SURAT THANI - Police have 12 suspects in the assault and murder of a good Samaritan taxi driver on Koh Samui on May 24, and nine of them have already been arrested.
Pol Col Kritnithi Thongthip, spokesman for Surat Thani police, said on Sunday that detectives had collected enough evidence to obtain court warrants for the arrest of 12 suspects in the murder. Nine of them had been apprehended.
Pol Col Kritnithi said investigators were questioning the suspects in custody and had already obtained court approval to extend the detention of two of them. The suspects face charges of premeditated murder and illegal possession and use of weapons.
The Surat Thani police spokesman asked the public to provide any information they may have on the whereabouts of the three suspects still at large. He also said the family of the deceased was in a police witness protection programme.
The victim was Sikkharin Phromcharoen, 31, a kind-hearted man, a driver who provided free transport for pregnant women, elderly residents, disabled people and poor families.
He was beaten and shot dead on an entry lane to Panupong Hotel at 1.25am on May 24, the victim of a dispute over illegal taxi drivers siphoning off fares. His taxi stopped after it hit a roadside fence. A foreign tourist recorded the assault.
