"Gun Jomphalang" brought the family of the five victims buried alive to meet the Minister of Justice, who expedited compensation efforts and demanded a crackdown on high-risk former prisoners to prevent recidivism.
At 10:00 a.m. on 3 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Police Lieutenant General Rutthaphon Naowarat, Minister of Justice, chaired a meeting to discuss actions regarding the suspects in the murder case of two Russian siblings and three Thai family members. The meeting included Police Lieutenant General Saiphet Srisang, advisor to the Minister of Justice; Police Colonel Itthikorn Jirattananon, secretary to the minister; and advisors, along with executives from relevant justice agencies such as Police Lieutenant Colonel Prawut Wongsinin, Director-General of the Department of Corrections; Mr. Trairith Temhiwong, Director-General of the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection; Police Lieutenant Colonel Piya Raksakul, Director-General of the Department of Probation; and other officials.
Minister Rutthaphon revealed that police arrested and charged Thana or Pong Kerdthong and three others as suspects in the murder of two Russian siblings, whose bodies were buried to conceal the crime in a coconut forest area of Huai Yai Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. Investigations later uncovered the bodies of a Thai family of three buried nearby. Today's meeting discussed the Ministry of Justice's actions related to the suspects to prevent recurrence, victim family compensation, and monitoring the behavior of released offenders in various cases. According to the Department of Corrections, two suspects, Thana Kerdthong and Thongchai Sreenil, were former inmates who served their sentences strictly according to court rulings and were released after completing their terms. They received no special privileges such as royal pardons, sentence suspensions, or reductions, and authorities did not neglect or cease efforts to prevent their reoffending.
However, the Ministry of Justice stands ready to coordinate in-depth behavioral information with relevant agencies to support decisive prosecutions under the Prime Minister's policy and to jointly close gaps to ensure the safety of citizens and foreign tourists alike.
Furthermore, the Minister of Justice ordered the Department of Probation to review and screen approximately 5,000 individuals nationwide under the JSOC (Repeat Offender Prevention Act) monitoring measures. This aims to identify those at high risk or exhibiting behaviors potentially dangerous to society, designating them for special surveillance. They will implement local-level measures in close collaboration with the Ministry of Interior through a task force to drive mechanisms for monitoring released offenders to prevent recidivism and reduce risks of serious incidents.
After the meeting, Gun Jomphalang brought the Thai victim family to meet Police Lieutenant General Rutthaphon, who expressed deepest condolences. The Ministry of Justice will fully act within legal frameworks, while the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection will expedite compensation for both Thai and foreign victim families under the Criminal Case Victim and Defendant Compensation Act B.E. 2544 (2001) and its second amendment in B.E. 2559 (2016) as a matter of urgency.