The suspect who slashed a student's neck and stole a motorcycle in Chonburi has been cornered in Korat. He claimed a momentary lapse due to missing psychiatric medication and resentment over being abandoned by a friend. Police have pressed serious charges against him.
Regarding the shocking incident on the morning of 2 Feb 2026, Pol. Lt. Col. Prakasit Paladech, investigator at Huay Yai Police Station, Chonburi Province, received a report that Siraphat, an 18-year-old third-year vocational student, was robbed and severely injured at a dirt clearing near Ban Suan Mab Charoen, Khao Mai Kaew Subdistrict. The victim suffered a deep neck slash from a knife and multiple stab wounds but fought back to escape and seek help. The assailant then fled with a Honda Wave motorcycle toward Rayong Province.Read more: Surveillance footage tracks suspect slashing student's neck, stealing motorcycle and fleeing.)
The latest update: On the afternoon of 3 Feb 2026, Pol. Col. Anothai Jindamanee, deputy commander of Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Police, came to interrogate the suspect at Udomsap Police Station. Pol. Col. Sommai Phisutsethsiri, chief of Udomsap Police Station, along with detectives, tracked and arrested the suspect, Sophonwit or "Oak," 21, from Pho Klang Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Ratchasima. He was caught while fleeing in Wang Nam Khiao District, Nakhon Ratchasima, and brought in for intense questioning.
During interrogation, Sophonwit tearfully confessed that before the incident, he had come to Chonburi with a friend but was deceived and abandoned at a gas station. His friend also took all the new clothes he had just bought. When he asked the victim for a ride to the bus station to find a way home, he was refused because the victim had to hurry to class. This caused him to act impulsively, feeling frustrated by his fate and bitter about being abandoned.
Background checks revealed the suspect is a psychiatric patient previously treated at Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital but had not taken his medication for over six months. At the time of the incident, he lost control and acted without thinking. "I truly lost my mind at that moment; I did not intend to kill him," Sophonwit said, raising his hands in apology to the victim and family.
Police initially charged the suspect with armed robbery causing serious injury and intentional attempted murder. They coordinated with local authorities to take him into custody for legal proceedings.