Police Find CCTV of Dragon Five Singer at Rama 7 Bridge

Andy Khemsophimuk revealed that police showed him CCTV footage showing Tae Dragon Five climbing stairs beneath Rama 7 Bridge before his body was found floating in the water. He believes his friend was not suffering from depression.

Before the Buddhist funeral ceremony for Tae Dragon Five—whose real name was Tawit Taephan, a 46-year-old singer famous in the 1990s—Andy Khemsophimuk, a bandmate and close friend who attended the ceremony, opened his heart about the loss.

"Before coming to the temple, I went to the place where they found Tae's body," Andy said. "I invited my teacher from Rajabhopith Temple to perform a ritual releasing ceremony, telling Tae that he no longer needs to stay there and to come to the temple where his mother and everyone are waiting. Last night I spoke to Tae in my heart, asking where he was and if he would come talk for a bit, but I didn't smell incense. This morning I felt I needed to invite him here. I believe my friend understood because just then I smelled something—Tae's presence from yesterday—but still no incense smell. The image from yesterday hasn't faded because I saw my friend, and seeing his mother cry made me feel so sad. I tried telling her there was no need to look if it wasn't necessary. I'm asking everyone not to send those kinds of images—please spare his mother."

Andy continued: "I want to say that all Dragon Five members love Tae. But some people are criticizing Tao from Dragon Five. I learned about Tae from Tao, and Tao has been in China for 2–3 days now, taking his family on a trip. Tao asked me to tell everyone that he'll be back on the 10th and will come see Tae."

When asked if there were any warning signs, Andy said: "There were no signs at all. Honestly, Tae shouldn't have done this because he wasn't that kind of person. He must have been pushed to some extreme. Even his mother didn't know anything. His mother says the same thing I do—Tae wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. He wasn't depressed, that's for sure. Tae was a cyclist, always doing something, always thinking of his mother and deeply loved his girlfriend. I can say one thing: Tae had no illness whatsoever. He was such a lovely person. Even though he was the oldest in the band, I let him look after the group because I'm loud and outspoken, while Tae was calm. It feels like a dream. I pinch myself wondering if this is really happening or if we're still dreaming."

When asked if the band Dragon Five might perform together again, Andy replied: "Tae always told me and the band members that he wanted us to perform again for work, no matter the pay. He wanted to see all five of us dancing together. But everyone has their own jobs and no time. It's a shame—now there are only four of us left. I don't think we'll come together soon or in the near future because there's no project like that. But I'll keep making my own music."

Regarding the mother's lingering questions about the cause of Tae's death, Andy said: "As a mother, she naturally has concerns. But from everything we've seen, everyone can understand it went that way. What we know now is that the bicycle still hasn't been found. I spoke with the deputy investigator, and they've traced where a brick came from—under Rama 7 Bridge. They saw Tae go up the bridge and climb the stairs underneath. But it's not over yet because police are trying to determine if he came back down. If he didn't come down, then that's what happened there."

When asked if he had doubts after seeing the footage, Andy said: "Yesterday I briefly wondered if someone had hurt my friend. But after seeing the full picture, talking with the foundation people and friends, and with Tae, I'm confident. While driving here, the deputy investigator told me it's 70–80% as I think. But I'm still waiting to see the footage to confirm whether he came back down the bridge. If there's footage of him coming down, then it's not that."

This suggests he left his bicycle up there? "Right now I understand he leaned his bicycle there. We're still waiting on one more shot."