4 WED

In Samut Songkhram, a mancons local residents intogiving away B600,000 with promises to deliver the money to the Royal Palace. ChaleumphonTonchuan, 33, performs bai sri rituals (an olden day custom believed to bring back good fortune) for a living. He is successful in his business because he tells those who hire his services that powerful spirits inhabit him, including that of King Rama V. He also claims to have ties with the Royal Palace and that he can take his clients to make offerings to the royal family. He gathers B20,000 “donations” from 30 people and fi xes a date to pick them up and take them to the palace. On the set date, he disappears. Police say he has previously tricked people in other provinces.

5 THU

In Bangkok, a drunk factory worker is beaten to death by his boss. Narong Jinda, 50, shows up inebriated and late to his shift and is told off by his manager, Samorn Nadsakul. Out of anger, Narong grabs a metal bar from the security guards’ quarters and lashes out at his manager, missing his target because of his intoxication. Samorn is able to grab the weapon from him and chases him to the front door where he beats him to death. Samorn and Narong had had heated arguments before, but never to the point of assaulting each other.

In Nakhorn Sri Thammarat, a drunk man is stabbed for taking the microphone from a friend’s hands during a karaoke session. Thip Hor-Suwan, 58, is out at the Khroo Neaw karaoke bar with three friends. Drunk, he grabs the microphone away from Su Nurach, 55, causing an argument which leads to Su pulling out a knife and stabbing Thip three times—killing him on the spot.

7 SAT

In Saraburi, a dead cobra and the body of a half-naked man, with a condom on his penis, is
found 50 meters from the roadside. The body of Wiroch Baanlen, 40, reveals multiple snake bites— mainly on his leg—where the wounds are wrapped in a T-shirt. The 1.5 meter-long cobra, lying closeby, is found to have human bite marks all along its stomach. Authorities say the evidence suggests a battle of survival between the two. Meanwhile, police have no comments about the condom Wiroch was wearing during the time of death.