Escaped ‘Robinhood Paeng’ gets life sentence for attempted murder

The court found Chavalit “Boss Paeng” Thongduang of Phatthalung’s Na Node district guilty of allegedly collaborating with eight others in the murder attempt. The incident took place on September 9, 2019, at a pub in the province’s Muang district.

The verdict comes after the court convicted four of the nine defendants and sentenced them to life in prison for their role in the murder attempt.

The verdict reading was postponed from November 20, after Chavalit escaped from detention in another case.

The jailbird was earlier sentenced to 20 years and three months in prison for trying to free a drug suspect from police custody. Chavalit escaped from detention on October 22 after faking an illness and being admitted to Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.

He later claimed that he had been framed in the case of trying to free the drug suspect.

Despite being notorious for serious crimes in the province, Chavalit has gained a sort of Robinhood-like status on social media for embarrassing police with his escape and exposing alleged wrongdoing by a provincial public prosecutor.

Observers say Chavalit has gone underground with help from local people, whom he had supported financially.

In the attempted murder case, Chavalit and four others were convicted on charges of carrying a gun in a public place, obstructing officials’ operations, aiding suspects in evading arrest, collaborating to harm officials and plotting to murder a court official.

The life sentence was based on the heaviest penalty applicable to the alleged crime.

Chatchawal Burungwong, Chavalit’s lawyer, said he had yet to communicate with his client on whether he would resurface to appeal against the ruling in the second case.

The lawyer said he has submitted Chavalit’s appeal in the first case and is awaiting a verdict. However, he said, for the second case, the fugitive will have to submit the appeal in person.