Pattaya Police received an urgent plea from an employee of the Night
Karaoke that an out of uniform police officer had become intoxicated at
the Karaoke and was standing in front of the establishment shooting
bullets into the air.
Paitoon
covers his face in shame after terrorising the neighbourhood with a
drunken shooting spree.
On arrival at the scene, police found Corporal Paitoon Himaparn, a
regular officer in the Crime Suppression Division of the Pattaya Police,
in a very drunken state. Officers removed the gun from his hand, then
arrested the drunken policeman and took him to Pattaya Police Station.
An employee of the Karaoke establishment told police that before the
shooting, Paitoon had walked into the Karaoke in an inebriated state. He
was not in uniform and alone. He then became so drunk that he lost
control of his faculties and became angry. He shot 2 twice into the air,
the first being a dud, but the second bullet made considerable noise,
echoing loudly and making people nearby quite uneasy.
At that time, 10 foreign tourists were returning to the Siam Garden
Court Hotel which is adjacent to the Karaoke. Seeing this situation, the
tourists jumped for cover or ran.
The same employee continued to say that the Corporal had gone off on his
motorcycle, but later returned. Waving the gun in the air, he shouted in
very rude Thai, ‘Who’s going to arrest me for what I did?’ There were no
replies. He then stood there swaying until the police force came to
arrest him. He was taken into custody and orders were not to release him
under any circumstances.
At 11:00 on the same day (November 3) the media was informed of this by
Police Lt. Col. Atthapol Narmnart, Paitoon’s commander. He said that he
ordered that Paitoon be kept in a regular cell like an ordinary
criminal. He said he would also make a report to the Police Commander of
Pattaya, after which he will be examined by the Police Disciplinary
Board, which will be set up by Pol. Lt. Colonel Atthapol himself. If the
charges against him prove to be true, he will then have to leave the
civil service and be tried in court. If he is found guilty, he may
receive a year in jail.
The media has also discovered that policeman Paitoon Himaparn is already
under police investigation in the disappearance of Lenny Musrassen
(sic), 49. Paitoon was the custodial officer on the night of Musrassen’s
disappearance from Pattaya Memorial Hospital.
