A Myanmar suspect, believed to have murdered a taxi driver and discarded his body in a fish pond in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district, has been arrested.
The victim, identified as 63-year-old taxi driver Meechai (surname withheld), was discovered early Tuesday morning, concealed among the grass in a fish pond near the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute (CNMI).
Police from Bang Bua Thong station apprehended the 42-year-old Myanmar man, known only as Sun, at a residence near the Buathong Thani housing estate in Nonthaburi’s Bang Bua Thong district.
The victim’s taxi and mobile phone were recovered at the scene, with Mr. Sun admitting to driving the taxi there but denying any involvement in Meechai’s murder.
At Mr. Sun’s residence, police discovered a white bloodstained shirt, a pair of mud-covered trousers, and a rope resembling the one used to tie Meechai’s arms. Meechai had sustained knife wounds to the head and a fractured skull.
Meechai’s family reported receiving a threatening phone call on Tuesday, in which a man demanded 20,000 baht and threatened to kill Meechai if the money was not paid.
Mr. Sun claimed that the real murderer was a Myanmar drug dealer he accompanied on Monday night to deliver drugs in Samut Prakan’s Khlong Dan area, with Meechai as their taxi driver. According to Mr. Sun, the drug dealer argued with Meechai over a debt and threatened him with a knife. He claimed he was instructed to drive the taxi to Bang Bua Thong and was unaware of what transpired afterward.
However, police remain skeptical of Mr. Sun’s account, as the evidence collected points to his involvement in the crime.
