Expat In Thailand Arrested For Alleged Self-Defense, Home Raided by Police

On October 3, in Udon Thani Province, Thai police received a notification that someone had been physically attacked and died.

At the house in Kuta Subdistrict, in Udon Thani. Thai police inspected and found a one-story cement house, away from the village about 1 km. Inside the house, there is the body of Mr. Sathien Chantrakantri, 53 years old Thai national, in the kitchen behind the house. There was a broken wound on the right cheek and eyebrow, bruised face, hand and feet tied with rope. The body was taken for an autopsy at the Udon Thani Center Hospital.

The owner of the house, Mr. Rudolph, 63 years old, Swiss nationality, surrendered to the police.

Mr. Rudolph testified that he punched Sathien until he passed out, but did not intend to kill him.

Mr. Rudolph lived in the house with his Thai wife, Mrs. Lak Sareerup, 44. When the incident happened, Mr. Rudolph was drinking coffee at the kitchen table behind the house.

His wife returned from drinking with friends, and she went to bed. The deceased, the Thai man, alleged to climbed a concrete fence and holding a gun.

The alleged intruder aimed a gun at Mr. Rudolph, saying, “money money” Mr. Rudolph grabbed the arm of the robber, and the gun dropped to the ground. While scrambling for the gun, it fired 1 shot, but no one was hit.

Mr. Rudolph alleged he threw the gun into the pond next to the house before punching and kicking the robber until he was unconscious. For fear that the robber would awaken again to attack, Mr. Rudolph tied him with rope.

He alleged to woke up his wife and notified the village chief to report to the police. But when the village chief came to check, he found that Mr. Sathien, the robber, had died.

Mr. Rudolph’s wife said that she had been married to her husband, who had been an architect, and that her husband had retired.

They had never argued with anyone and never had an enemy. Mr. Rudolph is a person who likes to socialize with friends. He often goes to socialize at friends’ houses in various villages, and 2 years ago, the wife got to know Mr. Sathien, the dead robber.

Mr. Sathien allegedly was a friend of a friend who had a general occupation and worked as a farmer. Before, Mr. Sathien had a crush on Mr. Rudolph’s wife and called her regularly, but she was not interested. Wherever they see each other, they greet each other normally. But she was surprised to learn Mr. Sathien invaded her home and fought her husband to death.

Then the police found a gun next to the house, and it was a .38 calibre with 5 rounds of ammunition. It was kept as evidence.

According to Thai media, this case will be split into two cases.

The first case charged Mr. Sathien for allegedly invading the house, carrying a firearm and attempted murder.

The second case charged Mr. Rudolph with bodily harm to another person until death. However, the police will take into account the reason was self-defence.

We believe this is standard procedure in the country when someone dies, even if this were to happen where both are Thai nationals.

Also, gun ownership in Thailand requires a license. It is unknown if Mr. Sathien had the proper paperwork for the gun or it was illegal.

The alleged dead armed invader mother claimed, her son had over 300,000 baht, equivalent to about 9,000 USD, from his recent land sale and claimed her son did not need to rob or steal from anyone. The mother also claimed that 300,000 went missing after the incident.

The mother’s allegations were enough for the local police to raid Mr. Rudolph’s home, as there seemed to be more to the tale than what Mr. Rudolph was saying.

The Udon Taani Provincial Court authorized a search warrant. Mr. Rudolph and his wife were not home when the police searched and raided their home. For reasons of openness, police conducted the raid accompanied by the village chief, and a well-known local Buddhist monk.

During the raid, police allegedly found no evidence to support these allegations by the mother, but they still said the case was under investigation. And they vowed to look into everything, even what both sides had said, to see what had actually transpired.

However, according to the allegations made by the dead Thai man’s family, the dead man had no financial problems and had recently sold the land for over 300,000 baht, money claimed he had on him at the time of the incident.

Rather than a robbery attempt, the dead Thai man’s mother claims that her son had an extramarital affair with Rudolf’s Thai wife and that the two men’s fight was about the matter.

The village chief told the Thai media that he was first on the scene and confirmed that Mr. Rudolf’s statement matched what he later told authorities about the event. The Thai wife told the village chief she had never met or known the dead invader and had never been in any connection with him. But in an earlier and separate report, the Thai wife claimed that the dead Thai man had a crush on her, but she was not interested. She claimed that when they meet each other, they will greet each other normally.

So let us get this straight. The dead Thai man’s family now claims he had 300,000 baht on him when he went to Mr. Rudolph’s home in the middle of the night. The family alleged Mr. Rudolph murdered him, and because of that, the money is missing. This is what we’re hearing.

Which story do you think is more credible, the first story by Mr. Rudolph or the second by the Thai family?