Local shooters take aim at park pokers

BANGKOK: The world of Thai clay-pigeon shooting has been rocked by the daily desecration of one of the sport’s club headquarters in Hua Mak.

Coinciding with a group of homosexual patrons using the range for open-air trysts, shooters have had to gingerly tread around a sea of discarded condoms.

While you may think that this reporter is exaggerating what could be a case of one or two discarded johnnies – a common enough sight in many urban areas in this day and age – to beef up a story on a slow news day, photos published in our Thai-language sister paper Kom Chad Luek attest to the true extent of the problem. In the interest of protecting the sensibilities of unsuspecting readers – and editors – the Gazette has opted to forgo printing the unsavory images.

A reporter from Kom Chad Luek headed to the shooting range, which belongs to the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and serves as the headquarters for the Skeet and Trap Shooting Association of Thailand, after receiving a tip-off of the nightly rendezvous at the range.

On reaching the range, he was greeted with the sight of fish in a pond happily nibbling away on the many floating love bags that had been thrown in.

Under a bo tree next to the clay-pigeon trap, there were also many of these scattered around with abandon, many looking fresh, as if they had only recently been used.

One clay-pigeon enthusiast, who asked for anonymity, said that every evening when shooting was done for the day, about 10 to 15 gay men would begin to gather around the range.

Some would mess around on the bridge along the edge of the pond, while others would wander to the adjacent park, all the while making noise and bothering others wanting to use the facilities. Park workers tried to chase them away, but the unruly humpers refused to leave, the shooter added.

Every morning, following the nocturnal romps, prophylactics are strewn around the range, the man continued. Sometimes, when people are shooting, they step on a freshly loaded bag, which really puts them off their shots, the interviewee lamented.

Wirawan Phojanwaraphong of the SAT said the shooting range was the responsibility of the Skeet & Trap Shooting Association of Thailand and that sometimes they may not look after it as well as they might. From now on, they would increase security on the range and dig a moat to prevent unauthorized people gaining access, he said.

K. Wirarawan added that the shooting range is not the only SAT venue facing this problem. “Apart from the shooting range, the area around Rajamangala National Stadium is also being used for illicit sex. We are now cracking down on it, though. If any unauthorized people are caught there after 6pm they will immediately be charged with trespassing,” she said.