Samui money share dispute ends in murder-suicide

SAMUI: The manager of a popular bar near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui reportedly shot dead his friend last night before turning the gun on himself after a shootout with police and a five-hour standoff.

Bor Phut Police officers arrived at Bar Solo around 1:30am to find the body of Chulit Somakert lying on the floor. His alleged killer, Samroeng Thongpan, reportedly shot at the officers before fleeing to the 2nd floor, where he barricaded himself in.

Police cordoned off the area and attempted to persuade Mr Samroeng to surrender.

“We tried to contact Mr Samroeng on his phone and we used a megaphone, but he did not respond,” Bor Phut Police superintendent Thewet Pluemsut told the Phuket Gazette today.

Related news

At about 6am, two teams of armed police with bullet-proof shields broke down the barricade, to find Mr Samroeng dead from a gun shot to the head.

A witness said the men were friends but they had fallen out over a million-baht money sharing scheme and that Mr Samroeng owed Mr Chulit money.

“There were customers in the bar when Mr Samroeng opened fire on his friend, letting off several rounds, and they had to take cover,” said Col Thewet.

— Suchat Hankij

Koh Samui NewsPhuket News

Thaiger Talk

Join the conversation and have your say on Thailand news published on The Thaiger.

Thaiger Talk is our new Thaiger Community where you can join the discussion on everything happening in Thailand right now.

Please note that articles are not posted to the forum instantly and can take up to 20 min before being visible. Click for more information and the Thaiger Talk Guidelines.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply