Phuket street shootout gunman dies from injuries

PHUKET: The second of two men involved in a shootout with Phuket police in Kata-Karon on Sunday has died in hospital.

Chalong Police duty officer Boonlert Onklang told the Phuket Gazette today that 21-year-old Somkid Kongtin died at Vachira Hospital Phuket at 7:20pm yesterday.

Mr Somkid suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the shootout, but the two most serious wounds were one to the chest and another to the back of the skull, he said.

His partner, 18-year-old Adisorn Thongyon, was killed at the scene.

Reliable sources in Cherng Talay, where the pair lived, told the Gazette the pair dressed up as police officers to extort money from unregistered Burmese and ethnic Nepali laborers.

Somkid and Adisorn were well known to police, who nicknamed them “Fat” and “Skinny”, based on their disparate appearances.

About a year ago, Adisorn was caught with illegal possession of a handgun.

Somkid had been under watch by the police since April 2009 when he was among the leaders of a street blockade protesting police inaction following the shooting death of 12-year-old Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul.

Gaga was in an Internet cafe when the owner, playing with his new gun, accidentally fired a bullet into his skull.

Police also received many reports of the pair stealing motorbikes, typically in areas outside Cherng Thalay, including Phuket Town and Kamala.

The pair had narrowly escaped capture in Cherng Talay a few years ago when they managed to flee on foot from officers, the source said.

Sgt Maj Hatthaporn Thongkhaobua of the Chalong Police, who was shot three times in the legs in Sunday’s incident, is reportedly out of danger and recovering in hospital.

— Atchaa Khamlo