“Bogus cops’ slay Burmese in failed extortion bid

KATHU: A Burmese laborer was executed by a shotgun blast to the face last night after refusing to pay money demanded by two Thai men posing as undercover police officers, Tung Tong’s police chief told the Gazette today.

Tung Tong Distict Police Superintendent Col Arayapan Pukbuakhao identified the victim as So Sung, 25, a construction worker living at a workers’ camp on the road that runs along the northern boundary of Loch Palm Golf Course.

The murder was reported to police about 10 pm by Akasak Hemklang, owner of the construction company Muang Ake Built Up Ltd, which had been contracted to build a project in the area.

Witnesses said two well-built men covered with tattoos arrived at the camp on a small motorcycle. Identifying themselves as off-duty police officers, they demanded money from workers, Col Arayapan explained.

After collecting 190 baht from one woman and 500 baht from another, So Sung emerged from his room and told his fellow workers not to pay because the pair were only students, not real police, Col Arayapan said.

This enraged the men, one of whom shot So Sung in the face and neck before fleeing, he added.

Police arrived to find the victim lying face up, wearing only a Burmese-style sarong. His body was sent to Patong Hospital for examination.

Police artists are working on composite sketches based on witnesses’ descriptions to track down the pair, Col Arayapan said.

Initial evidence suggests the culprits were professional gangsters and not students, he said.

Police have begun showing eyewitnesses photos of possible suspects in the case, Col Arayapan added.