"Kamnan Poh" arrested for masterminding murder of local administration chief

BANGKOK, January 30 (TNA) - After hiding for nearly a decade, Somchai Khunploem, also known as Kamnan Poh, was finally arrested on Wednesday for masterminding the murder of a former kamnan or chief of Samet Sub-district in Chon Buri province in the Thai East. Police Lieutenant General Pongpat Chayapan, Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police's Central Investigation Bureau, told reporters on Wednesday that commandos of the Crime Suppression Division arrested "Kamnan Poh" on an expressway near Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok and brought him for interrogation. 75-year-old "Kamnan Poh" was wanted for masterminding the murder of Prayoon Sitthichote, former kamnan of the Samet locality in Chon Buri's Muang district in March 2003 and for encroaching on the Khao Mai Kaew mountain in the same province. "Kamnan Poh" was a former politician, businessman and influential figure in the Thai East. He is a former mayor of the Saen Suk Municipality in Chonburi and a sponsor of many politicians in the Thai East. "Kamnan Poh" faced asset seizure for corrupt land procurement on the Khao Mai Kaew mountain and was sentenced to 25-year imprisonment for masterminding the murder. "Kamnan Poh" has five children, including incumbent Culture Minister Sonthaya Khunploem, President of the Chon Buri Provincial Administrative Organization Witthaya Khunploem and Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Khunploem and Saen Suk Mayor Narongchai Khunploem. Meanwhile, the culture minister said he did not think that a political motivation was behind the arrest of his father and will allow the laws to take its course without using his position to interfere in the case. (TNA)