Serial killer released early from jail main suspect in Khon Kaen murder case
The director of the Corrections Department has blamed a flaw in the prison system that saw a serial killer originally sentenced to a life imprisonment have his term reduced to 14 years and, just months after becoming a free man, added another victim to his list. Somkid Pumpuang, who was dubbed as Thailand’s Jack the Ripper, is the prime suspect in the murder of a 51-year-old woman at a Khon Kaen residence on Sunday (December 15).
She is his sixth victim in a list mainly made up of nightclub singers and masseuses. Somkid apparently got to know the woman on Facebook and witnesses said a man answering Somkid’s description had been stayed at the victim’s house since December 5. The pair were heard arguing on the morning on December 15.
“There are 370,000 inmates nationwide, which is three times the capacity of the prisons, and that leads to reductions in sentences even for serious offences,” Naras said.
Somkid was originally give the death sentence but that was later commuted to life. He was jailed on June 29, 2005 and served just under 14 years before being released on May 27, 2019 for good behaviour and a polite demeanour. During his time in prison, he asked to be transferred to the provincial prison in Trang, where he grew up, but was instead moved to Nong Khai.
Police investigating Sunday’s murder say circumstantial evidence is backed up by surveillance footage and a warrant of arrest was issued.. A witness claimed to have seen a man answering Somkid’s description disguised as a monk in Kumphawapi district in nearby Udon Thani.