A middle-aged man committed a tragic act by strangling and cutting the tongue of his girlfriend, who was found dead at a resort in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. He claimed he acted according to a vow after discovering she had another man, then decided to surrender to the police.
At 9:00 p.m. on 23 Jan 2026, Police Lieutenant Colonel Ekachai Phonkaset, Deputy Superintendent of the Provincial Police Investigation Division in Nakhon Si Thammarat, received a report from villagers that Mr. Boonyarit Khumhoikan, 44, from Pak Phun Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat, contacted them to surrender after killing someone at a resort in Pak Phun Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Officers promptly went to detain Mr. Boonyarit at his home near Tha Phae Market, informed their superiors, and proceeded to inspect the crime scene at the resort with Police Colonel Kittichai Krainara, Chief of Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat Police Station; Police Colonel Dr. Theerawut Thepleuan, Superintendent of the Provincial Police Investigation Division; Police Captain Aphinan Phonsorn, Investigating Officer of Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat Police Station; alongside investigative police, emergency doctors from Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, and officials from the Tai Tek Tung Foundation.
Upon arrival at the scene inside a guest room, the victim's body was found lying on her back in a pool of blood on the bed, wearing a red round-neck T-shirt and black jeans. She was later identified as Mrs. Nopawan, or Jip, 49, from Nai Mueang Subdistrict, Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat District. She had ligature marks from a traditional cloth around her neck and a severe injury to her mouth where her tongue was severed. The perpetrator had taken the severed tongue with him.
During interrogation, Mr. Boonyarit, who surrendered to Police Lieutenant Colonel Ekachai Phonkaset, admitted to killing Ms. Nopawan. After the incident, he drove an orange Suzuki Swift registered in Bangkok from the resort back home to compose himself before contacting authorities to surrender. Police are holding him for questioning to proceed with legal action.
Initial investigation revealed that on 23 Jan 2026 at approximately 6:52 p.m., the orange Suzuki Swift with Bangkok plates entered the resort. Mr. Boonyarit was driving with the victim sitting beside him. He rented a room for one night and paid for it. Around 8:00 p.m. the same day, the car left the resort, which staff assumed was to buy food as usual.
Later, resort staff discovered that Ms. Nopawan had been strangled and her tongue cut, found dead on the bed in the room. Meanwhile, Mr. Boonyarit had fled and hid briefly at his residence but then decided to contact acquaintances and surrender to the Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Police Investigation Division.
Investigators collected evidence and filed a request for an arrest warrant for Mr. Boonyarit with the Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Court under warrant number 38/2569 dated 24 January 2026, charging him with intentional homicide. Seized evidence includes a knife, a green and red striped traditional cloth, and a piece of the victim's tongue, all kept in the suspect's car.
When questioned, the suspect confessed fully to killing Ms. Nopawan Phetkhong, also known as Jip, his girlfriend of five months. The motive was suspicion of her having another man. Previously, he had sworn that if he found out she was unfaithful, he would cut her tongue. Upon learning this, after the act, he used the traditional cloth to strangle her until she lost consciousness, then fetched a knife from his car parked outside the room to cut her tongue. He then stored the tongue, the cloth, and the knife in his car before leaving the resort and later surrendering.
After completing the investigation, police detained Mr. Boonyarit to proceed with legal charges.