Thai politician's son charged with murder

The murder took place in a crowded Bangkok bar

A crime saga that has gripped the Thai public in recent months gathered pace on Friday, when murder charges were laid against the son of a well-known politician.

Bangkok's youth are constantly in the tabloids

Duangchalerm Yoobamrung, 20, will stand on trial on 16 January, accused of shooting a policeman in Bangkok during a nightclub brawl.

The trial will go ahead with or without the suspect, an official at the Criminal Court in Bangkok said.

Duangchalerm has been missing since the incident at the end of October.

Other suspects

Four other suspects who were all with Duangchalerm at the time of the shooting have also been indicted on related charges, including his elder brother, Wanchalerm.

He appeared in court on Friday where he denied charges of obstructing police and helping the key suspect escape, the court official said. He was freed on bail.

At least six witnesses say that in the early hours of 29 October, they saw Duangchalerm put a gun to the forehead of a plainclothes police sergeant and pull the trigger.

The killing took place in a crowded Bangkok bar, a favourite haunt for the three playboy brothers and their friends.

Trouble began when one man trod on another's foot and a brawl ensued.

Violent escapades

The newspaper headlines implicating the Yoobamrung brothers raised few eyebrows in Bangkok, where the colourful and often violent escapades of the city's youthful elite are familiar tabloid fare.

Chalerm Yoobamrung's sons have been linked to 12 alleged incidents of brawling and physical assault in the past three years but have never been punished.

Prosecutors in the murder case have also asked the court to ban Wanchalerm from all entertainment spots for five years because of the trouble they have caused, said Chavalit Lamjuanjorn, deputy director general of the public prosecutor's crime division.

Loyal father

Following the shooting, Chalerm leaped to Duangchalerm's defence.

The father had done much the same on each previous occasions when his boys became involved in fights, shootings or other incidents at bars and discotheques.

Chalerm produced a letter left by the fugitive, declaring his innocence.

Some suspect that the alleged murderer is not abroad as originally supposed, but is actually hiding inside his family's sprawling Bangkok compound.