Pathum thani: A wife pleaded for help after her husband was fatally attacked by a deranged young man who slashed his head and stomped on him while he was buying rice. The perpetrator has been found to have previously killed two people.
According to Thai News Agency, the wife of the deceased appealed to the "Sai Mai Must Survive" Facebook page for justice for her husband, who was fatally attacked by a deranged man who slashed his head from behind with a knife before continuing to assault him in the middle of the street, hitting, kicking, and stomping on him with rocks. The family revealed that the perpetrator has a history of murdering two people and fears that if released back into society, he may repeat the crime.
On May 16, 2026, at the Sai Mai Must Survive Facebook page, Ms. Wandee Sermsart, 51, appealed for justice after her husband, Mr. Thanachok Sali, 50, was severely injured and subsequently stomped on by his mentally ill nephew who ran a food stall.
Ms. Wandee revealed that on May 1, 2026, at approximately 3:00 PM, Mr. Thanachok Sali, an air conditioning technician, was walking to buy food at a shop in the Keha Prachumrat community, Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani Province. While ordering food, her husband was talking to the perpetrator's 71-year-old grandmother in front of the shop as usual. However, Mr. Theerapol, the perpetrator who lived upstairs in the shop, overheard the conversation and came down, shouting and verbally abusing her husband, even though they didn't know each other. The perpetrator, appearing to have a mental disorder, then attacked her husband, slashing him in the back of the head and assaulting him multiple times on his body, leaving him with numerous wounds. The victim ran to seek help but fell on the road, but the perpetrator continued to kick and stomp on him, causing broken ribs, internal bleeding, a ruptured lung, and bruises all over his body, all in front of onlookers. The perpetrator was wielding two knives and threatened to kill anyone who tried to help. Mr. Thanachok sustained severe injuries and was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life, and he died later. The perpetrator was restrained by concerned citizens until police arrived at the scene and immediately apprehended him. The perpetrator confessed to committing the crime.
Meanwhile, relatives of the perpetrator presented a medical certificate stating that the perpetrator had a mental illness to the police, but the police were not convinced because the perpetrator spoke coherently during questioning. The police then charged the perpetrator with causing bodily harm resulting in death, and he is currently being held in custody.
It has been reported that the perpetrator has a history of fatally assaulting others on two previous occasions; my husband is the third victim. The first case involved a knife attack that resulted in the victim's death, for which he served a 5-year prison sentence. The second case involved the death of a 3-year-old child, his own nephew, but in that instance, insufficient evidence prevented a conviction. Today, I want to demand justice because the deceased was the family's breadwinner, and the entire family is now facing financial hardship.
Furthermore, she believes that if they don't speak out for justice today, and if the perpetrator returns to the community, more people may die. She is concerned that if the perpetrator is punished and then harms others again due to his mental illness, he should be sentenced to death to prevent further suffering. She added that the perpetrator's relatives have shown no responsibility or spoken to her in any way; they only brought money in an envelope at the funeral as an apology, but she never opened the envelope. The suspect is currently being held in custody for 84 days. Today, she wants to demand justice.
Ms. Wandee revealed tearfully that her son initially didn't know his father had passed away. She decided to tell him on the day they went to collect the body. Her son then ran to his father's body and asked, "Why doesn't Daddy get up and play with me?" She had to explain to him that his father was no longer with them. This has left them without the family's main breadwinner, without income, and her son is still very young, only 7 years old.
Ekaphop Lueangprasert, founder of the "Sai Mai Must Survive" Facebook page, said he was speechless after hearing about this. He considered it a major tragedy, where the wife lost the family's breadwinner, the child lost a father, and the mother lost her only child. He said that execution would be reasonable, as further harm to others would cause more damage. He added that he would go to the Ministry of Justice to follow up on compensation.
Mr. Ekkapop further stated that the perpetrator is a dangerous individual to society because he has committed violent acts several times before. He also questioned the measures in place for caring for people with mental illness or risky behaviors, asking why they were allowed to return to live in the community despite having committed serious crimes in the past.