Murder fugitive in Phuket land dispute surrenders to police

PHUKET: The man wanted for shooting dead a rival in a land dispute yesterday surrendered to Phuket police last night.

Supongdeth Vetchatam, 53, presented himself at the Phuket City Police Station at about 7:30pm. He brought with him his lawyer and the murder weapon – a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver.

Mr Supongdeth told police that he fatally shot Echa Yala, 49, in self-defense. Mr Echa was shot three times, twice in the head (story here).

“I have owned the land for nine years. I grow coconut trees on it,” Mr Supongdeth told police. “I even fenced it off so people would know that it’s private property.”

Related news

After inspecting the land on Tuesday, he found parts of the fence had been removed.

“I heard Mr Echa was the one who removed the fence and I filed a complaint with police that same day,” Mr Supongdeth explained.

The fatal confrontation occurred after Mr Supongdeth brought workers to rebuild the fence.

“I caught Mr Echa clearing the land. We started arguing, and he threatened me with his scythe,” he said.

“He started coming toward me, so I went back to my car and got my gun. I fired two warning shots into the air, but he kept coming toward me, so I shot him and ran away,” Mr Supongdeth told police.

Lt Col Anek Mongkol of the Phuket City Police confirmed that police had found a hand scythe at the scene yesterday afternoon.

“We also found a gun holster,” he said.

Col Anek also confirmed that Mr Supongdeth did not present any documents to prove he legally owned the land.

Mr Supongdeth was charged with murder and released on bail for an undisclosed amount.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong

Phuket News

Thaiger Talk

Join the conversation and have your say on Thailand news published on The Thaiger.

Thaiger Talk is our new Thaiger Community where you can join the discussion on everything happening in Thailand right now.

Please note that articles are not posted to the forum instantly and can take up to 20 min before being visible. Click for more information and the Thaiger Talk Guidelines.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Check Also
Close