Phuket Police armed standoff ends on a high

PHUKET: A two-hour standoff between Phuket police and an armed man ended without bloodshed last night after officers finally persuaded him to stand down.

Police arrived at a home along a soi opposite Chalong Temple at about 6pm after Sawai Thongyod called them, saying her 26-year-old son was armed, acting dangerously and she feared for her safety.

Her son, Sukan Samlee, was waving two guns around – one gun was a .38-caliber handgun, the other was only a fake pistol lighter.

Suksan, believed to have been under the influence of drugs at the time, was pretending to shoot Ms Sawai police were told.

Police arrived in force, with 10 officers surrounding the house.

Suksan noticed them as they approached and turned the real gun onto himself, warning officers to stay back.

During officers’ efforts to calm Suksan, he fired three warning shots into the air.

Phuket Muang District chief Suppachai Phochanukul tried to negotiate with Suksan directly, but Suksan refused all offers to surrender and kept the gun aimed at himself.

After two hours of talks, Suksan finally surrendered and was taken to Chalong Police Station.

Officers seized the .38 handgun, 23 bullets and the fake gun lighter from him as evidence.

They also found 32 grams of marijuana in the house.

Suksan was charged with discharging a firearm in a community and possession of a class 5 drug.

“My son was smoking marijuana at home before he turned crazy. He forced his wife and one-month-old baby to sit next to him, then started pulling her hair and pinching his child,” Ms Sawai said.

“I couldn’t stand watching him do this anymore. I felt sorry for my grandchild and daughter-in-law, so I called the police,” she said.

Ms Sawai added that her son lost his job at a hotel in Phuket a few days ago.

— Warisa Temram