(6 May) A shopowner in Pitsanulok province posted on Facebook a video showing a thief stealing a Buddhachinaraj Buddha figure from her shop, generating much attention from other Facebookers.

Our correspondent has reported that the shop is called Sabiengboong and located only 50 meters away from a police station.

In an interview, Ms. Akeorn Meetes, 43, said her shop sells temple-related goods and Buddha statues. On May 5th, 7.30 PM., she and an employee were closing up the shop and discovered that 9 inch statue, weighing 10 kgs. had disappeared from its stand. She then looked through the security camera footage and discovered that at 7.10 PM., a young man aged 20-30 who was tall and thin, wearing a motorcycle helmet to conceal his face, walked into the side entrance and carried the Buddha statue away.

Mrs. Akeorn speculated that he must have had friends waiting in a getaway motorcycle since the Buddha statue was big and he couldn’t have done it by himself.

Mrs. Akeorn also added that she later questioned the shops nearby and found the statue’s plastic box that the culprit has left behind. She speculated that the criminal must have surveyed the area beforehand, since he got away with one of the more expensive statues. She went to the Muang Pitsanulok police station to press charges, bringing along the footage from the security camera and the plastic box, which she hopes contains the culprit’s fingerprints, as evidence for the case.

(5 May) Bhumjai Thai Party conference ended in tragedy, with party members fighting and shooting each other in the face over a card game at a 5 star hotel in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.

Earlier today police received reports of a gunshot victim at Ban Glang Aow Beach Resort, situated along the beach of Bang Sa Phan district. Officers, a doctor on call at Bang Sa Phan hospital, and volunteer rescue workers rushed to the scene.

The body of Mr. Nirut Srinuan, 30, was found in the connecting walkway of the hotel lying face up, wearing an orange t-shirt and ¾ length pants. The body had a gunshot wound in the forehead. 4,400 baht and several ATM cards were found in his wallet.

Investigations revealed that the victim was a party member of Bhumjai Thai Party who attended the party conference with 50 other party members. After the conference and the accompanying banquet, the victim and Mr. Yootana Poompaeng, 27, along with 5 other party members, stayed for drinks and a card game, which is where the incident took place.

After the game, the victim left for his room, but Mr. Yootana followed him and called him back to clear up the dispute since there was 1 card missing from the deck. A violent exchange ensues and, out of anger, Mr.Yootana shot the victim in the face, killing him instantly. He then drove away in his car.

A senior police officer said that they were collecting evidence on this case. All witnesses were called in for questioning, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Mr. Yootana. Currently, the suspect already had his relatives contact the police about his surrender.

Pol.Maj.Gen. Tanet Soontarasook, commander of the Prachuap Khiri Khan police force, said that the case is still in its initial evidence collection stage, and that if the suspect did not surrender himself up, the police would have to seek the approval of the court to issue a warrant for arrest.

He said the suspect will visit Tongchai police station on May 7th for further questioning.

(6 May) A disaster was closely averted last night in Ranong province after a pickup truck crashed into 15 vehicles near a roadside sports bar where scores of patrons were watching Man Utd – Chelsea match broadcast.

The accident took place on Ruangrat Road around 22.30 on 5 May. Police and volunteer rescue
teams at the scene had rescued the driver of the pickup truck who was ejected from his seat after it
plunged into 14 motorcycles and 1 car. He was identified as Mr. Somyos Yomkaew, 30, and was sent to
Ranong Hospital.

Many witnesses at the nearby nighttime restaurant said they owned the
vehicles damaged by Mr. Somyos? car. They said they were watching live broadcast of Manchester
United – Chelsea match when the pickup truck slammed into the parking space of the establishment.

The pickup truck first slammed into a parked pickup truck, and was launched on top of 3
parked motorcycles, then flipped and landed on another motorcycle. It then skidded and damaged 10
more motorcycles parked in the area, all vehicles piling up in one big mountain of
wreckage.

Mr. Krisna Glinhual, owner of the white Chevrolet damaged in the accident, said
that he was sitting at the table and heard a sound similar to many fire crackers going off and
turned to see the truck colliding with his car and several others before flipping and landing only
meters from where people were watching the broadcast.

At the hospital, Mr. Somyos said he
dozed off from fatigue while driving and had no recollection of the accident.

The 2 trucks
and 14 motorcycles were taken to the Muang Ranong Police Station to investigate the damage, and
officers questioned the driver for further information to determine the compensation for damage
caused.

(2 May) Nationwide investigations reveal that a number of bridges is in shockingly poor condition, leading to more close-offs and netizens? furor over the negligence by local authorities.

In Prachin Buri province, residents complained of the suspension bridge between Moon Lek Temple and Sa-nga-ngam Temple which looks seriously damaged and in need of repair. In Pichit province, there is another damaged suspension bridge with malformed pole dome structure which people are afraid it would fall, asking the governor to have it closed.

Residents say a bridge over the river in Amphoe Non Suung, Nakhon Ratchasima province, was heavily damaged after the great flood last year thanks to water erosion and collapsed bridge abutment. Police already opens investigation into the company contracted with its construction.

Meanwhile, Pol.Col. Jitkasem Sonkam, chief of Ta Reua police station, Ayutthaya, discussed the progress of the investigation to determine the cause of Bicentennial Bridge which collapsed and killed 4 people last week.

He said the police station has already asked the construction engineers and director of the company to be investigated about the bridge.

Thanet Veerasiri, secretary of Engineering Institute of Thailand, said his team will do the maintenance- measure the wire rollers and check wires at every point to see if there are any missing wires.

Our correspondent has learned that residents warned the authorities about the bridge before the accident, but there was no renovation. Police said if this claim was true, those responsible would face an additional charge of involuntary manslaughter.