Former Thai soldier arrested after attacking 4 police with knife

A former Thai soldier suffering from a mental illness went on a rampage, attacking four police officers with a knife outside his home in the central province of Ang Thong yesterday, October 7.

Officers from Wiset Chaicharn Police Station were called to subdue the rampaging former Thai soldier, 62 year old Prateep. This man previously served in the army in the central province of Lopburi. He retired and later developed a mental illness.

Upon arrival at the scene, Prateep barricaded himself inside his home and refused to communicate with the police. While officers were attempting to convince Prateep to surrender, he went on another rampage and rushed at each officer with a knife.

The police shot Prateep with a rubber bullet but it failed to stop him. They then fired two warning shots into the air, hoping to scare him but this also proved ineffective. The officers had no choice but to shoot Prateep in his left leg, which finally stopped him. He was rushed to Wiset Chaicharn Hospital and his condition is now stable.

Four police officers were injured in the incident, including Police Captain Maekha Thaweesri who was cut on his right hand, Police Sergeant Krittawat Sangkarin was also cut on his right hand, Police Sergeant Apisit Sriwong sustained a cut on his right arm, and Police Sergeant Sakkarin Jaroenjai suffered a cut to his left shoulder.

In a related report of physical assault against a police officer, an incident on October 3 involved an app-based motorcycle taxi rider attacking a police officer from the Protection and Crowd Control Division in Bangkok.

The rider accused the officer of causing a road accident. He told the media that the police officer suddenly blocked the road, causing him to be unable to stop in time and crash into other vehicles.

A video of the assault went viral on Thai social media, showing the rider punching the police officer and damaging the police car while two security guards attempted to intervene but failed to bring the situation under control.