CityNews – 10th October 2019, commander of Chiang Mai provincial police and an investigative team from Mae Ping police station together with relevant police staff arrested Prawit Kot-toeng, 47 years-old, from Khon Kaen, and Boonsong Jai-ai, 37 years-old from Chiang Rai, taking them to re-enact the crime at the scene as they had confessed to the murder that occurred there earlier this week.
The crime scene was an abandoned movie theatre building near Arcade Bus Station. The pair confessed to murdering Phaiboon PholKot, 65 years-old from Loei (who did recycle trading and resided in that abandoned building) during the night of 7th October. His body was discovered on the following day. Relevant police officers hurried to investigate the case, they told the press, resulting in the speedy arrest and confession.
The two men told police that they climbed up the abandoned building from the back side to the second floor and crossed over a fence and other obstacles before going downstairs to enter the point in front of the room where the man lived. Both of them clubbed the man until he was dead, and hid their killing instruments in a garbage bin of the second floor.
From the investigation, Prawit who was arrested earlier said that on the morning of 7th October, he talked with Boonsong who told him that the victim was in a relationship with his wife and had taken her and their child to live somewhere else, suggesting the need to have a word with him. Prawit claimed to have tried to tell him not to go there and the two had a physical altercation over the matter. In the evening Boonsong had drinks with friends and came back to the room. Prawit and Pu then decided to confront the victim who, he said, tried to start a fight with them, leading the pair to fight him back, clubbing him to death but Prawait said he didn’t see Pu slashing his throat and said that he didn’t either. The victim was found to have been badly beaten with his throat slashed.
As for Boonsong, he confessed with a similar story but said he didn’t use the knife to kill the man, though he admitted that he hid the murder weapons. He, however, said that Prawit was the one who used the knife.
The pair are charged with murder.