Thai home buyer killed by angry ex-owner who refused to move out
A woman who bought a house from a bank in Thailand was allegedly shot dead by the owner of the property on Tuesday, after he refused to move out.
The killing, which sparked a more than four-hour stand-off, ended when the owner, Decha Phayakkha, 66, surrendered to local police and a special operations squad that had surrounded the house in the Thanyaburi district in Pathum Thani province, the Bangkok Post reported.
The woman, Kamolporn Donthong, 52, had purchased the house, which had been seized by the bank and sold through the Legal Execution Department, according to the Thai news outlet.
The property in Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road in Thanyaburi district lies south of Bangkok.
When the home buyer arrived shortly before 3pm to talk to Decha about moving out, he refused and allegedly gunned her down while she was on the street outside the house, killing her instantly.
Even as the police and a special operations squad surrounded the house and the man’s daughter was called in to help persuade him to surrender, he refused to budge.
At about 4.30pm, Thanyaburi Police Station chief Jirawat Piampinset asked the man to lay down his weapon and surrender, but he did not respond.
About an hour later, Mr Decha fired shots from the house as the special operations police inched closer.
He eventually gave himself up at about 7.55pm and was taken to Thanyaburi Police Station, where he was held in custody.
The police station’s deputy investigation chief Sariphong Apiwan told the Bangkok Post that the suspect had become very stressed overnight, but calmed down when his children visited him.
On Wednesday, his son, his daughter and a lawyer arrived at Thanyaburi Police Station to visit him.
Mr Decha was initially charged with murder, attempting to kill officers on duty, and firearms offences.
He would be taken to Thanyaburi Provincial Court, where police would apply to detain him for the first 12-day period of the investigation, said the police.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
