An army private has been arrested for shooting dead one man and injuring another as he tried to break up their fight on the final day of Songkran.
Kamol Tukcharoen, 21, was taken for a crime re-enactment outside Naklua’s Yanyon shop on Sukhumvit Road May 2 after being captured at a family member’s home in Rayong.
Over 15 minutes, Kamol showed how he encountered Thanet Pinyakul, 35, and Akapol Rungreung, 36, vociferously arguing April 19 as they all celebrated the end of Songkran. He said he warned the two men – who did not know each other previously – to break it up and fired a shot into the air, but it did not work.
After he discharged his Beretta handgun, the two men turned on him. He claimed Thanet tried to take his gun, so opened fire, killing Thanet and injuring Akapol.
The solider then fled the scene in his Honda Civic and hid out at a relative’s house.
