TWO MEN who have been charged with murder after the fatal stabbing of a man on a Bangkok street have extensive criminal records, according to police.

Riding a motorcycle, the two men allegedly killed Wasin Luangjame, 26, to rob him of his iPhone. Police say the pair met in jail while serving time for earlier crimes and allegedly carried out a series of robberies together after they were released.

Police say 26-year-old Kittikorn Wikaha, resisted arrest on Thursday night by brandishing a knife at officers. He was eventually subdued by force outside his rented room. He had been arrested nine times before.

His alleged accomplice, former convict Supatchai Jansri, 25, was arrested on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, they allegedly staged four robberies – including the one that ended in the tragic death of Wasin.

The brutal killing, recorded by a CCTV camera, generated huge public attention, putting police under pressure to make a speedy arrest.

Using the footage of the incident, police pored over the Land Transport Department’s database in an attempt to narrow down their search. However, the database revealed hundreds of people who own the same motorcycle model in Bangkok alone.

After a search of criminal records, Kittikorn was identified as a likely suspect. As well, his physical appearance matched the knifeman seen on CCTV recordings.

Kittikorn became a more serious suspect after a woman whose cellphone was stolen used the My iPhone app and found her phone was at a location where Kittikorn was living, according to his motorcycle-lease papers.

Criminal records showed Kittikorn was first arrested at the age of 16 in June 2006, for violating copyright for a commercial purpose. Six months later he was arrested for abusing inhalants. In late 2007, he was arrested for abusing methamphetamines. A year later, he was arrested for a similar charge.

In 2010, he was arrested for an alleged physical attack. In 2014, police nabbed him twice for demanding people pay interest rates that were too high. On October 20, last year, he was arrested for being in possession of mitragyna speciosa Korth (kratom). Five days later, he was detained for producing a kratom solution.

Supat has seven previous arrests. The first arrest took place in 2007 on charges of robbery. His arrests were related mainly to drug charges.

Police said both suspects were considered dangerous.

Probation Department director general Naras Savestanan said Kittikorn had been put on probation before but he had never reported to officials.

“So in the end, a court in Samut Prakan sentenced him to one month in jail for one of his crimes,” Naras said.

Corrections Department director general Kobkiat Kasivivat said that as a repeat offender, Kittikorn would be put in the “bad inmate category” if he is found guilty and would face a longer jail term than others.

Police yesterday took Kittikorn to the places where he allegedly staged four robberies on Wednesday.

Police say his first alleged victim managed to fend off the heist. His second alleged victim, Wasin, was knifed to death. His third and fourth alleged victims were women who lost their cellphones. One of the alleged female victims remained was so afraid of Kittikorn that she dared not get close to him to identify him.

Many people watched on as Kittikorn re-enacted his alleged crimes. At one point, a man broke through the heavy police presence and punched him.

Supatchai was arrested yesterday and was brought to crime scene for the re-enactment

Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana has instructed relevant authorities to integrate their databases in a bid to halt repeat offenders.