A drug suspect escaped from the holding cell at Mae Ping Police Station while being prepared for court detention, running away still handcuffed. He was finally cornered in the bushes behind the police station. The police chief ordered an additional charge against him.
At 10:40 a.m. on 3 May 2026, the radio center of the Chiang Mai Provincial Police reported that a suspect in a drug possession case fled custody while being taken from the holding cell at Mae Ping Police Station, Chiang Mai. He ran toward the bushes behind the station. All units were alerted to monitor and watch at Chiang Mai checkpoints.
Later, the Mae Ping Police Station radio center reported canceling the search and pursuit as the suspect had been recaptured.
Reporters went to Mae Ping Police Station and met the duty officer responsible for taking the suspect from the holding cell and who ultimately chased and captured him behind the station. The officer, sweaty from the chase, revealed the suspect’s name as Chai Khampa, 30, charged with drug possession since 1 May 2026. That day, the investigator ordered him to be taken for court detention at Chiang Mai Provincial Court. The officer handcuffed the suspect and took him out of the holding cell. Upon exiting the cell door, Chai ran away through the back of the station toward a drainage ditch and the bushes.
The officer pursued him. Being experienced in navigating bushes, he used this knowledge to finally control and capture Chai.
“The suspect fled into the bushes and I caught him every time. If he had run along the road, the CCTV cameras would have caught him,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, Pol. Col. Yanaphon Phatthanchai, chief of Mae Ping Police Station, ordered investigators to add one more charge of escaping custody. The investigators acknowledged that the suspect’s original offense was minor, and he likely did not intend to seriously evade custody but may have had some reason for fleeing. They will further question him for clarification.