PATTAYA — Police have sought help from the public for information that could lead to the arrest of a gunman and his getaway motorcyclist in the fatal shooting of a British businessman in Pattaya on Tuesday.
Pol Col Jirawut Tantasri, chief of Nong Prue police station supervising the case, on Wednesday urged anyone who believed they had surveillance or dashcam footage of the suspects or a useful tip to send it to his station to help officers resolve the case.
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Pol Col Jirawut said several teams of police were working on the murder, focusing on the checking of security camera footage for possible escape routes of the suspects.
Tony Kenway, 39, was shot dead while sitting in the driver’s seat of his Porsche in the parking lot of Sanit Sports Club Co in tambon Pong last Sunday.
Kenway’s wife Somporn, 32, told police her husband recently had a business conflict with a former shareholder in their website design company at Jomtien beach but did not know if it was the motive for the murder.
A source close to the investigation said Ms Somporn’s statements corresponded to the findings that Kenway had interests in a football gambling website which led him to a conflict with another group of foreigners. Kenway had met the group twice to try to settle their differences but to no avail. This might be the motive for the killing, the source said.
Kenway was known to police and immigration officials as in 2015 he had been arrested and charged with working without a valid work permit and employing aliens. He was on bail and awaiting trial for these offenses.
Additionally journalists have now discovered that Kenway had an interest in a ‘call-center operation,’ otherwise known as ‘boiler rooms,’ that were established to encourage foreigners to invest money locally in business and property.
It is a matter of record that these phony investment schemes led to the losses of millions of baht for victims and in September 2016 Kenway was arrested and charged with fraud.
He denied all charges and, despite officials encouraging him to leave the country, he insisted he was innocent and wanted to stay and face trial later in the year. Kenway was on police bail at the time of his murder. His next court appearance was scheduled for February 23.
Nong Prue police called in Ms Somporn and six witnesses for additional inquiries on Wednesday. Pol Maj Jeerasak Aabfang, an inquiry officer, declined to comment on the progress of the case, saying only that the slain businessman had four houses but lived with Ms Somporn at a housing estate in Bang Lamung.
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