Phuket Bar Owner Gets Life Sentence for Double Murder

PATTAYA – A Pattaya Court has sentenced Phuket bar owner Panya “Sia Auan Bangla” Yingdang, to life imprisonment. For the murder of a former teen beauty queen and her partner.

Panya Yingdang, alias Sia Uan, and five accomplices were convicted and sentenced for the murder of Paweena “Sapai” Namuangrak, 20 and Anantachai “Fos” Jaritram, 21 on July 29 last year.

The Pattaya Provincial Court was convinced by the evidence that Panya, Krissana Srisuk, 22, and Narong Warinthornwech, 23, fired the gunshots that killed the pair.

The court sentenced them to death, then commuted their sentences to life imprisonment because they cooperated with the court.

There were three other defendants – Sayan Srisuk, 44; Kiattisak Surangsawangsaengmeeboon, 35; and Jirasak Unaibun, 34. Sayan tracked down and pointed out the victims to the gunmen.

Kiattisak and Jirasak assisted in other ways in the double murder.

Sia Uan was sentenced to life imprisonment while Kiattisak and Jirasak were each given a 24-year jail term. The court found their statements useful and commuted Sayan’s sentence to 50 years and the sentences of the other two to 12 years each.

The court also ordered the six to pay compensation of 7.31 million baht to Paweena’s family and 7.32 million baht to Anantachai’s family.

Wapen Namuangrak, Paweena’s mother, said she was satisfied with the court’s ruling.

According to the police investigation, Panya organized and carried out the murder after he found out that the employee he lavished his attention on, Paweena, was having an affair with Anantachai. The two fled Phuket together, to Chon Buri.

On the day of the murder, Panya flew from Phuket to Chon Buri and arranged and took part in the double murder. Ambushing the victims in the tourist attraction parking lot. He then fled to Cambodia through the border pass in Sa Kaeo. Police contacted Cambodian authorities, who later caught Panya and sent him back to Thailand.

Source: Bangkok Post