Billionaire's Killer Caught
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Volume 15 Issue 52 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555December 27, 2008 - January 2, 2009 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 25 Baht The Gazette is published in association with Billionaire's killer caught KATHU: After almost six months of investigation, police arrested a INSIDE hired gunman who confessed to the murder of billionaire business- woman Komkai Kositkoon, a partner in the Jintana Plaza com- plex in Patong. After his arrest at a con- struction site in Krabi on the morning of December 20, 39- year-old Aroon Chanma of Phattalung was brought in for a re-enactment of the crime, which ModernDog plays took place in the Tung Tong area of Kathu. Phuket Brewery The victim’s husband Araya Kositkul, who was in the car at We catch up with the indie- rock pioneers to discuss the time and suffered gunshot their new sound, their new wounds, got a good look at the album and a rather unusual shooter. He was able to provide allergy. police with enough evidence to Page 24. make an accurate composite sketch that was distributed NEWS: Central Festival throughout the South and eventu- gets Garuda; Thalang ally led to the arrest of Aroon. Police bust counterfeiting Handcuffed and wearing a scam; Governor visits Naka black cap with a white skull-and- crossbones emblem, Mr Aroon Yai Island. Fearing that confessed assassin Aroon might himself become a target of a silence killing, police are Pages 2 & 3 confessed to working with two keeping him under very tight security. other men to shoot Mrs Komkai. YEAR END REVIEW: Aroon told police he was to Patong Beach, where he his third and he planned to use He identified the six sus- We take a look back at the working as a construction fore- caught a speedboat and returned the proceeds from it to support pects as Sophon “Pon” Rattana, highs and lows of 2008. man in Krabi when he was ap- to Krabi. his children, born by his current Wirote “Plob” Inthasra, Aphi- Pages 4 & 5 proached by a man who asked Aroon said he did not know and former wife, he said. choke “Ake” Inthasra; Nun him to carry out the hit with two who the mastermind was, but said In late August, Phuket Pro- Duaylek, Wirichai “Yo” Juan-on BOOKS: 'Einstein – His other men, one driver and a man the three-man hit squad had been vincial Police Commissioner and a man identified as “Sin”, last Life and Universe' by Walter who identified the target. deceived because they were only Apirak Hongtong described the name unknown. Isaacson – the latest biog- After Aroon accepted, he paid 150,000 baht each, when they investigation as “problematic” Mr Sophon and Mr Wirote raphy of the man against was taken to the area and pro- were promised 5 million baht in because Mrs Komkai was in- are kamnan (tambon chiefs) in which all other geniuses are vided with a 9mm pistol. He car- total. The other two gang mem- volved in at least 10 lawsuits. Phattalung’s Khao Chaison Dis- measured. ried out the hit with the two other bers are still at large. At last report, police took trict. Aroon, now a key witness Pages 16 & 17 men on July 18, firing 42 shots Aroon used to work as a Aroon in a helicopter to point out for the state, is being kept under into the car before returning the volunteer security officer in the members of a six-strong gang hid- tight police security, Maj Gen gun to its owner. He then split up AROUND THE NATION 6; southern border provinces, he told ing out in a mountain-top retreat Apirak said. with his two accomplices, went AROUND THE SOUTH 7; AROUND police. The contract killing was in a jungle in Phattalung. Sources: Siangtai, City News THE R EGION 8; AROUND THE IS- LAND 9; ON THE MENU 10; HAPPENINGS 12; PHUKET PEOPLE 14; TRAVEL 16; Road safety campaign launched LIFESTYLE 17; MOTORING 18; WHAT'S ON 21; BUSINESS & PHUKET CITY: Phuket Gover- by Esso, and organized by the wear a helmet, but also to fasten MONEY 22; TAKE A BREAK nor Preecha Ruangjan presided Phuket Provincial Office of Di- its strap and drive with the head- 25; BOOKS, WORD COURT over a ceremony at Phuket Com- saster Prevention Mitigation lights turned on – even in day- 27; HOROSCOPES 30; TECH- munity Hall on the afternoon of (Phuket PDPM). The event in- time. The vast majority of road NOLOGY 31; SPORTS 32 & December 23 to help promote cluded free crash helmet give- accident fatalities in Thailand in- 33; PROPERTY: 34 - 40; road safety. aways for riders. The young rid- volve young men riding motor- CLASSIFIEDS 43-55. The event was sponsored ers were encouraged not only to cycles without helmets. 