Drugged soldier attacks nephew with machete in Trang Province
Drug-fueled rampage ends in tense standoff before peaceful surrender
A conscripted soldier under the influence of illegal drugs attacked his nephew with a machete, severely injuring him, before holding himself hostage for six hours. The incident, which took place yesterday, May 24 in Trang Province, concluded when he surrendered after a special operations team intervened.
Police Lieutenant Wasant Rakkaew, Deputy Inspector of Palian District Police Station in Trang, was informed of the machete attack that left a man seriously injured.
The victim, identified as rubber tapper Attaphon, was taken to Had Samran Chalerm Phrakiat 80th Anniversary Hospital before being transferred to Trang Central Hospital for urgent care. He sustained critical head injuries and remains in a critical condition.
The perpetrator, 23 year old Thanaphat, who is the victim’s uncle and a conscripted soldier from a camp in Na Thawi District, Songkhla, fled the scene after the attack. He discarded the machete in nearby bushes and rode a motorcycle away.
Thanaphat later confessed to relatives in Moo 2, Banna Subdistrict, Palian District, about the attack before parking his motorcycle outside a local police station and returning to a hut in a rubber plantation in Moo 10, Banna Subdistrict.
Police subsequently surrounded the area, finding Thanaphat in a blood-stained white sports shirt and black shorts, holding a 10-inch-long Spartan knife to his throat. Despite attempts by the police and the village headman to persuade him to surrender, Thanaphat resisted. The special operations unit, known as Sritrang SWAT, was called in with full equipment to resolve the situation.
Machete attack
As the SWAT team prepared to intervene, Thanaphat, under pressure, handed over the knife to the village headman and was apprehended after more than six hours. He was taken to Palian Police Station for questioning, where a urine test confirmed drug use. Initially incoherent due to the drugs’ effects, Thanaphat later confessed to the attack.
Investigations revealed that Thanaphat had overstayed his leave from military service by four days and was due for discharge on October 31. His mother, Noi, had urged him to return to the military camp, leading to his frustration and subsequent violent outburst fueled by methamphetamine use.
During the attack, he struck his sleeping nephew on the head with a machete. He attempted to further harm the injured nephew with a Spartan knife but was stopped by his mother, reported KhaoSod.
Thanaphat had a history of drug addiction and had previously undergone a 15-day rehabilitation programme before the incident. The police have charged him with attempted murder, drug use (methamphetamine), and carrying a weapon in public without justification. Legal proceedings are ongoing.
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