Co-owner of vast land tracts in Chon Buri made death threat, police allege
Police investigating the murder of wealthy businesswoman Sunattee Nerngchamnong discovered a potential lead yesterday - business conflicts she had over a vast area of land in Chon Buri worth Bt10 billion jointly owned with a relative.
Sunattee also jointly operated two markets in prime parts of Ban Bueng. Police said she received a death threat after she refused to comply with a co-owner's demand to increase the monthly stall rental from Bt500 to Bt1,500.
The land alone is worth around Bt10 billion, given an estimated price of Bt1 million per rai, in a total area of around 10,000 rai located mostly in prime areas and along a major highway. These plots belong to her and a man who was a relative and shared the same surname.
A police source said Sunattee's husband, Pol Maj General Piyachart, also implicated this unidentified individual as a potential suspect.
Pol General Phanuphong Singhara na Ayutthaya, a senior investigator on the case, asked for 30 days to identify masterminds behind the murder, after he set a session on Sunday to update progress from the 50-strong investigation team.
The officer said police now had better clues about the motorcycle used by the killers, but gave no further details.
Police are also working on a new sketch of two men seen camping not far from her home two weeks ago, who were thought to be the gunman and the motorcycle driver.
Police had completed a sketch, depicting two men in hoods, but later scrapped it and turned to work on a new sketch, relying on witnesses who saw the men's unmasked faces when they slept and used a hammock in a wood nearby Sunattee's home.
Police said they were working on a classic homicide theory - who would benefit most from the huge amount of assets and business conflicts if Sunattee was eliminated. They played down an earlier theory about the legal battles she had with many people.
The 27 lawsuits she was involved in are mostly civil cases in which Sunattee was the defendant. "The plaintiffs would rather be put at a disadvantage if she was dead, as those cases demand compensation and payment from her," a police source said.
Detectives are now collecting intelligence in three provinces, Chon Buri, Phetchaburi and Phetchabun, which are known as sanctuaries of gunmen, in order to identify possible leads on whether the killing team was recruited from these places.