BANGKOK, Jan 23 (TNA) – The school director who killed three
innocent people in an armed robbery in Lop Buri province earlier this month
said he committed the crime because he was deep in debt.
Thai police held a press conference on the gold heist case
on Thursday morning, one day after arresting Prasittichai Khaokaew, the school
director who confessed that he killed the three people in the gold shop robbery
on January 9.
At one point, police allowed reporters to ask questions to
the 38-year-old school director via phone call, in which he reversed his
previous claim that he wanted to be killed by police.
Prasittichai said the real motive for his crime was his
personal debt.
When asked why he had to murder the shop staffer, a security
guard and a two-year-old toddler, he replied that he opened fires to intimidate
people.
The man also offered apology to families of the victims.
Police initial report says Prasittichai fires 16 rounds of
bullet, one of them strayed and hit the toddler in the head.
CCTV footages that have been viral on the internet shows
Prasittichai in a full-face mask, black shirt and camouflage trousers entering
the shopping mall and started to open fires at customers and gold shop staff.
He jumped on the shop counter and snatched gold necklaces
worth about THB600,000. On the way out
he shot and killed the security guard before fleeing on a motorcycle.
After being arrested, Prasittichai falsely claimed that he
threw the jewelry off a bridge into a river.
Police later retrieved all that were hidden at his father-in-law’s
house.
It is still unclear whether anyone conspired or assisted him
to commit the crime. Police report the
the pistol he used in the robbery is his father’s while the motorcycle is his
father-in-law’s.
In the press conference, national police chief Pol General
Chakthip Chaijinda said no other people had been implicated or charged.
Prasittichai also said in the press conference that he acted
alone and he intended to surrender to police on Friday, January 24, because he
had some duties at the school.
The Lob Buri-born man has served as school director in the
nearby province of Sing Buri since March last year. His arrest sent a shockwave through the
nation, leaving many in disbelief and even leading to speculation that he was a
scapegoat.
He confessed to all seven criminal charges, police said.
(TNA)
