A male van driver has been arrested for the murder of his Laotian mistress, whose body was found dumped in a cassava field in Uthai Thani province. The suspect confessed to having a two-month affair with the victim, identified as 45-year-old Panlawi Chanthavong. The incident occurred after an argument ensued when the victim insisted on being introduced as the suspect’s girlfriend. Fearing repercussions from his wife, the suspect choked the victim to death, bound her body, and disposed of it along with some covering materials.
The victim’s body was discovered on October 20, leading to an investigation that linked the crime to the suspect, Sangwian Rodjan, a 52-year-old van driver, through security camera footage. He was apprehended on October 21 in Bangkok. During interrogation, it was revealed that the couple had met on October 17, and tensions escalated during their stay at a resort where the fatal confrontation occurred.
After gathering evidence including a jacket worn by the suspect and the victim’s belongings, police are continuing investigations to retrieve the victim’s mobile phone, which the suspect claimed to have disposed of in a nearby pond. Sangwian performed a reenactment of the crime, expressing no intent to kill and offering apologies to the victim’s family.
Polices officials reported that the murder occurred as a result of a heated argument during which the victim demanded public acknowledgment of their relationship, which the suspect resisted due to his marital status. Following the fatal encounter, he attempted to conceal the crime by hiding the body with a blanket and a sack, with charges of intentional murder and concealment of a corpse being brought against him.
The victim is reported to have had a Thai husband and three children, with her daughter now seeking to reclaim her mother’s remains for funeral rites.
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This article was rewritten from a Thairath’s news article.
