Chonburi —
A Thai man who opened fire and injured a couple in broad daylight in the Nongprue area over the weekend is still at large, with police intensively searching for him. The wife of the suspect claimed to police that they were allegedly lured by the couple into an investment scam, which cost them over 400,000 Baht in financial damage.
First our previous story:
Now for our update:
A video report of this story if you prefer can be found on our YouTube channel here.
The gunman, identified by Nongprue police as Mr. Chai Chaichanachai, 60, has been placed on an arrest warrant following the incident. However, as of now, his whereabouts remain unknown and he remains at large.
On Saturday, November 4th, Nongprue police called in his wife, identified only as Mrs. Nil, 40, for questioning, during which she explained that she and her 60-year-old husband knew the injured couple. She alleged that she became acquainted with Ms. Kunyapat Piromjira, 39, who suffered a gunshot wound in her arm, because she was a regular customer for nail services at her shop.
Mrs. Nil went on to say that they both hailed from the northern region of Thailand and quickly formed a close bond. Later, Ms. Kunyapat allegedly invited her to invest in an oil and shipping company, which guaranteed a 100% return, according to Mrs. Nil.
Putting her trust in Ms. Kunyapat, both she and her husband, the alleged gunman, borrowed money from the bank and a loan shark for the investment. Mrs. Nil claimed that she and her husband even mortgaged their car for 50,000 baht and sold all of their gold jewelry, amounting to a sum of 465,000 baht, before entrusting it to the injured parties to manage.
On September 18th, 2023, after the investment, they received a return of 16,500 baht once. However, they did not receive any further returns for their money ever since. Mrs. Nil informed the police that the couple told them their investment did not go as planned, and thus, the couple decided to cancel and promised to return all the money.
After arranging some documents, the couple also took Mrs. Nil and Mr. Chai to their residence and even provided them with a key card to enter their village, in order to convince them that they would definitely repay the debt. However, Mrs. Nil mentioned that when the first installment arrived, the injured parties allegedly refused to repay, causing stress for both her and her husband.
Before the shooting incident occurred, her husband reassured Mrs. Nil, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll go collect the debt.” Afterward, he left the house and never returned.
Meanwhile, The Pattaya News interviewed the injured victim, Ms. Kunyapat, who is still hospitalized, about the suspect’s wife’s claims. Ms. Kunyapat vehemently insisted that both she and her husband were never involved in any fraudulent investments as accused. She also stated that it was clear they were the victims after the suspect tried to abduct them and shot them in front of their young nieces and nephews.
She added she has supporting documents and is ready to fight the case to the fullest extent of the law. Additionally, she stated that her husband was not involved in the matter, but the gunman still fired a gun at him, injuring him to the point of a coma. She said she will also pursue legal action against the gunman to the fullest extent.
Nongprue police are still hunting for the gunman.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and get all our news delivered to you in one spam-free daily e-mail Click here! OR, enter your e-mail below!
