In a series of videos shared on Facebook, Surachet Hat Cheang, a long time resident of Koh Samui, claims that there is no mafia on the island and that the murder of a taxi driver was merely an ordinary personal dispute. His statements have sparked hundreds of scathing comments that ironically label him a “mafioso”.
Facing the growing controversy surrounding the assassination of Sikhornin alias « Furt » at Chaweng Beach, Surachet Hat Cheang, a long-time resident of Hat Chaweng, saw his videos relayed by the local page Samui Ko Chird in an incredible sequence of Mexican-style journalism. There, he vigorously defends the image of Koh Samui in a series of filmed sequences.
« I have never seen any mafia in Samui. I have lived here since the year 40 (1997), I have two children, people live like brothers and sisters… This is not mafia, it is a personal dispute, a fit of anger », he declared, adding that describing the case as “mafia” seriously harms tourism and the island’s tax revenues that “feed the 78 provinces of Thailand”.
« There is no taxi queue mafia, no racketeering, no corruption… It is just a fight that went wrong », he insisted, urging the media not to exaggerate for sensationalist sales.
His remarks had the opposite effect: hundreds of comments under the post are unanimously sarcastic and accusatory. Numerous internet users directly call him « mafioso », « mafia boss », « the one protecting the guilty » or even « the true face of the Koh Samui mafia ».
« Mung nane lae, ai Surachet, pen mafia hua kado… » (You yourself are the mafia!) … « Look at his appearance, you can tell straight away » … « If there is no mafia, why can’t Grab operate freely? »
Several commentators recall that the video of the incident, filmed by tourists, clearly shows a collective beating before the gunshot, contradicting the version of a simple one-on-one fight.
Meanwhile, the daily Matichon confirms the arrest this Sunday 31 May of the main suspect Prakasit alias « Bank », 28, in Surat Thani by a team led by Lieutenant-Colonel Phitsanu Phuangphrom. The young man, a motorcycle-taxi driver, admits to firing but claims he was stabbed beforehand.
At this stage, ten of the twelve suspects are already behind bars; only « Sin », the owner of the weapon, and the person who provided the hideout remain at large.
This latest arrest once again contradicts the initial police statements that claimed the murderer had been apprehended on the same day, before the viral video revealed the true scale of the events.
Sources : Samui Ko Chird, Matichon