Five-star hotel chef gunned down in Kathu

KATHU, PHUKET: A chef at a five-star resort in Phuket was gunned down in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Kanchai Yoksri, 31, was found dead with two bullet wounds to the chest in front of the police radio monitoring station on Wichit Songkhram Road in Kathu.

Tung Tong Police received a report of the shooting at 1am and rushed to the scene together with Vachira Hospital doctors and rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation.

At the scene they found Mr Kanchai’s body on the ground near a motorcycle. A plastic bag containing two cans of beer was still hanging from the handlebars.

Police recovered .38 caliber bullet casings nearby.

Kusoldharm Foundation workers later transported the body to Vachira Hospital Phuket for an autopsy.

An initial investigation revealed that earlier that night the deceased was drinking with friends at the Si Kor intersection on Wichit Songkhram Road, about a kilometer from where the shooting took place.

At around midnight, Mr Kanchai headed home. On the way he stopped off to buy two cans of beer.

As he passed two men on another bike, the man riding pillion pulled a gun from his belt and shot Mr Kanchai twice in the chest, killing him instantly. The pair then fled.

Tung Tong police are investigating to find possible motives and track down his assailants.