An escaped Thai convict is being brought back to Thailand on a charter flight following his arrest in Bali, Indonesia.
Chaowalit Thongduang, aka “Pang Nanod”, was arrested on the Indonesian holiday island 7 months after he fled a hospital in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where he’d been receiving dental treatment. He had been serving time for attempted murder, robbery and the possession of illegal firearms.
The chief of Nakhon Si Thammarat Police, Somchai Seutortrakul, says the 37 year old fugitive will be returned on a chartered aircraft flying directly from Jakarta to Nakhon Si Thammarat today.
The flight is being organised by the Indonesian authorities, according to a Bangkok Post report, after a previous plan to bring Chaowalit home on a Thai air force jet attracted public scrutiny.
The flight will be met at Nakhon Si Thammarat airport by a special unit that will take Chaowalit to Mueang police station for questioning and to be formally charged with absconding from custody. Security is expected to be very tight at the provincial airport and along the route, which has not been revealed by the authorities.
It’s understood the fugitive’s lawyer will accompany him throughout the process, which the authorities say could take a couple of days, depending on Chaowalit’s level of cooperation. The convict is then expected to be handed over to the Corrections Department, which will determine where he will be imprisoned.
Chaowalit fled Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital on October 22 last year, playing a cat and mouse game with the Thai authorities in the weeks that followed. He reportedly eventually fled Thailand on a speedboat from the southern province of Satun.
The Indonesian authorities arrested him in Bali on Thursday, May 30, on charges of assaulting a woman, drug dealing, using a fake Indonesian ID… hardly trying to keep a low profile.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
