Police hunt for close aide of murdered Surat Thani prosecutor
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POLICE investigators are looking for a close aide of provincial public prosecutor Phayong Dok-maihom, who was found dead in his official residence in Surat Thani's Muang district on Sunday night.
The close aide, named Niwat Jongsuk, 37, allegedly took the victim’s valuables before going missing.
Phayong’s body was found in the bedroom at around 8.30pm on Sunday. He had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and his throat was slit. There were signs of a struggle. A blood-stained wooden stick was found near the body and gold ornaments worth Bt220,000 and a gun were missing.
The medical examiner said Phayong, 54, died sometime between noon and 2pm on Sunday.
Maj-General Decha Budnam-peth, chief of Provincial Police Region 8, said initial investigation found that Phayong had gone out with Niwat and later returned home, after which Niwat became unreachable. Niwat allegedly withdrew cash using Phayong’s ATM card at 1pm on Sunday, police said.
Decha said deputy police chief Pol General Ake Angsananont and his team would visit the province to follow up on the case later yesterday.
Police will ascertain if Niwat’s DNA matches those collected at the scene. Decha called a meeting yesterday with 20 police officers involved in the case, and they came up with three possible motives: a robbery that turned into murder; work-related conflict; or a crime of passion.
Phayong had just moved from Phang Nga province to serve in Surat Thani in April.
Phayong’s wife, Thewee, told police her husband didn’t have any conflicts with anyone and he lived alone in the house. She described Niwat, who helped take care of the house, as a close friend of Phayong and they often hung out together.
Usually, Phayong would visit Thewee at her rubber plantation in Nakhon Si Thammarat during the weekends. She said she was surprised that Niwat had gone missing. Phayong’s funeral will take place at Wat Pen Mit in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Chawang district.
