Radio fame, homelessness and murder collide as Wichai Kanya, 39, is attacked and thrown into a pond at Bangkok’s Benjasiri Park. CCTV exposes his final moments while relatives reveal the former DJ had lost his wages and begged for food money to live.
A former radio star’s shocking fall from provincial fame to homelessness ended in murder at Bangkok’s Benjasiri Park on Friday night. CCTV captured Wichai Kanya, 39, being assaulted and thrown unconscious into a pond, where he drowned. Police charged his friend, Thavisak “Tom” Phanngam, with premeditated murder after he admitted throwing Wichai into the water but blamed his frantic and indecent behaviour. Meanwhile, stunned relatives revealed that the former DJ, comedian and monk had lost his wages, begged for food money and vanished into destitution without his family knowing.
A former famous radio DJ suffered a brutal final downfall inside Bangkok’s Benjasiri Park on Friday night. Wichai Kanya, 39, was assaulted and thrown into a pond, where he drowned. Police initially received a routine drowning report. However, closed-circuit television footage exposed a suspected murder.
The recording showed another man attacking Wichai before hurling him into the water. At that stage, Wichai appeared unconscious or incapable of saving himself. Consequently, officers launched a murder investigation and traced the man seen in the footage. Police later arrested Thavisak “Tom” Phanngam, a homeless friend who accompanied Wichai that night.
During questioning, Thavisak admitted throwing Wichai into the pond. Nevertheless, he claimed he acted after his friend became frantic and uncontrollable. According to Thavisak, Wichai had also harassed tourists and behaved indecently. He said their argument began over that conduct inside the park.
Suspect claims he tried to subdue his friend before CCTV footage triggered a premeditated murder charge
In response, Thavisak claimed he wanted to subdue Wichai and stop his rampage. Moreover, he said he did not want his friend remaining inside the park. He urged officers to investigate Wichai’s claimed disrespectful behaviour towards tourists. Yet Wichai was already dead and could not answer those accusations.
For detectives, the surveillance footage showed the confrontation’s decisive physical sequence. Thavisak assaulted Wichai before throwing him into the water. Subsequently, police charged him with premeditated murder and opposed bail. The court agreed and remanded him in custody as detectives widened their inquiry.
Meanwhile, the victim’s identity exposed a stunning fall from regional fame to homelessness. Wichai was formerly a recognised community radio presenter and comedian in central Thailand. Locally, audiences knew him as DJ Chai or DJ Chaichai. He was particularly familiar across Lan Krabue and Phran Kratai districts.
Beyond those areas, Wichai’s programmes also reached listeners in surrounding provinces. Furthermore, he used his airtime to support residents and promote community events. Anyone needing publicity could approach him and request help. His relatives said he regularly provided that service through his radio programme.
Former regional DJ used radio and TikTok fame to help residents before becoming homeless in Bangkok
In addition, Wichai operated the TikTok channel “Chai Sabatcho”. He used livestreams to sell products and generate income. Earlier, his humour and outgoing personality had supported a parallel career as a comedian. By Friday night, however, that recognised local entertainer was homeless in Bangkok.
On August 22, reporters travelled to his birthplace in Kamphaeng Phet province. There, they visited his family home in Chantima subdistrict, Lan Krabue district. The property stands at 58/1, Moo 5. Reporters then interviewed relatives, a neighbour and the monk who raised him.
At the house, Paew Boonsap, 78, described Wichai’s earlier life. Paew was identified as the dead man’s grandfather. He remembered Wichai as a generous broadcaster with a powerful community spirit. In particular, he recalled how Wichai opened his programmes to local people.
“My grandson was a very community-minded person,” Paew said. “When he was here, he was a volunteer radio host.” More importantly, the broadcasts gave residents access to publicity they otherwise lacked. “He would publicise anything that needed to be promoted on his radio show,” he added.
Over time, Wichai stopped returning home regularly. He had started a family and found work in other places. As a result, his relatives lost sight of his deteriorating circumstances. They believed he remained employed and had no idea he was homeless.
“I still don’t believe he was homeless,” Paew said. “I was shocked and couldn’t believe it when I saw the news.” Until then, Wichai’s family believed he worked in Bangkok’s private security sector. His last visit home had reinforced that understanding.
Family thought former DJ worked in Bangkok security before he vanished amid drinking and personal problems
Before leaving, Wichai told his father he planned to work as a security guard. Later, the family heard he had become a security guard supervisor. Afterwards, communication faded and he vanished from public view. His relatives received no clear account of what happened next.
