Bangkok Police Hunt Mugging Gang Leader

Police hunt mugging gang leader

BANGKOK: Police are hunting for a man suspected of leading a gang that has staged several robberies on pedestrian overpasses in Bangkok, following an arrest of an alleged gang member.

Pol Lt-Colonel Sarayuth Junnawat of Din Daeng police station said the leader of the gang was believed to be Paosi Khunsaman, 39, from Narathiwat.

On Saturday, police arrested Hasan Duaramae, 26, also from Narathiwat, for attacking a woman on a pedestrian overpass in front of the Veterans Hospital on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road. Onlookers attacked Hasan after his arrest.

Sarayuth said Hasan, Paosi, and other gang members had staged several robberies on overpasses in Bangkok, lying low in Narathiwat after each robbery.

He said the gang had set up a stall selling clothes in front of Ramkhamhaeng University as a front for its crimes. Sarayuth said he had contacted police in Narathiwat to help locate Paosi.

Pol Col Woradee Karaonant, commander of Muang district police station in Narathiwat, said he was gathering leads to try to locate Paosi.

Hasan’s mother, Dulniya Duaramae, said she had no idea that her son had become a thief in Bangkok.

Dulniya said she had given Hasan Bt30,000, which he claimed he would be used to cover travel expenses to Egypt where he and Paosi were going to further their studies.

--The Nation 2003-12-23