Police suspect theft in killings

       Police are investigating robbery as a possible motive behind the brutal killings of a woman and her son.
       The police theory is in contrast with Siripong Kanchananiwit's televised confession that he killed his lover Sunan Srisuwan and her son Sho Makino and injured her daughter, Pichaya Jonghgamwilai, out of anger at the mother's offensive remarks.
       Police are also trying to establish a possible link between the killer and the Yakuza as the suspect's tattoos match those worn by Yamamuji gang members, said the source, who is part of the investigative team on the case.
       The gang has a network in Thailand in the business of extorting money from Japanese businessmen in the Kingdom, the source said.
       Mr Siripong, who surrendered to police on camera on Tuesday, now faces three charges: deliberate murder,attempted murder and hiding a corpse.
       Police said the 40-year-old taxi driver drove his pink Toyota Altis car,which is registered with Thai Taxi Cooperatives Co, to pick up Sunan,38, Sho, 5, and Pichaya, 13, at Suvarnabhumi airport on Saturday night.The three had flown into Bangkok from Japan.
       Mr Siripong drove around the airport several times before heading to Lat Lum Kaeo district in Pathum Thani,said Pichaya, whose nickname is Mint.
       Police said Pichaya described how Mr Siripong pulled out a .357 revolver hidden under the driver's seat to shoot to death Sunan and Sho, and seriously injure Pichaya.
       "She survived the shooting by pretend-ing to be dead," a police source quoted her as saying during the interview. Pichaya underwent an operation yesterday and was in a stable condition.
       The body of Sunan was left on a roadside at Lat Lum Kaeo district in Pathum Thani.
       Police said Mr Siripong kept the body of her five-year-old son before dismembering him and putting the corpse in black plastic bags. Police alleged he dropped them at the abandoned Phiman housing estate in Taling Chan district in Bangkok.
       The body of Sunan was found on Sunday. The boy was found a day later.
       Mr Siripong claimed on Tuesday he committed the crimes because he was angry at what Sunan said to him.
       But police were not convinced after talking to the 13-year-old girl , the source said, adding they were checking Sunan's personal records and financial status.
       The suspect and her mother did not quarrel before the killings, the girl said.
       A source at the Crime Suppression Division said Sunan had left for Japan to open a restaurant after divorcing her Thai husband, who is Pichaya's father, remarried a Japanese and gave birth to Sho.
       She later divorced her Japanese husband, who provided financial assistance to his son, but continued to operate the restaurant, the CSD source said.
       Because of the high cost of living in Japan, she planned to send her children to study in Thailand, where she met the suspect, the CSD source said.
       The woman bought a condominium in Chatuchak district.
       A laundry operator at the apartment yesterday said Sunan had told him about her plan to bring her children to study in Thailand. He saw the woman bring Mr Siripong to the condominium about six months ago.
       The woman was seen carrying large amounts of cash and often took her children shopping and out to eat, he said. Sunan's close friend, Jo Paitrakal,yesterday said Sunan had told him she feared her assets kept by a person whom she did not name would be missing.She wanted to return to Thailand to clear the issue with the man, he said.
       Deputy Metropolitan police chief Amnuay Nimmano said investigators would interrogate the suspect about the missing assets of the woman and were searching for the victim's cash.
       The suspect intended to commit the crime as he possessed a pistol while picking up the woman and her children,Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said.
       Mr Siripong claimed he did not intend to take the boy's life but the bullets hit him accidentally. But police were suspicious of his statement, Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said.
       The suspect turned himself in after realising police had found links between the two bodies left in two different places, Pol Maj Gen Amnuay said.