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS December 27, 2008 - January 2, 2009 Emergency services team up for training To Be Number 1 in agriculture PHUKET: A large-scale disaster National Disaster Warning Cen- training exercise was carried out ter sent a report to Phuket and at Phuket International Airport other affected provinces, where- last week under the banner “Loss upon the governor set up a Di- is gain if we can learn from it”. saster Warning Center on the is- The mock evacuation exer- land to assist people with advice cise involved the joint participa- and information. In a real disas- tion of a number of different de- ter, details would then be broad- partments and emergency ser- cast on Thai TV, radio stations vices, including the Disaster and mobile phones via SMS Medical Assistant Team alerts. (DMAT), the Staging Care Unit An order was then issued (SCU) and Air Transportation. for all people in the areas at risk DMAT is a mobile medical to evacuate to designated safe PHUKET: The Center of Juve- have developed an area five unit that can be rapidly deployed areas, where they were ac- nile Observation and Protection meters wide and 180 meters long in states of emergency and disas- counted for and the number of in Phuket (CJOPP) and the Chil- behind their training center and ter situations. With a response ‘missing persons’ recorded. dren and Youth Promotion Foun- have converted it into a banana time of 6 to 24hrs, a DMAT team The Royal Navy was en- dation (CYPF) invited Vice Gov- tree plantation with a population can provide medical assistance listed to search for and rescue Office of Disaster Prevention and ernor Smith Palawatvichai to the of 150 trees. Throughout the du- for up to 72 hours at a disaster those washed out to sea. DMAT Mitigation, shared his thoughts opening ceremony of the Youth ration of the Farmland project, the scene, treating between 100 to and SCU teams were dispatched with the Phuket Gazette. Farmland project on December children will be divided up into 10 250 people at a time. by the Royal Thai Air force in C- “This is the first training 17. The ‘To Be Number 1’ groups and given the responsibil- The Staging Care Unit is an 130 Hercules military transport exercise where we have been project aims to educate 41 chil- ity of looking after the welfare and on-the-ground monitoring center planes and air-dropped, where able to practise long-distance dren, 39 boys and two girls, be- growth of the trees for a whole set up at the scene of a disaster. necessary, into the worst affected medical transportation proce- tween the ages of 15 and 17 in year. In addition to the banana Its function includes the registra- areas. There, a Command Unit dures that would be required in agricultural methods and will be tree project, the center also of- tion and collation of information was set up to tend to the injured the event of an emergency. In overseen by 40 supervisors fers children the opportunity to about the injured, the provision of and report the on-the-ground sta- Phuket we now have 22 teams whose role it will be to look after develop additional skills, including medical beds and equipment, and tus back to the Disaster Warning made up of doctors and nurses and encourage the teenagers. organic vegetable cultivation and liaison with air transportation ser- Center. The “injured” were from the Ministry of Health, vol- The CJOPP and the CYPF park design. vices in evacuating the injured to evacuated by Royal Navy boats unteers from local communities hospitals. and helicopters, and transported as well as staff from the Local Last week’s simulation en- to medical centers outside the Rescue Foundation. We have two Phuket selected for 4G launch acted a mock disaster situation, danger areas, where they were C-130 Hercules transport planes PHUKET: Phuket has been cho- provinces. Hutchison-CAT Wire- an earthquake registering 6.8 on treated or transferred by C-130 on standby, ready to respond to sen by CAT Telecom as one of less Multimedia, a CAT joint ven- the Richter scale. In this rehearsal planes to other medical facilities. emergency situations. three pilot locations for the roll- ture with Hong Kong giant exercise, a report was issued by Following this ‘real-life’ en- “Phuket is now well pre- out of 4G services next year Hutchison Telecom, provides the the Royal Thai Navy Seismic Re- actment of a disaster response pared to respond to any disaster CAT Telecom will battle against cellular service on a separate search Station in Chiang Mai at operation, Chodnarin Koedsom, situation in the Andaman Sea, he private telecom operators in the CDMA network in 25 provinces. 7:30am. As a first response, The Chief of the Phuket Provincial concluded.