Grieving Family Demands Justice as Young Man Dies from Brutal Beating, Frustrated by Lack of Progress and CCTV Evidence
A 39-year-old man died from severe head injuries after being brutally kicked by a close friend during Songkran in Bangkok, with his widow frustrated by stalled police investigation and CCTV evidence showing more violence than the attacker c
At 9:30 a.m. on May 1, 2024, Thamnanthon Tangtim (known as Sergeant King) brought the victim's family to file a complaint with investigators at the Central Investigation Police Bureau, citing a lack of progress in the case that began during Songkran. The victim, 39-year-old Supakij, suffered severe injuries on April 14 at approximately 5:28 p.m. in the Nivet Chao Fa Soi area on Prachauthit Road 10 in Don Mueang, Bangkok, after being repeatedly kicked and stomped on the head and chest by his assailant, 38-year-old Chirathat (alias "Joe"). Supakij was hospitalized at Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital with brain swelling, intracranial bleeding, and a fractured skull, eventually dying on April 17 at 4:40 p.m.
The victim's 35-year-old widow, Kamlachonok, revealed that her husband had been invited by the perpetrator—a close friend he hadn't seen in over 10 years—to celebrate Songkran. She said she lost contact with him that evening and learned the next day he had been hospitalized. When reviewing CCTV footage from the apartment complex, she discovered her husband was brutally attacked with 7-8 kicks to the head while offering no resistance, contradicting the perpetrator's claim of only 4 strikes during a drunken scuffle. Most troubling to her is that her husband was left unconscious on a stretcher overnight before being transported to the hospital around 2 p.m. on April 15—despite the attacker's mother witnessing the entire incident from the start.
The widow stated she filed a report at Don Mueang Police Station, but the case has stalled with no investigation progress. She was denied access to the police report and learned that the perpetrator visited the station early the following week without any charges being filed. She expressed deep concern, noting that the attacker appears to have connections to influential local figures and continues living freely. She emphasized that her deceased husband was the family's sole breadwinner supporting two young children, and with prompt medical care, he might have survived.