He took on the wrong guy
A Navy SEAL shot and killed a Chon Buri man preying on his ex-girlfriend, after the woman reached out to her SEAL friend for help.
CPO1 Thanongsak Pleumarporn, 48, shot Chavalit Tirananon, 38, in the stomach and testicles as the two fought outside the woman's house in Sattahip district.
The victim's ex-girlfriend, Chanasada Piwitha, 38, said Chavalit had been pestering her to come back to him after she severed the relationship, and had assaulted her previously.
She had called her navy friend earlier that day, asking for help, as she suspected Chavalit would attack her again. His family, however, say they have never heard of her and wonder if the Navy SEAL and Ms Chanasada lured Chavalit to the scene to take his life.
Ms Chanasada said she was driving her Toyota Revo pickup home about 1am on July 1 when Chavalit and a friend, driving their own pickup, cut in front of her vehicle outside her house. Chavalit strode out of his vehicle and shot at her driver's side window with his Thai-modified .380mm calibre handgun, shattering it.
He pulled her out of the pickup and started attacking her, news reports say, before CPO1 Thanongsak, who had been following the vehicles as they tailed each other to her place, joined the fray.
He pulled Chavalit off the woman and the two men started fighting. Chavalit shot at CPO1 Thanongsak twice, but missed. The Navy SEAL pulled out his own gun, a Smith & Wesson 9mm calibre, and shot Chavalit twice. He fell to the ground and died later in hospital from his injuries.
His mate, who had stayed inside the vehicle during the confrontation, fled the scene.
Ms Chanasada, who had alerted Sattahip police previously about Chavalit's behaviour, was shaken but otherwise unharmed. She said Chavalit had followed her for the past month, causing a hue and cry and begging to be taken back, but she would refuse. She said Chavalit had also threatened to kill her, which prompted her visit to the police.
Ms Chanasada said she had known her Navy SEAL friend as an elder for years, and reached out for help to protect herself.
CPO1 Thanongsak, based in Sattahip at the Naval Special Warfare Command, Royal Thai Fleet, said he shot the man in self-defence. Police charged him initially with a minor firearms offence, though more serious charges may be pending.
On July 3, Channel 8, a digital TV channel, ran coverage of an audio clip which it said was posted on Chavalit's Facebook earlier, in which a military man on June 11 calls him and threatens his life if he does not leave his ex-girlfriend alone. This comes amid claims by the victim's family that the Navy SEAL and Ms Chanasada may have lured an unsuspecting Chavalit to his death.
The TV station also aired CCTV vision taken about 200m away from Ms Chanasada's house.
Chavalit's pickup is seen chasing Ms Chanasada's vehicle at 1.22am. Two minutes later, CPO1 Thanongsak's vehicle passes by at speed, as he follows them to the scene.
Police called in Chavalit's relatives to give evidence. His son from a previous relationship and another relative told reporters that they cannot believe Chavalit opened fire first or would attack Ms Chanasada.
"I don't know of the woman as my father never mentioned her," his son, unidentified in news reports, said.
Another relative said he may have been tricked there by the other side so they could kill him. "The other side has influence as he is a seaman," the relative said, referring to CPO1 Thanongsak. The relative asked for more time so police could finish their probe. The case continues.
Pickup fight turns deadly
A Roi Et woman changed her testimony and admitted stabbing her husband to death after police said her original story did not hold water.
Chantawadee, 38, admitted slaying her husband Thawatchai, 37, as the two argued in their pickup in Chaturaphak Phiman district on June 30.
The pair, who supply children's playground equipment to fairs and the like, had just wrapped up work at a temple and celebrated with a few drinks.
At 3.30pm, Thawatchai suggested they return home so they could go to the local market to sell fish.
Chantawadee said she was driving them home when her husband, who was drunk, picked a fight. He asked if she was seeing someone and accused her of being unfaithful. He also grabbed her by the throat.
She parked the vehicle and the pair tussled inside before Chantawadee, who says she feared for her life, pulled out a small knife stashed under the driver's side, and stabbed him with it.
She took her unconscious husband to hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
He was found stabbed in the pit of his stomach.
Giving evidence, Chantawadee claimed originally that her husband had gone missing. She set out in search of him and found him injured in a bloody heap by the funeral pyre of Wat Sa Kaeo Mahanin Dong Klang.
From there she took him to hospital. Police, however, found no traces of struggle or blood at the scene so stepped up their questioning.
Finally, Chantawadee admitted to having fought with her husband in their vehicle before taking his life.
Media reports said she started sobbing heavily in the interrogation room when the truth came out and had to be consoled by police.
The victim's mother, Lamploeng, said Thawatchai was her only son. The couple had been together for four years. While Chantawadee was a good woman who worked hard, her son was hot tempered and spoke poorly, she said frankly.
He was previously married to a woman called Fa, and when he took up with Chantawadee had her move into the same place as his wife and their son, until Fa grew fed up with that arrangement and fled.
Police charged Chantawadee with assault causing death.
He woke up with a start
A drunken labourer in Samut Prakan brutally stabbed his younger brother when he refused to wake from a deep sleep.
Muang police say the young man woke to find his brother stabbing him at a worker's camp in soi Thetsaban Bang Pu 60, or soi Wat Asokaram, early on July 2.
He fled their shared room and sought help from neighbours, who called rescue workers.
Korn (assumed name), 18, said he was sleeping when his older brother, unnamed in news reports, turned up.
The brothers had earlier been drinking but Korn had gone to bed first. When his elder brother followed, he tried to wake him, perhaps to get Korn to move over so he could find some space to sleep.
However, when the young man could not be woken, his older brother grabbed a hand-made knife in frustration and started stabbing him.
The bare-chested young man was stabbed in the abdomen, with one wound stretching to his waist; the armpit, and the fingers of both hands.
CCTV vision shows him running in fear of his life. He hid beside a vehicle outside, at one point he even burrowing under it.
Eventually he seeks help from a neighbour. Rescue workers patched up Korn outside his home and sent him to hospital, where he was declared out of danger.
Reporters spoke to their supervisor, who said the pair had caused no problems previously. Police urged the young man to lay a complaint against his brother, who did not appear in news reports.
