An alleged serial rapist who preyed on Lumpini Park sex workers has been arrested and the van he allegedly used in a Tuesday abduction and homicide recovered.
Thung Maha Mek police last night arrested 44-year-old Nadech Sitmanomai at a Lotus Express convenience store on Phuttha Bucha Road in the Bang Mot area of Bangkok’s Thung Khru district after the vehicle was found parked beside a factory in nearby Bang Pakok.
Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Pakapong Pongpetra said the suspect had confessed to every accusation against him and acknowledged it wasn’t his first crime. He also said the van was registered to a factory in Samut Prakan, where Nadech has worked as a driver for six years.
Police hunt ‘serial rapist’ preying on Lumphini Park sex workers
The police said they were able to track down Nadech after contacting the factory. Nadech said his employer was not aware of his actions.
On Tuesday night, Nadech allegedly forced Natchada Kiengkaiwaykin, 35, into the vehicle, which sported a fake handwritten licence plate and sexually assaulted her. Her boyfriend, Somkiat Kiengkaiwaykin, jumped onto the van as it sped away from the park and was fatally injured after the driver slammed into a traffic sign near the Thai-Belgium bridge.
The streets around Lumphini Park are popular cruising spots for sex workers. Other sex workers who witnessed the abduction told the police it wasn’t the first time it had happened.
The police said that based on their initial investigation, the suspect has been charged with murder and kidnapping, with the former punishable by up to life imprisonment while the latter is punishable by up to three years in prison and a THB60,000 fine.
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Police hunt ‘serial rapist’ preying on Lumphini Park sex workers
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