Three arrested in the killing of Chachoengsao activist Prajob

While the alleged hitman has reportedly confessed, the alleged hirer and getaway driver denied wrongdoing and said they would testify only in court.

Phuthon Kavipan, 42, a C-8 official at the department’s Water Management Office was accused as the hirer, while Sergeant Yutthanai Najaeng, 32, was accused of being the getaway vehicle driver and gun provider and Sergeant Anu Boonpeng, 29, was accused of being the hitman. 

After their arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday, police arrested the three on Friday at their residences. Yutthanai was nabbed along with a pistol, four bullet magazines, 11 bullets, a shotgun with eight bullets, eight cell phones and 37 other assets. On Friday night, police also seized a Honda Civic sedan at the airforce flat’s parking lot in Bangkok’s Don Muang district as it was suspected to be the getaway car. 

Adul praised the speedy work by the Provincial police Region 2 in this high-profile case and affirmed that there was solid evidence against the suspects.

Provincial police Region 2 chief Winai Thongsong said police was gathering evidence as it was suspected that another Sergeant was involved in this case. 

Winai said the Prajob murder stemmed from a personal conflict and a dispute over an industrial factory releasing chemical and wastewater into a water source that the villagers used. Prajob, as village headman, had led protests by villagers leading to fistfights and lawsuits on many occasions. 

Winai said that Phuthon would be detained at Chachoengsao Court later yesterday while the other two would be in legal custody until tomorrow.

Anu reportedly confessed that they were hired for Bt1 million to kill Prajob. According to his confession, Yutthanai bought the car and the gun for Bt300,000 while Anu himself got his share of Bt300,000 cash. He claimed they followed Prajob three times, each time lasting almost a week, and stayed in constant contact with Phuthon. During the third round of trailing the victim, from February 18-25, they stayed at a hotel in Chachoengsao before the murder. Anu claimed the sedan carried a fake licence plate, which was disposed of in Nakhon Nayok, and the gun was dropped at a military department to cover the crime.

Prajob’s wife Arunrat Naowa-opas, 41, who was accompanied by family members and 80 villagers, offered a flower basket and mangoes to thank the police.

She said she was sure the police had arrested her husband’s killers because, 2-3 weeks before he died, Prajob had told her that if he died if would be because of Phuthon as he didn’t have conflicts with the others. She said they had argued many times after Prajob protested against the illegal dumping of toxic industrial waste at a garbage in their community in Nong Nae subdistrict. Prajob had to face a libel suit but the court dismissed the lawsuit.