Vindictive, mercurial thief and murderer caged in Nong Bua Lamphu after brutal outrage stunned locals

Vindictive and mentally unstable thief Mr. Samart, 58, who murdered three people after a ฿10,000 theft from a disabled victim, surrenders to police in Nong Bua Lamphu. A tense manhunt ends as the remorseful killer, supported by his family, is captured and caged.

A police and military task force on Thursday breathed a sigh of relief when a crazed killer surrendered at approximately 12:51 p.m. The day before, a 58-year-old mentally unstable man gunned down three people within minutes. The cause of the outrage was that the killer, Mr. Samart had previously been summoned to the local police station. He had been called to account for the theft of the ฿10,000 government giveaway from a disabled person. It seems that this was not the only theft linked to him. One of those he killed was a local village volunteer who had collared him previously. Nonetheless, the erratic killer appeared on Thursday to have the full support and enduring love of his family, as they urged him to surrender and liaised with police to negotiate his safe delivery.

A man who murdered three people on Wednesday, November 7th, in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu carried out the killings in two separate shootings in the southern Si Bun Rueang district.

Initial reports suggest the 58-year-old killer, identified as Mr. Samart, was a drug addict and mentally unstable.

The killer carried out the murders after he was summoned by local police. He had pilfered ฿10,000 from the bank account of a third party. The money, disbursed as part of the government’s digital wallet plan, was obtained using the account holder’s ATM card.

Disabled victim’s report to police may have triggered the fatal shooting spree in Nong Bua Lamphu

The shootings occurred in the village of Ban Fai Hin in Tambon Non-Muang. Previously, a disabled person had discovered the theft and reported it to the Si Bun Rueang Police Station. Police had scheduled a 10 a.m. meeting between the accused and the victim. This meeting turned out to be the trigger for the killings.

Early Wednesday morning, around 6 a.m., Mr. Samart, wearing a black jacket and riding a black-blue motorbike, rode to the victim’s home. He was irate at being reported to the police. After a tense 20-minute conversation with the disabled person and a relative, Mr. Samart produced a 9mm handgun and shot both. They died instantly.

He then set off to escape but, along the road, encountered a village volunteer named Mr. Thawan, about 2 km away. Mr. Thawan, a local nemesis of the killer, had previously apprehended Mr. Samart several times for theft, particularly involving valuable antiques.

Killer fled to Phu Phan mountain, causing widespread panic in Nong Bua Lamphu and Loei provinces

After the killings, the suspect fled to take refuge on Phu Phan Mountain. Later, police found his motorbike abandoned. The incident caused widespread panic in the local communities of Nong Bua Lamphu and Loei provinces.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul urged authorities to track down the man.

Subsequently, Mr. Samart’s wife, Ms. Jum, made contact. After begging for alms at a local monastery and discarding his clothes, Mr. Samart told his wife he wanted to surrender.

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At 12:51 p.m. on Thursday, he was taken into custody by a police task force led by Police Lt. Colonel Sakon Fuangkrasae. The acting chief of nearby Na Wang Police Station led the search coordination.

The killer’s wife told reporters she feared for his safety while on the run and worried he would be beaten in custody. Clearly distressed, she urged him to surrender.

Ms. Supranee Boonprakhom, a 50-year-old neighbour of the perpetrator, visited police at Si Bun Rueang Police Station.

At length, her news was that she was able to contact the perpetrator to surrender. She revealed the killer was afraid that the police would beat him up when he surrendered.

Killer discarded clothes to indicate surrender amid fears of police violence during capture

Reporters later spoke with Ms. Supranee, who explained that Mr. Samart had discarded his shirt and clothes to indicate he was surrendering. At the same time, his gun was no longer loaded.

The arrested killer was subsequently taken to Si Bun Rueang Police Station, where he was debriefed and interrogated on the second floor of the operations centre. Later, he was presented before the media in a press conference.

A curious aspect of the story is the apparent support Mr. Samart received from his family, even after murdering three innocent people—one of whom was disabled, and another a local community official.

Killer expressed remorse during a police press conference and was placed in a detention cage

On Thursday morning, the killer’s 28-year-old son, Mr. Chettha, wept for his father and urged him to surrender. He told the media that although his father was a gun collector, he was not a hunter. In short, he described him as an ordinary person.