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Thursday, August 23, 2001
Three arrested for bar owner’s murder
Taweewut Saeton, photographed after his arrest in connection with
the murder of Pranorm Anuan.
PHUKET TOWN: Thanks to a combination of sheer good luck and one
officer's good memory, police have arrested Taweewut Saeton, 31,
and two minors aged 15 and 16 in connection with the rape and
murder on Saturday of Pranorm Anuan, 24, the owner of the Shark
Otto Bar in Soi Eric, Patong.
Taweewut and one of the minors are from Phuket, while the other
minor is from Ranong.
The three were arrested in a house near Phuket Country Home in
Chalong, where police found two gold necklaces, a .38-caliber
handgun with 95 bullets, a motorbike and 3,000 baht in cash.
Pol Lt Sommai Oncom, of Phuket Town Police Station, who was following
up on an unrelated crime, went to the house intending to arrest
someone else who, he discovered, no longer lived there.
Once there, however, he recognized the names of the three at the
house, who were wanted by the police for a robbery in Moo Baan
Jomtong on Kwang Rd.
The two minors, he also knew, were wanted for questioning after
being filmed by a security camera while selling K. Pranorm’s
necklace at the Kittiporn gold shop in Phuket Town. The shop is
opposite the Pearl Hotel on Montri Rd.
While being questioned at Phuket Town police station, the three
confessed to being involved in the rape and murder of K. Pranorm,
as well as 15 other crimes.
The two minors told police that, early on Saturday morning, they
were riding around on a motorbike looking for a victim to rob.
K. Pranorm rode past and they noticed that she had a bag with
her that was likely to contain cash.
They gave chase and forced her off the road on Luang Pho Wat Chalong
Rd, near the Phuket Bus Station. They then forced her at gunpoint
to ride to an old tin mine north of the Tesco-Lotus Superstore.
One of the minors admitted to robbing and raping her, and to shooting
her.
An autopsy performed at Wachira Phuket Hospital revealed that
Pranorm had been shot in the back of the head, a fact originally
missed by investigating officers due to the extent of her injuries.
Taweewut, who lived in the same house as the minors, was charged
with being an accessory to murder and receiving stolen goods.
One of the minors was charged with robbery, rape and murder, while
the other minor was charged with robbery and being an accessory
to murder.
The trio are expected to be charged with additional offenses as
the investigation proceeds. |