Murder charges laid in school gang fight | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

Murder charge over teen student death

Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a 14-year-old teenager during a fight between rival school gangs last month, reports said on Thursday.

Wuttichai Ditpier, 20, fled to Koh Kood in Trat province after the death of Nattapong Hatsawong, 14, on Feb 21. Investigators tracked him down and took him into custody.

Police said that on Feb 21 four students from Prakanong Pittayalai School (PPS) got into a fight with eight students from Kaen Thong Uppathum School (KTUS), including the victim, at a mall parking lot in Khlong Toey district.

The smaller PPS group lost the brawl and fled to a nearby factory. Their rivals stayed put outside. A PPS student called Mr Wuttichai and asked him to help, police said.

Mr Wutttichai arrived on a motorbike, baseball bat in hand, and chased the KTUS students away. He then scouted the area with the friend who had called him. They found 14-year-old Nattapong on his own.

Mr Wuttichai allegedly hit Nattapong on the back of the head with the bat and then drove away, police said. The 14-year-old later died from his injury at Kluay Nam Thai Hospital.

Mr Wuttichai admitted that the police report was essentially correct, but denied he was the person who killed the boy.

According to police, he told them, “I did it because I lost control of my emotions. I was only trying to get my friend out. I only hit the young kid once. My friend then repeatedly hit him [with the bat] until he bled. I told him to stop because I don’t want to go to jail because I have two young kids and wife.”

Pol Col Chalermpan Pao-in, superintendent of Prakanong police station, said that Mr Wuttichai’s friend had been questioned before. He was the one who said Mr Wuttichai was the killer.

Following Mr Wuttichai’s confession, police will charge both of them with conspiracy to murder.