Trang: An arrest warrant has been issued for “D,” the gunman with a limp who shot and killed the village headman. Police are in hot pursuit. An arrest warrant has been issued for the lame gunman who fired an M16 at the village headman of Trang Province. The motive for the murder was revealed to be a conflict between a former aid worker and a threat to kill him. The Trang police chief revealed that the pursuit of the suspect was beneficial. He is being followed with bated breath, and vows to apprehend him.
According to Thai News Agency, reporters from Trang Province reported on August 8, 2015, that a man in black, wearing a helmet to obscure his face, used an M16 assault rifle to shoot and kill Mr. Bandit Rongphon, also known as Kamnan Len, 57, the headman of Nawong Subdistrict, Huai Yot District, Trang Province, and president of the Huai Yot District Headman and Village Headman Association. Fifteen bullets pierced the driver’s side of the car’s door, and 5.56 caliber shell casings were scattered everywhere. The incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. on August 3rd in front of Mr. Bandit’s house in Village No. 9, Nawong Subdistrict, Huai Yot District, Trang Province. The incident occurred as Mr. Bandit was returning from a wedding reception and backing his black Ford Ranger pickup truck into the house. CCTV footage clearly shows the moment the perpetrator committed the crime. The perpetrator was seen lurking beside the house, which was an abandoned market building. A plastic chair and a half-lit mosquito coil were f
ound there. Upon arrival, Mr. Bandit ran to the scene and immediately fled the scene, facing the CCTV footage.
Following the incident, relevant agencies, including the Region 9 Provincial Police Investigation Unit, the Crime Suppression Division, the Trang Provincial Police Investigation Unit, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Trang Provincial Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit, forensic officers, and officers from Huai Yot Police Station, mobilized to investigate the scene and the perpetrator’s escape route. They also gathered evidence, including bullet casings and traces of the vehicle, and expedited review of surrounding CCTV footage. Police suspect 1. personal conflict and 2. straightforward drug suppression operations, which may have impacted vested interests, as previously reported.
Pol. Col. Phatthawit Keetmothaniyakun, Commander of Trang Provincial Police, revealed that following the investigation, the court today (August 8, 2015) issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Thawatchai Buapluem, the shooter of Kamnan Len, on charges of premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm for which the registrar cannot issue a license, and carrying a firearm in a city, village, or public road without permission. Police are pursuing him closely and have found clues of his escape and hiding in various locations. They vow to find and apprehend him.
The motive for the murder is increasingly pointed to a personal conflict. It has been discovered that Kamnan Len knew Mr. Thawatchai’s relationship with him. Previously, Kamnan Len had provided care and treatment for Mr. Thawatchai, who was suffering from polio in both legs. However, their conflicts recently escalated to the point where Kamnan Len and his family received death threats. Two weeks before the incident, someone attempted to warn Kamnan Len of an attempted attack and to be cautious, but Kamnan Len believed the attacker would not dare to act. This led to the tragic incident.
Mr. Thawatchai, nicknamed “Do” or “Ai D” by locals, already has three outstanding arrest warrants. These include: 1. abduction of a minor over 15 but under 18 years of age in the Huai Yot Police Station area in 2018; 2. drug charges in the Huai Rai Police Station area in Phrae Province in 2021; and 3. premeditated murder in the Ratsada Police Station area in Trang Province in 2016. This includes the most recent warrant issued for the murder of Kamnan Len, bringing the total to four. He is also listed as a hired gun on the Provincial Police Region 9 list, number 1, and on the Royal Thai Police (RTP) list in 2025, number 190, with a bounty of 100,000 baht.