at me any time I go out at night for a walk for fear of some nefarious individual doing me harm. Makes me think........ I am in Maesot, Tak province by the way. Benign, quiet city where we live in a "suburban" area that has all the charms or Beaver Cleaver's neighborhood. And yet these fears coming, not from me, but from a local. Glad I'm not rich............. I might be dead already.

So true. "land of fake smiles" often, Smiles from someone who wants to sell a product or serviced. Thailand has become a fake happy country. More to come

[Misterwhisper]

Perhaps a disgruntled customer was the mastermind behind the killing... really really bad coffee can even turn the most benign person into a revengeful beast.

[Payboy]

Perhaps a disgruntled customer was the mastermind behind the killing... really really bad coffee can even turn the most benign person into a revengeful beast.

Howard Schultz should be dead several times over then.

[orosee]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

Did you actually read the report?

That was my first thought too, then I re-read the OP and... surprise:

Somchai used to drive his car to the park to exercise before going home late in the morning.

Not the normal time to return from office. His wife didn't mind though, or did she?

[sandgroper2]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

Gee, Wow, this is extremely interesting. ( get a job)

[random]

At 6 am he was on his way home from ... where? Must have led a nocturnal lifestyle. R.I.P.

Did you actually read the report?

That was my first thought too, then I re-read the OP and... surprise:

Somchai used to drive his car to the park to exercise before going home late in the morning.

Not the normal time to return from office. His wife didn't mind though, or did she?

so he drove from home to the park, then drove home again. what is wrong with this?

[RKASA]

Bangkok Dangerous He was bad for somebody.

[richard10365]

The coffee business in Thailand does at times seem to have some mafia like traits. I have done some research on the subject here in Northern Thailand and have heard from coffee farmers it is a protected business.

To help TV members from inadvertently stepping into something unsavory, which portion(s) of the biz are you referring to - farming, distribution, roasting, retail outlets? And what kind of research did you undertake? Many farangs likely consider opening up a coffee bar or three in LOS. And with the value of Civet poop coffee [hilarious BTW] quite a few farangs may consider other portions of the business besides retail outlets.

-bdb

I have talked with farmers in Doi Inthanon and others in Chiang Rai. I have also talked with staff of coffee shops in the city of Chiang Mai. It is the middle men who seem to be reverting to the mafia style tactics mostly against the farmers. Farmers are pressured to sell their beans to the middle men. These middle men then sell their beans to companies like Starbucks and Wawee for much higher prices than what they paid for the beans.

Roasted coffee has such a mark up from the farm to the store shelves, its easy to want to be involved in the business. I can buy 1kg of coffee beans for about 120 baht in Doi Inthanon. It's even less if I order large 50kg bags. From 1kg you can roast 4each 200 gram bags of coffee. Each bag can be sold from prices ranging from 120 baht up to 300 baht in some stores. Large roasters can give you economies of scale advantage smaller roasters can't get.

The margin on coffee is huge for some who are exploiting it.

[Thaihog]

At least the BIB didn't say it was suicide...

[KeyserSoze01]

Good that they are not blaming it on drugs, maybe it was Muslim insurgents from the south? Smile

Or could be those pesky Cambodians.

Most likely the Rohingya boat people. Time to drag a few dozen more out to sea and set them adrift.

[TinoThailand]

If it's really about business... Then 50 k in baht is not much... you can let it happen for this price if nobody is in the mood... Just heard about it... Life is cheap indeed

[MaxYakov]

He knew it was coming - you would have thought he would change habits - if the bike guys were waiting he was habitual thus easy target. Sad but T.i.T. Life is cheap.

Somebody spilt the.. .beans.. in ..de caf,.. killed with... expresso... timing, these guys will have ...filtered ...away quickly.and gone back to their big...maxwell house.

giniag: What a drip you are that should be filtered. Your humor is pre-Colombian. Why don't you get back to the grind before you get beaned? How's that for a roast?

Edited February 23, 2011 by MaxYakov

[ginjag]

He knew it was coming - you would have thought he would change habits - if the bike guys were waiting he was habitual thus easy target. Sad but T.i.T. Life is cheap.

Somebody spilt the.. .beans.. in ..de caf,.. killed with... expresso... timing, these guys will have ...filtered ...away quickly.and gone back to their big...maxwell house.

giniag: What a drip you are that should be filtered. Your humor is pre-Colombian. Why don't you get back to the grind before you get beaned? How's that for a roast?

Maxwellyakoffing

you love to stir it up dont ya sugar, and get yourself all perculated up, frothing at the mouth from your red cup. Gran-ules to say to me it's good for ya, don't want to mocca you at all, and if your european didn't want to give you an Italian roasting. think your a mug too.

Edited February 24, 2011 by ginjag

[blabla1]

Shot hip,thigh then back of the head, first shot to the leg,this is for...bla bla..second shot to the hip,this is for bla bla....fatal shot back of head and this is from...bla bla.... smells of cosanostra to me...poor ignorant bastards.

[random]

according to Thai news this morning he is a respected family man, not out all night, also was responsible for the exercise classes in the park in the mornings, thai chi etc.

His daughter has informed the police that one of his businesses was in conjunction with a senior well know police man, this relationship went sour, the family have pointed the finger at him but his name is not released yet.

[ginjag]

according to Thai news this morning he is a respected family man, not out all night, also was responsible for the exercise classes in the park in the mornings, thai chi etc.

His daughter has informed the police that one of his businesses was in conjunction with a senior well know police man, this relationship went sour, the family have pointed the finger at him but his name is not released yet.

If we speak too much we will be seen as knocking Thailand--police involved in this business-surprise !!! Why would he get involved with them in the first place?? did this senior bib want a bigger share all of a sudden ??? the biggest problem in this land -strikes again.

[random]

according to Thai news this morning he is a respected family man, not out all night, also was responsible for the exercise classes in the park in the mornings, thai chi etc.

His daughter has informed the police that one of his businesses was in conjunction with a senior well know police man, this relationship went sour, the family have pointed the finger at him but his name is not released yet.

If we speak too much we will be seen as knocking Thailand--police involved in this business-surprise !!! Why would he get involved with them in the first place?? did this senior bib want a bigger share all of a sudden ??? the biggest problem in this land -strikes again.

from the news this morning he advised many police on their business ventures, however he did go into business with one, this went sour. I must say here that as far as I know there is no evidence of this policeman involvement as yet, but his name was put forward by the family, I am guessing this is who was meant ysterday when the family said they have their suspicions about someone.

[Payboy]

according to Thai news this morning he is a respected family man, not out all night, also was responsible for the exercise classes in the park in the mornings, thai chi etc.

His daughter has informed the police that one of his businesses was in conjunction with a senior well know police man, this relationship went sour, the family have pointed the finger at him but his name is not released yet.

If we speak too much we will be seen as knocking Thailand--police involved in this business-surprise !!! Why would he get involved with them in the first place?? did this senior bib want a bigger share all of a sudden ??? the biggest problem in this land -strikes again.

from the news this morning he advised many police on their business ventures, however he did go into business with one, this went sour. I must say here that as far as I know there is no evidence of this policeman involvement as yet, but his name was put forward by the family, I am guessing this is who was meant ysterday when the family said they have their suspicions about someone.

This story reeked of something "brown" and it certainly wasnt coffee.