• 
• 

Published on October 5, 2007

Ongoing police investigations into three apparently related killings now strongly indicate a client of Dr Phaisal Hengsawas was brutally killed inside his Bio Clinic in Bangkok.

Self-confessed murderer Prakob Seenak re-enacted at the clinic yesterday how Charnwit Charnrattanachai was beaten up, stabbed and finally strangled.

The murder appeared to have taken place right after Charnwit met with Phaisal on November 17 last year.

Charnwit's body was found dumped in Saraburi on Novem-ber 18 last year, with a Bio Clinic appointment card - signed by Phaisal the previous day - at the scene.

Part of the card read "Follow-up examination for areas under the patient's eyes and cheekbone … Given high expectation expressed by the patient, I recommend that he should wait to see how the wound under his eyes recovers before deciding on another operation. No appointment made."

Prakob yesterday confessed his crimes during an interrogation session with Central Investigation Bureau chief Lt General Adisorn Nonsee. Pol Colonel Warayut Sukwat, a superintendent at the bureau, then took Prakob to re-enact his crime at the Bio Clinic.

"We beat him till we were tired," Prakob was quoted as saying during yesterday's re-enactment, "Then one of us threatened him with a knife."

Prakob told police Charnwit put up a fight when threatened by the knife, snatching the weapon from a man known only as "Pai" and lunged at him.

"So, I wrestled the knife from his hand and stabbed him once," police quoted Prakob as saying. "Then, Pai strangled him with electrical wire."

Police said Prakob identified another accomplice, "Rang", who he alleged covered Charnwit's body with a rubber mat before they carried it to an Isuzu pickup.

"We dropped his body in Saraburi," Prakob was quoted as saying.

Police said Prakob identified Phaisal's younger brother Sakda Hengsawas as the person who opened a door to let him and his accomplices into the Bio Clinic on Nov 17.

Prakob did not implicate Phaisal. Sakda is currently in hiding.

Sakda, Prakob and Jaturong Benkul had been sought for the high-profile murder of Raweewan Setarat. Prakob and Jaturong are now in police custody.

Based on Prakob's confession, police said Prakob and Jaturong received around Bt100,000 each for killing Charnwit, Raweewan and Boonlue Rungrueng.

Raweewan - who publicly accused Phaisal of malpractice and was suing him - was shot dead on September 13 this year.

Taxi driver Boonlue, a key witness in Raweewan's case against Phaisal, was killed on March 19 this year.

The Nation