After an intense 10-hour interrogation, “Sia Paeng Na-node,” whose real name is Chaowalit Thongduang, was flown to Bangkok this morning for further detention at Bang Kwang Central Prison after Indonesian police handed him over to the Thai authorities yesterday upon his arrival at Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport.
Special operations police officers from the SWAT unit escorted Chaowalit from the Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Court to the Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport. There, he was turned over to corrections officers who boarded a police aircraft bound for Bangkok. He dressed in prison garb for the first time in over seven months, wore a bulletproof vest and a face mask.
His brother stated that his sibling denied all allegations and requested to exercise his right to testify in court.
The high-profile convict, had been on the run for 222days following his dramatic escape from Maharaj Hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat on October 22 last year while serving the sentence for attempted murder.
Despite a massive manhunt involving hundreds of officers searching the Banthat Mountains, he managed to elude capture until he was found in Bali, Indonesia.
His flight came to an end on May 30, when Indonesian authorities apprehended him. On Tuesday, Indonesian police transported him via a chartered flight from Jakarta and handed him over to Thai authorities, arriving at Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport at 5:45 p.m.
While his capture marks the end of an extensive manhunt, it signals the beginning of a new phase of investigation in Thailand. The public remains skeptical about the circumstances of his escape and the subsequent handling of his case. Authorities are now under pressure to scrutinize those who may have been involved in aiding his escape and ensuring the investigation proceeds transparently. (TNA)
