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.
