Samut prakan: A 17-year-old youth has been arrested for fatally stabbing an Immigration Police officer in Samut Prakan. He claimed he was enraged because the deceased had hit him with his car first. Authorities are coordinating with multidisciplinary professionals for further investigation.
According to Thai News Agency, Pol. Maj. Gen. Phumin Singhasut, commander of the Samut Prakan Provincial Police, led a team to arrest the 17-year-old male at a residence in Bang Phung Subdistrict, Phra Pradaeng District, Samut Prakan Province. The arrest followed an incident where the suspect allegedly stabbed Police Sergeant Surawut Hoklang, a squad leader in the Immigration Bureau's Investigation Unit 3, in the armed forces, causing serious injuries. Sergeant Hoklang attempted to resuscitate the victim, but he later died. The incident occurred around 1:00 AM on February 1st near a U-turn close to the Chang Erawan BTS station in Mueang District, Samut Prakan Province. Bystanders witnessed the incident and attempted to prevent the suspect from further harming Sergeant Hoklang after an argument over driving. After the attack, the suspect fled on a motorcycle.
Investigators pursued the suspect until they traced his escape route to a residence in Bang Phueng, Phra Pradaeng, which was his mother's home. Police apprehended him there. The mother was shocked, as she never imagined her son would kill a police officer. The suspect confessed to the crime and apologized to the victim's family, claiming he acted out of anger after being hit by a car by the victim. He grabbed a kitchen knife, approximately 10 cm long, from a basket on his bicycle and stabbed the victim. He then threw the knife into a trash can at the entrance of his street. Police took him to the location but could not find the knife, presumably because it had been collected by the garbage truck earlier.
CCTV footage from a convenience store near where the suspect disposed of the knife captured the incident at 1:45 AM. The suspect parked his motorcycle in front of the store before entering to buy ice, behaving normally like a regular customer. After purchasing the ice, he returned to his motorcycle, threw the knife used in the crime into a trash can, and then drove home. He was subsequently apprehended by the police.
Initially, police took the suspect back to Samut Prakan City Police Station for further questioning. They will schedule another interview in the presence of a multidisciplinary team before formally charging him and proceeding according to legal procedures.