Thai man shoots friend dead after mistaking him for a rat

A Thai man shot and killed his friend in a sugar cane field in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum, claiming he thought his friend was a rat.

Kasetsombun Police Station officers swooped on the sugar cane field in the Kasetsombun district at 12.45am, January 10, following a report of the shooting. Officers found a Thai man, 31 year old Adisak, lying face down in a pool of his blood. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Adisak had multiple gunshot wounds to his face and body. His friend, 34 year old Banterng, confessed to being the gunman. He handed the Thai-made gun (Thai Pradit gun), used in the shooting, to the officers.

Banterng insisted the shooting was an accident. He and Adisak went into the field to hunt rats. He saw something moving behind the sugar cane and immediately fired at it, thinking it was a rat. He later realised the target was his friend and tried to save his life.

Banterng said he called the police for help but Adisak died while officers and medics were on their way to the scene.

Officers are now investigating the trajectory of the bullet to verify Banterng’s confession. Even if the shooting is confirmed as an accident, Banterng still faces a charge under Section 288 of the Criminal Law: intentional murder. The charge results in a death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 15 to 20 years.

A similar accidental shooting was reported in the northern province of Lampang in January 2023, when two men ventured into a forest to hunt wild boar. Unfortunately, the hunt ended in the death of a 41 year old man when his friend mistook him for a boar and shot him in the face.

These accidental shootings have made many headlines in Thailand, especially when it comes to hunting animals in the forest. Some Thais believe that there are spirits in the forest that are angry at these hunters and bring them misfortune and death.