Two students who tipped off police after recognizing a wanted serial killer aboard their train were given a THB80,000 reward this morning.
A 22-year-old good samaritan, identified only as Ray, told police that he and his girlfriend had boarded a train from Korat to Bangkok on Wednesday morning when his girlfriend noticed a passenger resembling Somkid Pumpuang.
Somkid, a convicted serial killer freed in May on a royal pardon, had been on the run since Sunday when police say he began killing again.
Somkid was wearing a mask and a cap, Ray told police, but his girlfriend saw a scar above the man’s left eyebrow, which matched his mugshot widely broadcast on television.
‘Somkid the Ripper’ captured at Pak Chong train station
After the couple moved to another bogie, Ray called the Kranuan Police Station before walking back to where Somkid was sitting and taking a few pictures.
A police team was then sent to Pak Chong railway station, where the train was about to stop. The officers rushed aboard and captured Somkid.
Ray and his girlfriend received THB50,000 in cash from the police, and another THB30,000 from the Help Crime Victim Club, a non-governmental victim advocacy group.
Somkid had evaded arrest since Sunday night when he is suspected of killing a woman in her Khon Kaen. Rasmee Mulichan was found at home bound with tape around her neck and her ankles tied with a mobile phone charging cable
Somkid, dubbed “Thailand’s Jack the Ripper” by the media, served 14 years behind bars before his early release for killing at least five sex workers in karaoke cafes and massage parlors, mostly in the northeastern region.
Related:
‘Somkid the Ripper’ captured at Pak Chong train station
Thailand’s ‘Jack the Ripper’ killing again after freed on pardon: police
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