Thailand's Daily Crime Pill #6: A Bit O' Tea Money in the Morning
How much is 20,000 baht worth to you?
Dear expats and readers,
You might recall in Crime Pill #4 from two days back the case of 10+ Pretty models who were raped by one Mr. Denphum.
If you’re too lazy to click that link — here’s a photo of the scumbag.
On the left getting detained, on the right: scuffed up and a wai. How very apologetic, how very Thai that photo is.
Part of the reason why I love this country: even in the face of evil, these sorts of niceties still shine through.
Even after heinous accusations — luring 18, 19, 20 year old freelance models to motels and condo rooms across Bangkok, jumping them with a knife, forcing them to strip down, smoke ice, and raping them — all of it on film, and with more than 10 victims, this guy’s still got the chutzpah to give the camera that little apologetic bow, lips zipped up in a “I just stepped in some dogshit” pout.
As if he’s the victim.
But psychologically, I reckon it’s the Thai equivalent of the American cop killer smiling in court after being sentenced to death.
In America, an evil bastard will smile and laugh for the camera; in Thailand, they’ll wai and pout — both are fully self-aware of what they’ve done, both despicable. The stark differences in those two photos boils down to cultural conditioning, I reckon.
You’d never see a vato loco like that wai to the camera, but a rapist Somchai? Absolutely.
So, why have I brought Mr. Denphum — I’m just calling him the Wai Guy from here on out — back to the Crime Pill?
News hit today, May 7th, that the big-shots in the RTP are looking into social media rumors that our Wai Guy slipped 20,000 baht in tea money to the cops interrogating him at the Bang Khun Thian Police Station to let him slip away.
Police brought Wai Guy in for questioning that day, and it so happened that a victim in the case was there giving her testimony, too.
Wai Guy claimed that the model victim — who at knife-point he drugged, stripped, raped, and filmed — stole a gold ring.
The ring ended up being a fake, found in a trash bin later by police.
So, how do police say Wai Guy got out that day?
Well, according to this article in The Daily News, an investigation into the bribery has concluded that there was no pay-off for release. The scenario according to the report was that police brought the victim and suspect in to mediate the case. And police let Wai Guy go to sell some gold to get 20,000 baht, which was to be paid to the victim for restitution in the crime.
That scenario may or may not be true — let’s just assume it is — but the fact remains that Wai Guy ran off and never came back to the station.
Now even the Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Suwat Changyodsuk himself has commented on the case — telling the Boys in Brown to find and arrest Wai Guy.
Once this bastard’s caught, you’ll hear it from TCT first.
No feature story for today, but I’ve got something sweet planned for tomorrow.
Pre-cursor to that story: Laos, China, Bangkok ports — and, of course, that sweet, sweet fentanyl.
That’s all for today…
Until tomorrow’s Crime Pill, stay safe out there everybody.
- True Crime Thailand