Man on Run Electrocutes Himself With Booby Trap
A man fleeing police in Ratchaburi fatally electrocuted himself on a booby trap wire he had set to prevent arrest, while his young son was also injured in the incident on August 14.
At 8 p.m. on August 14, Potha Ram Police Station in Ratchaburi received a report from motorcycle officer Phanupong Tan Keiang that he had spotted a man on a motorcycle carrying a rifle slung over his shoulder and began pursuing him along a canal-side road. Officers coordinated a close pursuit as the man rode onto the New Chamnan Temple bridge, then turned right toward Bang Ton subdistrict and entered a residential property. When officers arrived, the man abandoned his motorcycle and fled into the forest behind the house. Police cordoned off the area and searched but found nothing, so they withdrew and took the motorcycle back to the station for examination.
At 10:50 p.m., Deputy Investigation Officer Rattanin Keamsiddichaikul reported that someone had been electrocuted and injured inside a banana grove beside the house. Police Captain Phuchong Nronginthon was notified and led a team of investigators, emergency medical staff from Chetsamian Hospital, and Sawang Ratchaburi rescue volunteers to investigate.
Officers had the homeowner cut the power before discovering the body of Aek, 44, the house owner, dead with electrical burns on his right shin. Steel ball projectiles were found in a bag but no firearm was recovered. A 4-year-old boy, the dead man's son, was also electrocuted on his back and was injured. He was rushed to hospital and later transferred to Ratchaburi Central Hospital; his condition later stabilized.
Investigators found a large wire stretched approximately 20 meters from the house to an adjacent area, connected to the house's electrical supply. It is believed the man had set this as a trap to prevent officers from entering or arresting him, but he accidentally triggered it while fleeing through the area, causing his death. His 4-year-old son was also injured.
After the incident, police and motorcycle officers searched the forest behind the house, a remote area, for the rifle but found only a child's glasses, rusty leaf matter, and the young boy's sandals scattered in the forest.
Background checks revealed the deceased had two arrest warrants: one related to illegal firearms and one for electronic monitoring device tampering. Officers are still gathering evidence and searching for the missing firearm.
The dead man's younger brother stated that during the incident he was staying in another house within the same compound. He saw his brother ride a motorcycle into the house being chased by police on motorcycle and went out to help officers convince his brother to surrender, and assisted in searching the forest but found nothing. When police withdrew, he returned inside.
Around 10:30 p.m., he heard a child screaming, came out with a flashlight, and found his brother dead. His 4-year-old nephew told him he had been electrocuted. He traced the power source, found wires connected from the deceased's house, quickly cut the main switch, then helped his nephew and notified authorities.
Police initially suspect the deceased was the same man who fled on the motorcycle. The exact cause of death awaits autopsy results from a physician, and Sawang Ratchaburi rescue volunteers transported the body to Ratchaburi Central Hospital for detailed examination.
