Drunk police officer shoots and beats vendor on Bangla Road in Phuket

A Phuket police officer was caught on camera beating and shooting at a noodle vendor on Bangla Road in Patong, critically injuring the young man. Reports vary on exactly what happened before the shooting, but apparently the police officer had been drinking until nearly dawn this morning before the incident.

Surveillance camera footage shows the 25 year old vendor suddenly falling to the ground after being shot. The officer then walks up and shoots again at close range. It appears the second shot did not hit the vendor. The officer walks away, but then comes back, slaps the vendor in the face, picks the vendor up and shoves him over, and then kicks the vendor before walking away. The vendor, Aroon Thongplab, is being treated at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s intensive care unit for a gunshot wound in his stomach.

Phuket News and Nation Thailand report different scenarios before the shooting. According to Phuket News, witnesses say the officer was drunk and was trying to get into the popular nightclub Illusion, but the venue’s bouncer refused and blocked the club’s entrance because the officer was carrying a gun. Officer Pornthep Channarong then pointed his gun to the road and shot the 25 year old vendor who was walking by, reports say.

Nation Thailand reports that the officer was drinking at a pub on Bangla Road around 5:45am this morning and got in an argument with foreigners. He then stepped outside and shot in the air as a threat, but the bullet hit the noodle vendor.

Police arrived at the scene around 6am and confiscated a 9mm handgun, 9 bullet casings and 2 live bullets. They took Pornthep to the local police station for questioning, but Patong police chief Sujin Nilabodi says the statements made by the detained officer were confusing because Pornthep was still drunk.

SOURCES: Phuket News | Nation Thailand