PHETCHABURI, Aug 21 (TNA) – A thief has been arrested for stealing rail track screws and base plates that caused passenger train derailment in Phetchaburi province on Monday.
Six carriages of the train derailed between Huay Sai Tai station and Hua Hin station around noon on Monday. Derailment was caused by missing screws and plates.
The police arrested Suphachai Padsri, 23 scrap metal shop owner in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi on Tuesday and seized 25 rail base plates and 66 rail screws.
The thief, identified as Sompong Klaikueng, 54, who sold the items to the shop said he found them lying near the rail track, so he collected them for selling. The police did not believe him.
The shop owner said two suspects aged around 40-45 years arrived in a white pick-up truck and brought those items to his shop for sale. He bought them but did not copy the seller’s ID card. After the train derailment, the police searched his shop and found the missing plates and track fastening screws.
He said he was shocked to know that those items belonged to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
The shop owner was charged with colluding in theft and receiving stolen items. He denied all charges. The police arrested the thief while the other is still at large. The SRT managed to salvage six derailed carriages and resumed the southern line train service at 3 am. on Tuesday, about 12 hours after the derailment.
Deputy police spokesman Kritsana Pattanacharoen said that the police expanded investigation in order to arrest all suspects, involving in the theft and would take legal action against all culprits.
The spokesman also asked netizens to check information from relevant state agencies before sharing and posting any information online after the theft was shared on social media that it was related to a suspected act of sabotage.
He said the police chief ordered speedy investigation immediate after it occurred. He told the public to be confident in the police operation to ensure the safety of lives and property of passengers, tourists and investors. (TNA)
