A woman in Thailand is facing attempted murder charges after she angrily cut the support rope holding two painters at a high rise building, leaving them hanging until they were rescued, local media reported last week.
The woman was reportedly angered as she was not informed the painters will be doing work at the building and responded by cutting the ropes supporting them.
Thai police said the woman is facing attempted murder and property destruction charges for the incident.
A video circulating on social media platforms showed the painters who were stuck asking residents to open their window and let them in.
According to media reports, one of the painters said he felt the rope getting heavier and looked down only to see a person cutting the rope from a lower floor. The painters reported the incident to the police.
READ ALSO: Covid-19: China rejects US intelligence report on virus origins as ‘political and false’
The woman initially denied her involvement in the incident, but DNA analysis matched her fingerprints to those found on the rope she cut. She might be facing a jail sentence up to 20 years if she is found guilty of attempted murder.
Shocking reason the woman ‘cut the rope of high-rise painters’
The woman cut the support rope for two painters working outside her high-rise apartment in Thailand because she was angry she wasn’t told they would be doing work, police said on Wednesday.
The incident — which left the painters dangling 26 floors above the ground — occurred on October 12 outside a condo in Nonthaburi, local publication The Thaiger reports.
One of the painters, a Myanmar national named Song, told the Thai media that he and his two friends had lowered themselves from the 32nd floor to repair a crack on the building.
When he reached the 30th floor, he felt that the rope was heavier and when he looked down, he saw a “well-dressed woman” on the 21st floor open a window and cut it.
The woman accused of cutting the support rope is seen left. Right, the painters are seen dangling on the side of the high-rise.
The woman cut the support rope for two painters working outside her apartment in Thailand because she wasn’t told they would be doing work, police say. Source: The Thaiger
He tried asking for help from other units, but nobody was in.
The third colleague continued to support them from the top floor, Praphaiwan Setsing, a resident who luckily saw the men and helped save them, told The Thaiger.
Police called over ‘triggering’ Halloween decorations at NSW home
Renters find a ROOM hidden inside their kitchen cupboard
Poo drops from plane and covers man in his garden
Praphaiwan said her British husband noticed one painter signalling for help and called her to talk to them.
“This incident is shocking and should not happen at all,” she said.
Video footage of the shocking incident shows the men dangling in the air and asking other condo residents for help before climbing onto Praphaiwan’s balcony on the 26th floor.
The painters are seen climbing over a balcony on the 26th floor.
One of the painters said when he looked down, he saw a “well-dressed woman” on the 21st floor open a window and cut his rope. Source: The Thaiger
The 34-year-old woman accused of cutting the support rope is now facing attempted murder and property destruction charges, Police Colonel Pongjak Preechakarunpong, chief of the Pak Kret police station north of the Thai capital, told The Associated Press.
Pongjak did not say what prompted the suspect to cut the rope, but Thai media reports she was apparently frustrated when the workers appeared outside her room, and hadn’t seen an announcement by the condo that they would be doing work on that day.
The management of the condo accompanied the painters to report the incident to the police.
The 34-year-old woman at first denied she was responsible, but police sent the severed rope for a fingerprint and DNA analysis, media reported.
On Wednesday, the woman and her lawyer appeared at the police station.
After the police showed her the CCTV footage and the forensic evidence, she confessed but denied any intention to kill the workers.
Pongjak said the suspect was temporarily released.
Police will file an indictment at the provincial court within 15 days, he said. She could face a prison term up to 20 years if found guilty on a charge of attempted murder.
