Chaiyaphum: A hunt is underway for a female prisoner convicted of theft and drug use who escaped from a cell under the Chaiyaphum Provincial Court by crawling through a ventilation fan. This prisoner, Ms. Panadda, 35, was arrested along with her husband on October 14th for theft in a residence and drug use (methamphetamine). Police from Muang Chaiyaphum Police Station took her into custody at the Chaiyaphum Provincial Court while awaiting transfer to Chaiyaphum Provincial Prison.
According to Thai News Agency, on the afternoon of October 16th, security guards did not see Ms. Panadda in her cell. Police entered the cell and discovered that the ventilation shaft had been forced open, causing the fan to fall out. They suspect that Ms. Panadda had broken open the ventilation shaft and climbed out through the shaft to escape.
Inquiries with nearby villagers revealed that Ms. Panadda had walked out the front gate of the courthouse along the Chaiyaphum-Nong Bua Daeng road. Police further investigated and learned that Ms. Panadda had stopped by to visit relatives in Kut Suang village and called her 14-year-old son, who rode a motorcycle to pick her up at the relative’s house and helped her escape. Meanwhile, the Chaiyaphum Provincial Court has issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Panadda on one more charge of escaping from custody.