BANGKOK: Thai police arrested a convicted serial killer Wednesday in connection with another murder after his early release from jail for good behavior, authorities confirmed.
Somkid Pumpuang was sentenced to life in 2005 for the killing of five women believed to be involved in the sex and nightlife industry, leading the media to dub him Thailand’s “Jack the Ripper.”
Authorities considered him an “excellent prisoner” and released him in May this year, but he is now the chief suspect in the murder this week of a 51-year-old hotel maid in the country’s northeast.
Authorities distributed his photo under the heading “Most Wanted” and offered a 50,000-baht ($1,650) reward for information leading to his capture.
On Wednesday, released photos showed police officers detaining the suspect on a train in the town of Pakchong in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
“Somkid Pumpuang was arrested thanks to information from the public,” Major General Puttipong Musikul from Khon Kaen police force said Wednesday morning.
Local media described how a fellow passenger on the train spotted the suspect wearing a cap and face mask and sent a photo to police.
Thailand’s corrections department said it was urgently reviewing its sentence reduction policies but also said it was operating at three times capacity with 370,000 inmates.
Thailand has one of the largest prison populations in the world and overcrowding remains a serious problem.
The number reached an all-time high earlier this year, according to a report this month from the International Federation for Human Rights and the Union for Civil Liberty.
Nearly 80 percent are jailed for drug-related offenses.
Thailand’s ‘Jack the Ripper’ re-arrested after early release
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Thailand’s ‘Jack the Ripper’ re-arrested after early release
- Somkid Pumpuang was sentenced to life in 2005 for the killing of five women
- Authorities considered him an ‘excellent prisoner’ and released him in May this year
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
