Boonlua Chatree
Two people have been arrested following a shooting at
a South Pattaya discotheque that left a Naklua gang leader dead and two
others injured.
Alleged “Pacha Cheen” gang member Jiratdecha Sukhzup,
20, and the unnamed owner of the XS Pub inside the Mixx disco at Bali
Hai Pier were taken into custody Feb. 26 after gang leader Toi Chompoo
was killed and two girls, Thamnoon Rosam, 22, and 17-year-old Runglawan
Haichana suffered gunshots to the back and leg, respectively, in a 5
a.m. shooting the morning before.
The bar owner was charged with operating and selling
alcohol without permits.
No stranger to after-hours violence, Mixx was the
site of shooting and assault by one of the disco’s bouncers last year.
In that case as well, the bar was open far after legal operating hours.
Club owners this time tried - unsuccessfully - to convince police the
club already had closed when the fight broke out, but their lie was
discovered thanks to security camera footage.
Jiratdecha was slapped with homicide and weapons
charges. Police claim he denied doing the shooting and that his fellow
gangbangers left the guns in his car.
Three other suspects have been identified by police
and search warrants have been issued. Region 2 police chief Lt. Gen.
Punya Mamen urged the youths to turn themselves in, but vowed they would
be caught even if they didn’t.
Witnesses said a group of Pacha Cheen gangsters had
gone to party at the disco when they got into an argument with rival
Muang Choi gang members. A fight broke out in the club and spilled into
the parking lot, where Thais assaulted each other with fists and
bottles. The fight ended when shots rang out, hitting Toi in the head.
Police arrested five Pachan Cheen gang members for
their suspected involvement with the brawl, but no Muang Choi members
were apprehended. Three guns were confiscated from a Muang Choi-owned
automobile, however.
