- On Monday morning, a former MP for Nonthaburi fired four rounds at a local official inside a car, then calmly walked away with the pistol tucked into his belt.
- The victim, Police Colonel Thongchai Yenprasert, was shot over an alleged money dispute by 71-year-old Chalong Riewrang, a three-time lawmaker with deep political influence, who then called a television host to confess his alleged crime.
- In Nonthaburi, a small province of a quarter of a million people just outside Bangkok, Police Colonel Thongchai Yenprasert was the 12th victim of gun killings in under three weeks.
- The cremations of the victims in Nonthaburi had barely begun when another body was added to the country’s rising toll from gun violence.
Chalong Riewrang, a former MP for Nonthaburi, allegedly shot Police Colonel Thongchai Yenprasert over a money dispute on Monday morning, firing four rounds at the official inside a car before walking away calmly with the pistol tucked into his belt.123
This incident marks the 12th gun-related killing in Nonthaburi in less than three weeks, a province with a population of just a quarter of a million people, located just outside Bangkok. The violence has raised alarms about the rising toll of gun-related incidents in the area, with the latest shooting occurring shortly after the cremations of previous victims had begun.
The province has seen a series of violent incidents, including a young man gunned down by a masked assailant on a motorbike and a former bank manager who killed two relatives and injured four others in a land dispute. Riewrang, 71, is a three-time lawmaker with significant political influence, and after the shooting, he reportedly confessed to a television host about the crime.
The ongoing violence in Nonthaburi reflects a troubling trend in Thailand, where gun violence has been on the rise, prompting concerns among residents and officials alike about safety and security in their communities.4
“The 71-year-old suspect, Chalong Riewrang, a three-time lawmaker, called a television host to confess after firing four rounds and walking away with the pistol tucked in his belt. The shooting occurred as cremations of earlier victims in Nonthaburi had barely begun, underscoring the province's escalating gun violence crisis.”
South China Morning Post
