New Development in Patong Murder Case
Here's what the Straits Times in Singapore reported on March 10 in following up the Phuketwan exclusive: A police officer said Somchai's next target, who apparently lives in the central Kathu area between Phuket town and Patong, would not be warned. 'There is no need to warn them (businessmen) because they must know the risks, especially if they have conflicts and can't talk to each other and resolve them,' the police officer said. He added: 'Sometimes this kind of thing is just a threat arising from a business dispute. It is seen as the final way out, which is not right because there is a justice system to handle things like this' A police source in Phuket, who asked not to be named, told The Straits Times that the cost of hiring a professional hitman usually ranged from 30,000 baht (S$1,290) to 50,000 baht. This can depend on the importance of the target as well as the amount at stake in the business deal that lay at the core of the dispute. In this case, Somchai was allegedly given a 400,000 baht advance for the next hit, he said.
A PROFESSIONAL hitman who confessed last night to one killing in Patong has told police that he had a second contract to murder another expat on Phuket.
The island's police chief, Major General Apirak Hongtong, said that the Bangkok-based hitman, Somchai Mingjaiyen, 29, planned to wait a month after shooting dead a Canadian property developer, then carry out his second hit.
This would mean the killing of the second Phuket expat was scheduled for next week, or the week after.
Somchai Mingjaiyen was one of six people presented to the media last night amid remarkable scenes at Kathu police station in Patong.
He and a second shooter surprised police by strolling to the death scene in Patong last month, where their target was sitting in his lucky registration 7777 pickup. It was his 34th birthday.
So cool were the alleged killers, though, that the Canadian's wife and the proprietress of a hotel next door got a good look at the shooters' faces before they opened fire and ran.
The woman at the hotel even smiled at the assassins. She thought they might be potential guests, coming to take rooms at her hotel.
Today Major General Apirak told Phuketwan that Somchai Mingjaiyen had killed before, and earned his living as a professional hitman.
Police said he was paid 400,000 baht by a woman from Singapore for his part in the murder of the Canadian, Francis Alex Degioanni.
Major General Apirak said the target of his next assignment was a Phuket expat who lived in Thoung Tong, the central Kathu area around the mid-island checkpoint on the road between Phuket City and Patong.
A Thai had contracted Somchai Mingjaiyen to carry out the killing, Major General Apirak said.
He added that police were hoping their investigations into the planned murder would bring an arrest shortly.
Major General Apirak said he was also hoping for a breakthrough soon in the Farang 2 killing, one of four murders this year on the island, which bore the hallmarks of a more conventional professional execution.
Allegations involving six people in the murder of Degioanni, which police said was ordered by Diana Goh Li Fun, his former business associate and friend from Singapore, were made at Kathu police station last night.
Another two arrests are expected in the case.
Six Patong Accused: Photo Album
Patong Murder: Singapore Woman Accused
Murder charges The killing of a Canadian property developer was ordered by a Singaporean woman, police said in parading six accused before the media. Two others have yet to be arrested.
Patong Murder: Singapore Woman Accused
Is the name of this 'other expat' known and if yes has he been notified? Kathu is a very large area with many expat residents that now might be worried about their latest affair or otherwise.
Editor: With the hitman apprehended and the police hot on the trail of the contractor, Kathu expats now only have to worry about their next affair or otherwise.
Posted by Anonymous on March 7, 2009 11:49