Construction site manager claims gun accident in worker’s death
A construction site manager fatally shot a worker in Ubon Ratchathani and claimed the shooting was accidental, saying the gun discharged when he tried to slap the victim with the firearm.
Officers from Mueang Ubon Ratchathani Police Station were called to investigate the fatal shooting at a construction site on Tuesday, February 4, after receiving a report from workers at the scene. The victim was a 40 year old Thai man, identified only as A.
When police arrived, they found A’s body lying face down on the ground near a 10-wheel truck. He was wearing a T-shirt and brown sweatpants and sustained a gunshot wound to his left cheek. Investigators estimated that he had died one to two hours before officers reached the scene.
A’s 57 year old father-in-law told police that the suspected shooter was the victim’s manager, a 57 year old man named Daeng, who fled the site before authorities arrived.
According to the father-in-law, Daeng had been looking for A at the construction site earlier but could not find him as A drove a truck to deliver iron rods to another nearby construction site. Daeng attempted to contact A by phone, but the calls went unanswered.
When A later returned to the site, an argument erupted between the two men. The dispute became so heated that the father-in-law stepped in to try to calm the situation. Daeng then left the site in his pickup truck, but later returned carrying a firearm.
The confrontation resumed, and witnesses said A walked towards Daeng as if he was about to attack him. Amid the chaos, Daeng pulled out the gun, and a shot was fired. A was struck in the cheek, collapsed to the ground, and died at the scene.
Police later contacted Daeng’s family members and asked them to persuade him to surrender. The effort was successful, and Daeng contacted police before turning himself in on a roadside around two kilometres from the construction site. He handed over a .38 gun believed to have been used in the shooting.
During questioning, Daeng admitted to arguing with the victim but insisted he did not intend to kill him. He claimed he was trying to slap A in the face with the gun when it accidentally discharged.
Despite this statement, police charged Daeng under Section 288 of the Criminal Law for intentional murder, an offence punishable by the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of 15 to 20 years.
According to Channel 7, the victim’s two children arrived at the construction site after school and broke down in tears upon learning of their father’s death. Rescue workers at the scene reportedly comforted the children as relatives gathered.
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