12-9-2023 (BANGKOK) The commanding officer of a senior police officer who allegedly took his own life on Monday revealed that the deceased officer was distraught because he had invited his subordinate to a dinner party where the subordinate was subsequently murdered by a gunman last Wednesday.
Pol Col Vachira Yaothaisong, 44, the commander of Highway Police Sub-Division 2, was found dead from a single gunshot wound at his home in a housing estate in tambon Khu Khot of Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani, on Monday. It is believed that he shot himself.
Pol Col Vachira was the direct superior of Pol Maj Siwakorn Saibua, a member of Highway Police Sub-Division 2, who was fatally shot at a dinner party hosted by Praween Chankhlai, also known as Kamnan Nok, in tambon Takong, Muang district of Nakhon Pathom last Wednesday. Pol Col Vachira had invited Pol Maj Siwakorn to the party.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, the acting commander of the Highway Police Division, stated on Tuesday that Pol Col Vachira blamed himself for the circumstances leading to Pol Maj Siwakorn’s death. Despite attempts to console him, Pol Col Vachira continued to hold himself responsible for bringing Pol Maj Siwakorn to the function where the murder took place.
Pol Col Vachira exhibited signs of stress and expressed difficulty sleeping, according to Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat. He advised Pol Col Vachira to rest and get adequate sleep. A police friend later accompanied Pol Col Vachira for a meal and then arranged for him to sleep at a hotel in Muang Thong Thani.
Surveillance footage indicated that Pol Col Vachira left the hotel around 4 am on Monday and returned to his house in Pathum Thani, arriving shortly before 5 am.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat instructed Pol Col Vachira not to answer any phone calls during this period. “A junior police officer was asked to keep his mobile phone so that he could rest undisturbed,” he added.
Inside Pol Vachira’s house, investigators discovered a spent bullet lodged in a robot vacuum cleaner. Forensic officers collected powder residue from Pol Col Vachira’s hand and fingerprints from the cabinet where the gun was stored and the house’s entry keypad.
According to a source, a concerned police friend discovered Pol Col Vachira’s body. The friend gained access to the house by contacting the officer’s wife and obtaining the door entry code.
Police are expected to conclude their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pol Col Vachira’s death on Tuesday.
Pol Col Vachira was among the 28 police officers who attended the dinner party. All attendees are currently under investigation, with six individuals facing charges of obstructing the investigation in some way.
The gunman responsible for the dinner party shooting, Thananchai Mamnak, 45, fled the scene and was shot dead in Kanchanaburi while resisting arrest by the police on Friday morning. Praween, the host of the party, surrendered to the police on Thursday evening. Authorities suspect that Praween ordered the murder of Pol Maj Siwakorn because he refused to transfer Praween’s wife’s nephew, a highway policeman, to an elite motorcycle squad.