“The last time he came to see his father, he said he was going to work in Bangkok,” Paew said. Then came the reports from Benjasiri Park. “Then I heard that he had committed indecent acts and been assaulted,” he added. Those claims immediately struck Paew as completely out of character.
“I was even more sceptical because he had never behaved like that before,” Paew said. Even so, the grandfather acknowledged a troubling change before Wichai disappeared. Recently, the former DJ had begun drinking heavily. Paew linked that drinking to numerous personal problems.
“Recently, before he disappeared, he had been drinking a lot,” Paew said. “It might have been because he had many problems in his life.” Still, Paew gave no further information about those difficulties. Nor did he know how Wichai ended up sleeping rough in Bangkok.
Previously, Wichai had enjoyed considerable recognition across his home region. He presented radio programmes in Phran Kratai and Lan Krabue districts. Likewise, listeners in nearby provinces knew his voice and comedy work. His growing profile turned DJ Chai into a familiar provincial personality.
Monk raised and educated Wichai after two family accidents before he found fame as a radio presenter
Behind that success stood a childhood marked by two devastating family accidents. First, Wichai’s mother died while he was young. Separately, his father suffered a brain injury during a road accident. Therefore, a senior Buddhist monk assumed responsibility for Wichai’s upbringing and education.
That monk was Phra Khru Satthawachirakorn, abbot of Wat Pradachetlang. The temple stands in Moo 13, Nong Luang subdistrict, Lan Krabue district. From childhood, the abbot provided Wichai with food, guidance and educational support. He also arranged for the boy to enter monastic life.
Under that arrangement, Wichai studied until completing Grade 9. “I had him ordained to study until he finished Grade 9,” the abbot said. Next, Wichai requested permission to undertake vocational training. He struggled with the course and eventually returned to the monastery.
“Then he asked to go for vocational training, but he could not endure it,” the abbot said. In time, Wichai again left monastic life and started a family. “He returned to ordination before disrobing to start a family and become a famous radio host.” That decision launched his best-known professional chapter.
Soon afterwards, Wichai built a reputation as a broadcaster and comedian. His marriage later ended, bringing another sharp reversal. Following the separation, he returned to the monkhood for another period. His life repeatedly shifted between religion, family responsibilities and outside employment.
Unpaid wages left former DJ without food as the monk who raised him sent small emergency cash transfers
Most recently, Wichai again ordained at a temple before disrobing two or three months ago. From there, he travelled to Bangkok and searched for work. At first, relatives believed he had secured a position in private security. Behind the scenes, his finances were already collapsing.
On another front, Wichai began telephoning the abbot with urgent requests for money. He claimed an employer had cheated him out of his wages. Without those earnings, he said he could not afford food. The abbot responded by making repeated small transfers.
“Lately, he called saying his employer had cheated him out of his wages,” Phra Khru Satthawachirakorn said. During those calls, Wichai described an immediate struggle for survival. “He asked me for money because he had no money to eat.” Each time, his former guardian attempted to help.
“I transferred him ฿200 to ฿500 at a time,” the abbot said. Despite those warnings, the monk never learned that Wichai had become homeless. He discovered that final collapse only after news of the killing emerged. The revelation left him shocked and deeply saddened.
“I couldn’t believe that he was homeless and had been assaulted to death,” the abbot said. Equally, he rejected claims about Wichai’s conduct inside Benjasiri Park. “I also couldn’t believe the accusations about indecent acts and self-gratification,” he added. Those accusations came from the man now charged with killing him.
Neighbour recalls a considerate TikTok seller whose reported behaviour shocked everyone at home
Throughout Wichai’s childhood, the abbot had tried to provide discipline and stability. Against that background, his violent death was especially difficult for the monk to accept. “I admit I am deeply saddened,” he said. “I taught him to be a good person, but I never thought he would end up like this.”
Nearby, next-door neighbour Malai Nontree offered a strikingly similar account. The 59-year-old had known Wichai during his years in Kamphaeng Phet. She remembered a polite, outgoing and considerate man. Crucially, she said he never displayed the behaviour described after his death.
At home, Wichai regularly livestreamed on TikTok to sell products. Before every broadcast, he warned Malai that his work could create noise. He also apologised beforehand for any disturbance. For Malai, that habit reflected the neighbour she remembered.
