Songthaew driver confesses to Chom Thong murder, begs for forgiveness

39-year-old songthaew driver arrested yesterday, Oct. 31 over the murder of a woman who was found in a fridge in Chom Thong Oct. 27 has confessed to the crime and is now begging for forgiveness.

The body of Mrs. Wannee Chira, 58 was discovered after locals smelled a rotting smell coming from the commercial building Mrs. Chira has been living in. Mrs. Chira had moved to Chom Thong around 4-5 months ago and had been living by herself while practicing meditation and Dharma at a nearby wat.

Mr. Withun Sritabut, who drove yellow songthaews between Chiang Mai and Chom Thong, told police that he had murdered Mrs. Chira as he was experiencing financial problems and needed her money.

Clearing up some rumors around the murder story, Mr. Sritabut said that he had acted alone in the murder even though had shared some of the spoils with friends and family members after doing so.

Worse still, Mr. Sritabut said he’d tied the victim up and tortured her before killing her to obtain her ATM number.

Interestingly, Mr. Sritabut’s capture is said to have come about after he was spotted purchasing a new motorcycle.

Despite previous reports, it’s now believed that Sritabut had drained 1.7 million baht from Mrs. Chira’s accounts, not 1.2 million as previously believed with police managing to recover 1.2 million of the stolen funds.

Wai-ing police and family members, Mr. Sritabut apologized and begged for forgiveness.

Photo: Khaosod