Cherng Talay police Chief Col Akanit Danpitaksat confirmed that Phuket native Thammawut Panan, 24, was re-arrested at about midday today (Nov 20).
Thammawut was first arrested at a police checkpoint at about 4am after he was found carrying 400mg of crystal meth, Col Akanit explained.
“He was taken to Cherng Talay Police Station and charged with possession of a Category 1 drug,” Col Akanit said.
However, at about 10am while walking back to his detention cell at the police station after questioning, Thammawut told police that he needed to use a toilet.
Officers escorted him to the toilet on the ground floor.
The officers waited… and waited… and eventually broke through the door to discover that Thammawut had already fled through a window.
Thammawut had performed his exquisite escape simply by sliding the toilet window open.
Officers saw from CCTV that Thammawut had fled to behind the police station, and began searching for him, setting up chexkpoints and asking local residents if they had seen him.
Eventually the officers went to Thammawut’s parents house, where he lived, only to be told by the fugitive’s father, Theerayut Panan, that his escapee son was in the house and that he would present himself at the police station later.
True to his word, Mr Theerayut took his son to the police station at about midday, Col Akanit said.
“Thammawut told police that he was afraid. He fled back home, but his parents told him to be responsible for what he did and handed him to police,” Col Akanit explained.