A 20-year-old college student was arrested in Chon Buri province after fatally stabbing a Chinese man in his girlfriend's rental room, claiming self-defense during a struggle over the knife.
A college student stabbed a 20-year-old Chinese man to death in his girlfriend's room after claiming he was attacked first and did not intend to kill. The victim's relatives nearly attempted vigilante justice as police questioned the suspect.
At 7:10 a.m. on August 8, 2025, Na Jomtien police received a report of a 20-year-old Chinese man fatally stabbed in a rental room in Na Jomtien subdistrict, Sattahip district, Chon Buri province. The victim was found with multiple stab wounds. A 21-year-old woman, identified as Ms. A, was also in the room with injuries and was in a state of shock.
At 2:30 p.m. the same day, Deputy Inspector Adisorn Kop-goy, the investigating officer from Na Jomtien station, led a team to bring Thanachat, 20, a college student in Chon Buri, to his girlfriend's room—the crime scene—to reconstruct the incident and record his confession. He was charged with premeditated murder.
During the reconstruction, Thanachat showed officers where he had discarded the knife behind the room in thick brush. Using a metal detector, police recovered a curved folding knife with a sharp tip, identified as the murder weapon, for forensic examination.
As police brought the suspect to reconstruct the scene, relatives of the deceased Chinese man arrived at the location. Upon learning the news, they wept and grieved. As officers began the reconstruction, the relatives attempted to harm the suspect, but police intervened, controlled the situation, and quickly removed him from the area.
Meanwhile, provincial forensic police examined the crime scene and surrounding areas, collecting evidence from inside the room, the crime scene, and related locations for the case file.
During initial questioning, Thanachat stated he had been dating his girlfriend for approximately three months. On the night of the incident, he had gone to work in Pattaya before returning in the morning to his girlfriend's room. When he opened the door, he found a stranger inside and asked who the man was while holding a knife to threaten him.
The Chinese man allegedly tried to wrestle the knife from his hand and attempted to use it to attack him. A struggle and choking ensued. Thanachat claimed he managed to retrieve the knife and used it to stab the Chinese man multiple times, denying he intended to kill him. After the incident, he fled to Pattaya. When he learned the man had died, he decided to surrender to police.
The 21-year-old woman revealed that she worked as a hotel employee. The victim had visited and come to the hotel regularly. The two had become acquainted and chatted for approximately two months. On the night of the incident, the victim came to her room around midnight, and they talked before both fell asleep.
In the morning, her boyfriend returned and knocked on the door. She opened it, and all three discussed the situation, but an argument broke out and violence ensued. She tried to intervene but was cut by the knife, sustaining multiple wounds. Unable to overpower either man, she witnessed her boyfriend stab the Chinese man until he died.
After the incident, police detained Thanachat and initiated legal proceedings. They accelerated the investigation of related witnesses, reviewed security footage, and collected forensic evidence to proceed with prosecution.