Bt50,000 reward offered for killers of MP's son

Nakhon Ratchasima police chief Pol Maj-General Ong-arj Phiewruangnon said police were still searching for a pickup that chased after the MP’s vehicle.

Farut Thaiseth, a son of Chart Thai Pattana MP Chada Thaiseth, was killed in Nakhon Ratchasima early on Monday.

Police, who stand by their theory that the attack was triggered by road rage, say Farut was driving a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser while the attackers were in a pickup. The two vehicles took turns passing each other on a narrow roadway. Police Lt-General Phanu Kerdlarpphol, the commissioner of Provincial Police Bureau 3, said 10 witnesses had been interviewed.

Ong-arj said several teams of police had been dispatched to locate the pickup.

Pol Colonel Wachirawit Kritritthisak said there were at least two attackers – the driver of the pickup and a gunman.

Chada failed yesterday to bring in three friends of Farut, who were in the vehicle at the time of shooting. The MP had earlier said the three would meet police for interrogation yesterday.

Pol Lt-General Jarumporn Suramanee, assistant police commissioner-general, travelled to Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district to monitor progress of the investigation.

He travelled to Ban Klongdua village using the same route that Farut and Chada took. Jarumporn then went to the Moo 4 police station to get a briefing on the case. 

He also watched footage from security cameras and held a meeting with investigators.

Jarumporn said police gathered 10 shell casings from two different 9mm pistols. Police also found casings from a .38 revolver in the Prado.

Evidence showed that shots were exchanged between the two vehicles over a distance of about 70 metres, he said.

Ballistics evidence found that the two shots that hit the Prado were fired from an angle that indicated the pickup was lower, which confirmed witnesses’ statements that the vehicle was modified to have a lower height than ordinary pickups.