A drunk Pattaya police officer celebrated the New Year by firing a 12-gauge shotgun into the residence of the city’s police chief.
Senior Sgt. Maj. Theeaphat Sahapaphapat denied charges he was disgruntled over disciplinary action imposed by Col. Suwan Chiewnawinthawat and fired five shots into the superintendent’s apartment from his own room across a walkway behind the station.
Suwan was unhurt in the incident, which broke a window and damaged a filing cabinet in the residence.
Theeaphat said he was working at the Pattaya Countdown celebration at Bali Hai Pier at the time of the shooting and was not to blame.
Investigators inspect the scene of a shotgun blast into Pattaya’s new police chief’s residence.
Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai has called on Pattaya’s police to deal quickly and seriously with the matter while national and provincial Royal Thai Police are investigating. However, a week after the shooting, no arrest warrant had been filed.
Suwan acknowledged that since taking his post last month he had cracked down on discipline and that several officers had not adhered to his new policies regarding dress code, cleanliness and respect to senior officers. Some were disciplined, he said.
He said he was not concerned about future incidents and that the matter was being handled internally.
