A passenger sits in a commuter train in Bangkok on March 26, 2020, amid decreased passengers numbers due to fears over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. AFP / Mladen Antonov
BANGKOK: A 50-year-old woman who served four years in prison for a random knife attack at a girls' school in the Thai capital in 2005 is in custody after being arrested in the fatal stabbing of a young girl.
Police Col. Saravuth Suthavichai said Tuesday the mental condition of the suspect, Jitrlada Tantiwanichyasuk, is being evaluated.
The attack on Tiprada Homsuwan took place Sunday at an indoor food stall in Nakhon Pathom province, northwest of Bangkok. Thai media quoted the victim's grandmother as saying she had been cooking an order for the suspect when she heard the girl cry out from the back of the room, where she had been sleeping, and saw her covered with blood as Jitrlada fled.
Jitrlada's mother brought her to the police station later Sunday night, where the suspect appeared upset and incoherent, police said.
Jitrlada had been arrested in September 2005 after entering Saint Joseph's Convent School in central Bangkok and stabbing four students there. She served four years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder. After her release she was sent for treatment at a mental health institution.
The newspaper Thai Rath reported that Jitrlada had recently been held at the institution for a month after displaying aggressive tendencies while waiting to be served at the food stall and had been discharged on March 17. It said the stabbing victim would have turned 5 on Tuesday.
