A 16-year-old illegal tour bus worker was arrested for stabbing a British tourist in Samut Sakhon province yesterday.
Police today arrested the youngster in the southern Prachuap Khiri Khan province, MCOT reported.
Leigh Banks, 36, was stabbed and seriously wounded by the youngster after an argument over valuables Mr. Banks believed to have been stolen. The bus was en route from Surat Thani to Bangkok when a stop was made in Samut Sakhon, where the altercation took place.
Provincial Police Region 7 Commissioner Lt. Gen. Harnpon Nitwiboon said that an investigation team received a tip off that the boy was fleeing to Prachuap Khiri Khan. Highway police in that province were alerted and eventually made the arrest. The suspect was since taken to Samut Sakhon for questioning and a crime re-enactment.
Inside the tour bus, police found a knife, dried kratom leaves and tissue paper with blood stains on it. Kratom leaves are illegal and can be used as caffeine-like stimulant drug.
Bus driver Watcharin Jinda, 23, told police that the bus had an engine problem in Petchaburi Province. The bus owner then called vans to transfer the 20 passengers to Bangkok, but Mr. Banks and his wife could not join them as they had two bicycles with them.
The couple were waiting while the engine was being repaired when the argument and stabbing took place. Mr. Watcharin said he drove the bus away from the petrol station and dropped the boy along the way before he was stopped by police.
A passerby, Sumalee Yisunkaew, offered help to the injured Brit by calling an ambulance and police.
