Man Arrested for Fatal Beating Over Stolen Squash
A 27-year-old man has been arrested in Chiang Mai after fatally beating a 67-year-old orchard worker with a machete over repeated squash theft, then dumping the body in a rice field.
On September 25, Deputy Superintendent Suphanath Rimchan of Mae Taeng Police Station in Chiang Mai, along with investigation and patrol units, brought in 27-year-old Kritsada (surname withheld) on assault charges in connection with the death of a 67-year-old orchard worker found in a rice field in Inthakil subdistrict, Mae Taeng district, on the night of September 23. Police conducted a reconstruction of the crime at the scene, beginning at the squash garden.
According to Kritsada's account, the victim had ridden his motorcycle to steal three squash. Kritsada claims he struck the victim's head with the large flat side of a machete blade while the man was bent over picking squash, causing him to collapse. He then dragged the body along a drainage channel, lifted it onto a drainage pipe, dragged it further down a road past a cemetery, and finally abandoned it in a rice field. Kritsada said the victim had been stealing squash from the garden daily.
"In anger when I saw him bending to pick squash, I had the machete blade tucked at my waist and pulled it out, striking his head three times," the suspect stated. "I thought he was only knocked unconscious—I didn't intend to kill him. If I had meant to harm him seriously, I would have used the knife blade, not the handle. I apologize to his family."
Police then took the suspect for further questioning before filing charges and submitting him to the court for detention and legal proceedings.
