Wanted duo gunned down in hail of gunfire
Two men suspected in this month’s attack on a Banglamung Police officer were gunned down and killed by area police in firefight that saw the two suspects hit 19 times.
Surachat “Tam Nakrob” Kaewchingduang, 22, and Aris “Kai” Wangweng, 17, were gunned down July 13 in a shootout with Banglamung and Chonburi Provincial police at the Red Horse Resort on Soi Pattaya Yangyon. One officer was hit in the leg, breaking it.
Investigating police begin marking out spots where spent cartridges are being found after the shootout.
Forensics experts who investigated the scene afterward found more than 100 spent bullet casings. Surachat, shot 11 times, and Aris, shot 8 times in the back and back of the head, were shown to the media lying in pools of blood, pistols still in their hands.
Police said gunfire started during an undercover sting operation to purchase a handgun from Surachat. He and Aris opened fire on officers when they tried to make an arrest, officials claimed. Following the shootout, police said they found more 1,000 methamphetamine tablets, two packs of crystal meth and paraphernalia in their apartment.
The drugs and handgun were incidental, however, as Chonburi Provincial Police commander Lt. Gen. Thangai Pratsajaksattru said that Surachat was really wanted for allegedly shooting Banglamung Sr. Sgt. Maj. Tasnapong Thongtat in the leg after he broke up an illegal motorbike race in front of Pattaya International School July 10.
Tasnapong, who staffs the police box in Nongketyai, said he went by himself to answer a call about 100 teens illegally racing bikes on Highway 36. When he identified himself as a police officer, the group scattered he said. He then got into his Toyota Corolla and returned to the police box.
On the way, however, one of the teens from the disbanded race screamed up beside his car and started shooting. The Toyota later showed bullet holes in the driver’s side door and back tire.
Tasnapong made it to a convenience store opposite Santikam Temple where Nong Plailai Village 3 Chief Prathong Bunkor met him and took him to the hospital where he was treated and released.
Following that shooting, Chonburi police descended on the Banglamung area, vowing a crackdown on illegal street races and swift action into the finding Tasnapong’s shooter.
Thangai said Surachat had a long criminal record and had been wanted on several arrest warrants. He claimed Surachat had also bragged about planning to fight to the death against as many as 200 officers before he would succumb.
Banglamung District administrators and Pattaya Provincial Court prosecutors are investigating the circumstances surrounding the hail of gunfire that brought down Surachat and his teen-age accomplice.
