Caught On CCTV: Cab Driver Shot Dead By 'Jealous Man'

(10 April) The police have released CCTV footage of the murder of a taxi driver who was shot dead following a fistfight in Bangkok earlier this week.

Police said Mr. Duangchan Buakiew, 39, was shot in Soi Lat Phrao 114, Wang Thong Lang district, at around 03.00 on 8 April. A group of local residents rushed him to hospital, but he later succumbed to his severe injuries. 

Medical workers found 2 gunshot wounds in Mr. Duangchan's stomach, and another  on his left leg. The police also discovered 5 .45 bullet cases at the scene of the crime. 

Witnesses told the police Mr. Duangchan was "flirting" with a girlfriend of another man prior to the incident. The man reportedly became enraged and engaged in a fistfight with Mr. Duangchan out of jealousy, but he eventually lost the fight to Mr. Duangchan and fled from the area.

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In the CCTV footage obtained by the police, Mr. Duangchan could be seen walking to wash his bruised face in a water tank in an apartment's parking lot in Soi Latphrao 114, apparently thinking the fight was over. However, shortly afterwards the man, now armed with a hand gun, caught up with him and proceeded to shoot Mr. Duangchan dead.

Witnesses said the taxi driver could be heard pleading for mercy, but was ignored by the perpetrator, who fled the crime scene after the incident. 

Police identified the man as Mr. Teerapat Rattanapat, a textile vendor and native of Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The court has approved the arrest warrant for Mr. Teerapat, and the police have urged any citizens who recognise the man from the CCTV footage to pass the information to the police force. 

The police also dismissed a rumour that Mr. Duangchan was in fact a pro-government taxi driver who had been murdered by an anti-government protest guard, insisting that the case was purely motivated by a personal dispute.

 

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