A man suspected of the brutal stabbing of a 16 year-old schoolgirl in Don Muang last week was remanded in custody on Monday, pending further police inquiries.


Police asked Ratchadapisek Criminal Court to detain the man for 20 days while they await the results of forensic tests. Officers feared the suspect might flee and said they needed to question him further.

The court agreed not to grant bail to Sirimongkol Reunnak, 33, on grounds that the crime had shocked to public.

The judge ordered Sirimongkol be detained at Don Muang police station for 12 days.

The schoolgirl suffered multiple knife wounds and appeared to have been sexually assaulted. Her valuables were also missing.

Sirimongkol, who was arrested on Friday night in Buri Ram, has allegedly admitted he robbed and killed the girl. But he has denied raping her.

Police have said they will charge Sirimongkol immediately if his DNA matches samples found on the girl, who sustained multiple knife wounds.

Charges of rape and murder are punishable by death sentence.

At 6am on Monday, police took Sirimongkol to reenact at crime. This was done without advance announcement to avoid drama - after 600 angry onlookers tried to attack the man on Saturday during an earlier attempted reenactment.

Don Muang Superintendent Colonel Chatuphan Wannapak said the reenactment was done at four sites. The first location was where the suspect - disguised as a motorcycle taxi - picked the girl up on Thursday night. The second spot was where he allegedly raped and killed the girl. The third spot was where he threw the knife into a canal, and the fourth was Sirimongkol's home in Pathum Thani's Lat Lum Kaeo district, where he allegedly disposed of his bloodstained shirt.

Chatuphan said the suspect had said he would confess to all charges if doctors could find his semen or pubic hair on the girl.

Police suspect Sirimongkol punched the girl in stomach then ran away, causing him to follow and stab the struggling girl three times before he raped her.

The initial forensic report said she was not dead after the knife attack and the timeline of her death and sexual assault were different, Chatuphan said, so police conฌducted the blanket crime reenactฌment including the alleged sexual assault.

"It should not be a problem. We now only wait for the results from the Forensic Office. But police have not charged the suspect with rape yet, pending clearer forensic eviฌdence," the officer said.
The Nation