SAO President Arrested in Hitman Plot Against Ex-Kamnan
The president of Nong Chok SAO in Phetchaburi has been arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to assassinate a former kamnan. The shooting occurred in October but the target survived. Police apprehended the gunman and accomplices earlier, and took the SAO president into custody on November 7 while victim's relatives protested against her bail.
Police have arrested the president of the Nong Chok Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill former Nong Chok Kamnan Luean Saengkham. The arrest follows an October 6 shooting in which gunmen on a motorcycle fired at Luean's car at a railway overpass in Ban Lat district, Phetchaburi; he escaped unharmed.
Investigators previously arrested the gunman, 40-year-old Anusorn, his 38-year-old girlfriend (identified only as Miss A), and two SAO employees, 34-year-old Miss Phon and 44-year-old Bai Kan, as accomplices. On November 4, Region 7 Police and Ban Lat Police raided a housing project in Samo Phlue and the SAO office with an arrest warrant for SAO President Atcharaphon, but she was not found.
Today, November 7, Pol. Col. Kan Thammaket, commander of Region 7 Investigation Division, led a team that apprehended Atcharaphon and brought her to Ban Lat Police Station for further interrogation. Police oppose bail and plan to bring her to Phetchaburi Provincial Court on Monday. Meanwhile, over ten relatives of the victim protested outside the station demanding justice and opposing her release. Luean expressed relief at the arrest, stating the conflict is purely political and he had no prior personal disputes with anyone.
