City rampagePublished: 15/04/2011 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post: Newspaper section: News A computer repairman, suspected to be under the influence of drugs, stole two cars, killed two people and took a woman hostage in a bloody rampage across two provinces which ended when police shot him dead.Thada Inthamas, 37, commandeered two cars, shot and killed a policeman and a taxi driver, took a doctor hostage and shot and wounded several police after running amok in Nonthaburi and Bangkok yesterday.
He was finally shot and killed by police near the Victory Monument about noon. Thada's body was removed from a bullet-ridden car.
The doctor he took hostage was in a critical condition in hospital last night after Thada shot her in the stomach.
The drama started about 10.30am when Thada, who had no history of mental illness, visited his sister in Nonthaburi asking to borrow money. She lent him 1,000 baht and gave him the use of her car.
Thada, of Nop Phi Tham district in Nakhon Si Thammarat, drove the car to Anand 2 Hospital in Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi where he threatened Wichai Wilailaksamee, 63, a retired policeman, with a knife and took his Toyota Camry car. Pol Maj Gen Wichai Sangprapai, commander of the Metropolitan Police Division 1, said Thada then drove to Khattiyanee intersection in Dusit district of Bangkok where traffic officer, Pol Sgt Maj Snr Likasit Pilasri, alerted earlier by Bang Kruai police, tried to stop the commandeered vehicle.
Thada pulled over and stabbed the policeman. He took the officer's gun and shot him in the head.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Likasit died at the scene.
Pol Maj Gen Wichai said Thada climbed back in the car and sped away. He was spotted later on Si Ayutthaya road.
He tailgated and crashed into another Toyota Camry driven by Pipatra Sailohit, 28, a doctor at the Suranaree Army Camp Hospital.
The doctor's mother was with her in the car.
Thada left the first car near the Si Ayutthaya intersection and held Dr Pipatra at gunpoint.
He pushed the mother out of the way and climbed into Dr Pipatra's car, taking the doctor hostage.
As he was about to drive away, taxi driver Amnart Phuangsoongnern, 34, tried to obstruct the carjacker.
Thada fired at Amnart. The taxi driver died instantly from a bullet wound to his right temple.
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Jirote Boonthongkam, a Phaya Thai police officer manning a traffic kiosk in the area, also tried to stop Thada.
Thada rammed the car into the officer, who suffered broken limbs, and drove off in the direction of the Victory Monument.
Police blocked off an intersection near the Victory Monument on Phaya Thai Road. Officers fired as they surrounded the vehicle and moved quickly to take the doctor out of the car. Thada shot at the police and injured the doctor in the process.
Pol Maj Gen Wichai said police shot and killed Thada in the commandeered Toyota. Dr Pipatra, who suffered serious stomach injuries when Thada shot her, was taken to Rajavithi Hospital.
Pol Maj Gen Itthipol Piriyapinyo, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said Thada worked as a computer repairman in Muang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
He was charged last month in Nakhon Si Thammarat with drunk driving.
An autopsy is being performed to determine if Thada had taken alcohol before his bloody rampage.
National police chief Wichean Potephosree said Thada had taken methamphetamines for about a year. He was believed to have committed the crime under the influence of drugs.
Ms Karuna, Thada's sister, said Thada travelled from Nakhon Si Thammarat to visit her at her home in Nonthaburi.
Thada had asked to borrow 3,000 baht from his other sister in Nakhon Si Thammarat, but she had not transferred the money.
Pol Gen Wichean said Pol Snr Sgt Maj Jirote was being treated at the Police General Hospital for a fractured neck and ankle. The police chief said the injured policemen would receive 115,000 baht in assistance from the police force.
The officer who died would be given a posthumous seven-rank promotion. Police would pay the families of those who died 150,000-200,000 baht in assistance money.
Source:http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/232004/city-rampage
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