For over 220 days, Thai authorities were clueless about the whereabouts of their “most wanted” fugitive, Pang Nanode. But that all changed after Indonesian police responded to a routine domestic violence call last month.
Sia Pang Nanode, whose real name is Chaowalit Thongduang, caught the attention of Bali police after neighbours called to report a quarrel at a condo on May 6. Witnesses said his partner had fled to the fire escape screaming after he assaulted her.
Police investigating the squabble discovered Chaowalit was wanted in Thailand for a string of serious crimes.
Indonesian authorities promptly contacted their Thai counterparts and arranged a joint operation that resulted in the 38-year-old finally being recaptured.
Notorious fugitive
Underscoring the national importance of the case, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong flew to Indonesia himself earlier this month to arrange Chaowalit’s extradition.
Maximum security was ordered for his return, including transport back to Thailand aboard a Garuda Indonesia plane.
Chaowalit was repatriated on June 5 and whisked off to Bang Kwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi.
The drama began last year when Chaowalit escaped detention while serving a lengthy jail term. On October 22, he disappeared from Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital after apparently faking an illness during dental treatment.
Helped by an accomplice who reportedly bribed, Chaowalit was able to walk out of the hospital without being challenged. His escape stirred public anger and questions over Thailand’s law enforcement, while also triggering a massive manhunt that reportedly cost Thai taxpayers over 10 million baht.
In November, he was traced to a mountain hideout in Trang, but managed to evade police after a shootout. Chaowalit then disappeared for several months, surfacing only to taunt authorities and criticize the judicial system in video clips posted on social media.
He used the clips to portray himself as the victim of an unfair system, saying he had been sentenced to 20 years in prison “just for trying to help a friend”.
He protested that he had not known that his friend, Sittidej Songdecha, was in police detention on drug trafficking charges when he tried to rescue him in 2019.
Long list of crimes
Thai authorities however point out that the Sittidej “rescue mission” is just the tip of the iceberg. Between 2007 and 2019, Chaowalit was implicated in at least 12 serious crimes.
They include the killing of a policeman in Phatthalung province on January 5, 2007. Chaowalit was charged with possessing unlicensed firearms later the same year.
The following year, he was linked to two attempted murders, while in 2009 he was charged with possessing war weapons.
Chaowalit was then implicated in two murders in 2016 and 2017, both in Nakhon Si Thammarat. In 2019, he was accused of involvement in two attempted murders – one of them targeting a policeman.
Born to be gang leader?
Celebrity astrologer Sinsair Keng says the stars show Chaowalit is a born leader who could have taken one of two paths in life – a high-flyer on the right side of the law or an infamous gangland boss.
Chaowalit reportedly made large sums of money and built a network of influential connections while he was in prison in his 20s.
Thanks to these connections, he was soon the owner of a well-known garage in Phatthalung that is thought to have been cover for a lucrative loan shark business.
Locals said Chaowalit was always well mannered and polite, even with his henchmen who allegedly trafficked drugs and arms.
A former Phatthalung police station chief said Chaowalit served as the eyes and ears of the police, and helped the authorities control local troublemakers. In 2019, he took part in Phatthalung’s provincial election, but failed to win.
By Thai PBS World’s General Desk