“When he was at home, he never behaved the way reported in the news,” Malai said. Instead, Wichai concentrated on earning money through online sales. “He liked to livestream on TikTok to sell products and earn money.” Even during those broadcasts, he remained conscious of his neighbours.
“Before every livestream, he said he might make too much noise and disturb me,” Malai said. As a child, Wichai had already displayed the personality later heard on the radio. He enjoyed speaking, performing and telling stories. Those traits eventually drove his broadcasting and comedy careers.
“As a child, he was well-behaved, outgoing and liked telling stories,” Malai said. Eventually, she watched him become a monk at a local temple. Only two or three months before his death, he disrobed again. His subsequent journey to Bangkok became his last.
Father travels to retrieve Wichai’s body as his struggling family waits for help to arrange the funeral
Upon hearing the first reports, Malai struggled to reconcile them with the man she knew. She was particularly stunned by claims that Wichai committed indecent acts. “When I heard he had been assaulted for committing indecent acts, I was shocked,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was possible.”
In parallel, Wichai’s father travelled to Bangkok to retrieve his son’s body. The journey followed the family’s sudden discovery of his homelessness and death. Before Friday, they believed he remained employed in security. Instead, they found he had been living around a city park.
Now, the family faces an immediate struggle to arrange his funeral. They have limited money and must await possible Social Security assistance. At present, no final location has been chosen for the religious rites. The available financial support will determine what happens next.
If sufficient funds remain unavailable, relatives expect to cremate Wichai in Bangkok. Afterwards, his father plans to carry the ashes back to Kamphaeng Phet. Thus, the former DJ’s final return home may come only after cremation. His family remains unable to fund a larger funeral independently.
The case has exposed every stage of Wichai’s dramatic decline. Initially, he survived a childhood shattered by his mother’s death and his father’s brain injury. With the abbot’s support, he gained an education through the monastery. He then emerged as a popular provincial broadcaster and comedian.
Former DJ’s fall from community radio fame to homelessness ended with a deadly attack inside the park
Later, Wichai started a family and established himself on community radio. At the same time, he helped residents promote events and public causes. After his marriage failed, he again entered monastic life. He subsequently disrobed and sought another start in Bangkok.
Instead, Wichai claimed an employer withheld his wages. He then lacked enough money for food and relied on the abbot’s small transfers. Eventually, he became homeless without his family’s knowledge. His once-familiar radio voice disappeared into the streets around Benjasiri Park.
By Friday night, Wichai was drinking and living far from his former provincial audience. Thavisak claimed he also suffered a psychotic episode inside the park. He accused Wichai of harassing tourists and behaving indecently. Yet those claims remain the charged man’s account of their dispute.
In contrast, Wichai’s grandfather, neighbour and spiritual mentor rejected that picture. Each described a generous, polite and community-minded man. Their accounts concern his earlier life and cannot establish his actions that night. Nonetheless, they sharply challenge the characterisation released after his death.
For police, the criminal case rests heavily upon the recorded attack. The footage showed Wichai being assaulted before entering the pond. It also destroyed any suggestion that he simply fell into the water. Accordingly, officers treated the drowning as a deliberate killing.
Detectives reconstruct fatal pond attack as suspect remains jailed on a premeditated murder charge
As part of the investigation, detectives are examining the argument and Thavisak’s claimed motive. They are also reviewing available recordings and witness accounts. Police must establish Wichai’s condition before the confrontation. They must also reconstruct every action leading to the fatal plunge.
Notably, Thavisak has admitted the act that placed Wichai in the water. His defence centres on why he did it and Wichai’s conduct beforehand. Police rejected that explanation as grounds for release. Instead, they charged him with premeditated murder and fought his bail application.
For now, Thavisak remains behind bars under the court’s remand order. Wichai’s body awaits funeral arrangements his impoverished family can afford. Back in Kamphaeng Phet, relatives are still absorbing the scale of his downfall. The man they remembered as DJ Chai had died homeless in Bangkok.
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Ultimately, Wichai’s final years traced a crushing descent from local celebrity to destitution. He had been a monk, husband, broadcaster, comedian, online seller and security worker. He then lost his wages, lacked food and vanished from family contact. Finally, a park surveillance camera captured the violence that ended his life.
Now, his father must bring him home under the bleakest possible circumstances. The family may cremate him in Bangkok before returning with only his ashes. Meanwhile, the friend who threw him into the pond faces a premeditated murder prosecution. The former DJ’s last night has become a tightly documented criminal case.
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