Six arrested for attempted murder of Plawan
PHUKET: Six of the staff of the Rachada Pub in Phoonpol, Phuket Town, were arrested this morning and will be charged with the attempted murder of Sri Panwa Resort General Manager Vorasit
Thursday 5 January 2012, 05:45PM
The six are Jarungsak Sawangkij, 29, Suriya Kraipian, 33, Suchart Palar, 26, Nareubate Tednok, 18, Natthawut Kongplub, 19, and Wasan Poethong, 20.
They are accused of assaulting Mr Vorasit and his chauffeur Noppadon Preechawai, 30, early yesterday morning (January 4).
Mr Vorasit was stabbed in the stomach with a knife and slashed in the back with a home-made battleaxe. Mr Noppadon, too, was slashed in the face with the axe. Both were rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where they are listed in stable condition.
The six accused appeared at a police press conference today (January 5) after Phuket police spent the night hunting them down.
Suchart admitted he had used his pocket knife to stab Mr Vorasit, while Nareubate admitted that he used the battleaxe to hack at Mr Vorasit's back twice.
The six admitted they also attacked Mr Vorasit's group with metal pipes, a wooden club and a table leg.
Police reported that Mr Vorasit went to Ratchada Pub on Takuapa Rd with five people: two women friends, his bodyguard, his chauffeur and a foreigner believed to be the Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner, star of the Oscar-winning movie The Hurt Locker and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Mr Renner received a hand injury and was treated as an outpatient at the hospital.
Phuket Police Commander Maj Gen Chonasit Wattanavrangkul told media that the assault arose from "a minor misunderstanding".
The accused believed that Mr Vorasit had thrown a glass on the floor, when in fact the glass had been knocked off the table accidentally.
About 20 people in all were involved in the bloody melée that ensued, at about 3:30 am.
A police detective said most were staff of the Rachada pub and the nextdoor Canara restaurant, which belongs to the same person.
The six were the ones police say did the real damage to Mr Vorasit and his friends.
Police found the battleaxe stashed under a sofa in a karaoke room in the pub. When arrested, all six accused were wearing sneakers spattered with blood.
The Rachada pub has been closed for 60 days because the incident happened after official closing hours for Phuket Town.
This afternoon Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha arrived at the hospital carrying with him a bouquet of flowers from Princess Siriwanwaree Nareerat, which he presented to Mr Vorasit's father, Songran Issara.
