A suspect wanted under 3 court warrants for murder, attempted murder and robberies was caught after a motorcycle accident in which he was injured in Muang district in the early hours on Sunday, police said.
Pol Col Prawit Engchuan, the Surat Thani police chief, said that at about 12.10 am a motorcycle ran off the road at a bend and rammed into a power post. The accident occurred on the out-bound side of Surat Thani-Ban Nasan road in front of the Southland Rubber Company, Surat Thani branch, in tambon Makham Tia.
The motorcycle driver had neck injuries and was helped at the scene by student volunteers from Surat Thani Rajabhat University and rescue workers from a charity foundation who took him to Surat Thani Hospital.
The volunteers and rescuers happened to notice that the injured man’s face resembled that of a man who appeared on a police notice. In the notice, the man was wanted under three court warrants. They informed the police.
The police went to the hospital and confirmed he was Ekachai Phetrak, alias Khai Dam, 31, from Surat Thani’s Vibhavadi district.
Pol Col Prawit said that on 25th June 2020, Mr Phetrak and two other suspects staged a robbery and injured a man in Muang district, Surat Thani.
Later that year, on 17th August, he allegedly shot and killed his brother-in-law, Prasert Nakkhong, in Vibhavadi district.
In 2019, Mr Phetrak was suspected of involvement in an attempted murder and robbery in Khun Thale district.
Pol Col Prawit said the rescuers would be given a 10,000 baht reward for the information that led to the arrest of the wanted man.
